Product Description

The definitive biography of artist Man Ray accompanied by spectacular images of his greatest work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130125 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-02-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

Customer Reviews

Just still images, but lots of them
This DVD consists of still images of about 200 of Man Ray's works, presented in more or less chronological order. That's great as far as it goes; I saw many works here that I'd never seen before. But that's all there is to it. For the most part, a narrator simply reads the name and date of each work.

Occasionally the narrator adds, without acknowledgement, a random snippet of information about the artist or the present work (these often sound imprecisely translated from another language), or one of Man Ray's own epigrams. What little biographical information there is here will leave the uninitiated baffled, the critical interpretation is often dubious, and even Man Ray's witticisms lack impact absent context or even attribution.

Considering that Man Ray made several influential short films and many objects intended to be seen in motion, the exclusion of anything but static shots seems like a bit of a waste of the DVD medium. Also, Man Ray's photography is represented rather lightly relative to his work in other media, which may disappoint some viewers.

For those seeking a more accessible and informative introduction to Man Ray's life and work, I'd recommend "Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant Garde" or even "Montparnasse Revisited: A Life in the Day of Man Ray" instead. This one is more for educational institutions or the seasoned Man Ray fan who wants to see a lot of things that aren't in the books. Best viewed with the sound off.

Narrated slide show with biography & work analysis
This documentary presents hundreds of works by the artist. It is a narrated slide show. The commentary is very detailed, competent, and comprehensive. It includes extensive biography mixed with a very professional work analysis encompassing influence of other artists with examples of their works. The quality of video and sound is good.

Thorough but somewhat indigestible overview of his oeuvre
When I wrote this there were two other reviews. My impression of this DVD falls somewhat between them.
By and large, it is simply a chronological catalog of his works with a narrator giving each one's title and date. Sometimes the narrator makes an observation about the work, and other times launches off into cryptic and in my opinion unwarranted speculation and analysis about the works' meanings. But maybe that's in keeping with Man Ray's affinity to the surrealistics and dadaists. Biographical events are stated within the chronology, and by the end of the video you have a sense for the scope of his work and his life.
I am not expert on his work, but it seemed his photographic works, for which I thought he was best known, are just incidental to his paintings, collages, sculptures and assemblages
I personally craved a more coherent presentation. Maybe Sister Wendy will do a piece on him someday.
Overall, given the low price of DVDs on Amazon, it's well worth seeing.