Product Description

Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí (1852 1926) designed some of the world s most astonishing buildings, interiors, and parks; Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara constructed some of the most aesthetically audacious films of the second half of the twentieth century. Here, their artistry melds in a unique, enthralling cinematic experience. Less a documentary than a visual poem, Teshigahara s ANTONIO GAUDI takes viewers on a tour of Gaudí s truly spectacular architecture, including his massive still-unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in Barcelona. With camerawork as bold and sensual as the curves on his subject s organic surfaces, Teshigahara immortalizes Gaudí on film.

Special Features
* - New, restored high-definition digital transfer
* - New video interview with architect Arata Isozaki
* - Gaudí, Catalunya 1959, a short film by Hiroshi Teshigahara featuring footage from his first trip to Spain
* - Monitor: Antonio Gaudí (1961), a short film essay by director Ken Russell
* - VITA, a short film by Teshigahara on the sculpture work of his father, Sofu Teshigahara
* - Original theatrical trailer
* - New and improved English subtitle translation
* - PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by art historian Dore Ashton, and reprinted writings by Hiroshi and Sofu

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32771 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2008-03-18
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Restored, Subtitled
• Original language: Japanese, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 72 minutes

Amazon.com
Creator of one of the most bizarre and organic styles in the history of architecture, Antonio Gaudi Cornet, Spain's national treasure, was blessed with not only the vision, but the patronage that allowed him to build his elaborate and surreal designs. With Antonio Gaudi, Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman in the Dunes) gives a tour of the makings of Gaudi's world. Almost entirely without narration, Teshigahara guides us instead with an eerie score by Toru Takemitsu and a few subtitles. The film is more a poem than a documentary, but don't expect an approach similar to Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi. Instead we are given a quiet soundtrack that mixes Takemitsu's sparse score with the natural sounds surrounding Gaudi's structures, and a stationary camera presents the buildings as if they have sprouted: supports seem to magically erupt from the ground like roots, and our eyes are led through the textures and patterns of Gaudi's elaborate mosaic stone and brick designs. Visually revealing and comprehensive, Teshigahara leaves us with only one thing to do--to view Gaudi's amazing world with our own eyes. --Ted Sonnenschein

On the DVD
At 72 minutes, Hiroshi Teshigahara's hypnotic Antonio Gaudí ranks among the shorter films to receive the Criterion Collection's hallowed two-disc treatment. The original trailer and a restored and re-subtitled edition of the experimental documentary take up the first disc, while the second houses a wealth of enlightening extras. Silent 16mm footage titled Gaudí, Catalunya, 1959 serves as a sketch for the film-to-come (and includes a visit with Gaudí enthusiast Salvador Dalí). Then, architect/art director Arata Isozaki (Teshigahara's The Face of Another) talks about the filmmaker's formidable father, Sofu, and Japanese interest in the Spanish mystic. In God's Architect, part of the BBC’s 2003 architectural series Visions of Space, famously unstuffy art critic Robert Hughes describes the contradictory Gaudí as radical, subversive, arrogant, and ascetic. As he puts it, Gaudí's Barcelona commissions, notably life-long project Sagrada Família, range from raw and primitive to sexy and immensely sophisticated. Ken Russell (The Devils) directs the second Beeb supplement, a 1961 Monitor segment on the architect. The special features conclude with Teshigahara's trippy 1963 short, Sculptures by Sofu-Vita and a 36-page booklet of essays, remembrances, and photographs. The only thing missing: a profile of composer Toru Takemitsu, whose inventive score is an integral part of the main feature. This double-disc collection pays tribute to two men, director Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001) and architect Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926), products of different cultures--both masters of their chosen professions. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Gaudi and Takemitsu: perfect combo
This is a great tour through the works of the brilliant, one-of-a-kind architect Antonio Gaudi. Find some pictures of his work on the net, and, if you're impressed, you'll like this movie. The cinematography is perfect, tracking and panning slowly over his work, so you can take it in. As if Gaudi's work wasn't enough, it also features music by the great Toru Takemitsu, who is the ultimate tour guide, much better than the narrator a lesser documentary on Gaudi might have provided. Instead of rattling off information, Takemitsu offers mood and atmosphere to compliment Gaudi's visuals perfectly. Together they offer a haunting, hallucinatory experience.

Fantasy As Reality: A Small Feast of Antonio Gaudi
A well-crafted film that provides a tantalizing glimpse of some of Gaudi's most famous work. With the exception of a brief interview with one of Gaudi's contemporaries, there is no narrative or dialogue. Rather, the film is a riveting visual feast; excellent cinematography with a unique musical score that complements the architecture shown. Occasional English sub-titles identify buildings, locations and dates of construction. The film opens with a brief look at the culture of Spain in the medieval period through its art and architecture, establishing a background against which to juxtapose Gaudi's radical departure from the historical past. Little is told of Gaudi's life; instead this film concentrates on some of his more notable work and does so brilliantly. It leaves one wanting more...much more! Who was this man? How did he do it? What else did he design? This feast for the eyes and ears can be understood easily by non-English speakers. Highly recommended!

Beautifully captured images of Gaudi's work.
When I first saw this film, I did not know what to expect. One thing is there is no dialogue, just footage of the glorious city of Barcelona and the effect Gaudi's work had on the place. It's beautiful, surreal and an extremely awe inspiring experience to view it all on film. There is a depth to this film which words cannot convey, only seeing this film can one appreciate Gaudi and the city of Barcelona. A city imbued with enormous beauty and creative genius. One can feel great pride for the Catalan people by just his (Gaudi's) example alone. Well worth your time to see!