Simon Schama’s Power Of Art (Documentary Mini-Series/BBC Home Video)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: B-     Episodes: B

 

 

In another fine documentary Mini-Series of the history and content of painting, Simon Schama’s Power Of Art (2006) offers eight episodes hosted by Schama about the following artists:

 

Caravaggio

Bergini

Rembrandt

David

Turner

Van Gogh

Picasso

Rothko

 

 

Note that most of these are Renaissance painters and that Schama’s historical contributions are matched by his observations, the later of which are far more debatable, but always interesting and necessary to get the viewer to not only thing, but think critically.  That is the value of this set for those who want or need to know about these artists, but more than just a mere crash course, the show takes its time thinking about the creators, too, sometimes reenacting events in their lives.

 

That may seem like a cable TV cliché, one way in which channels competing against PBS tried to match it, but these are not silly and can be very effective.  This 3-DVD set is more thorough than the time span would otherwise allow, but Schama is a big fan of this art and knows how to talk about it, to explain it.  That makes all eight shows compelling viewing, the kind you would expect from the BBC.  Anyone interested will not be disappointed.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has its share of motion blur to its disadvantage, but looks pretty good otherwise.  The blur is just too much at times, but I expect it will not be as bad when/if the BBC issues this in the HD formats.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no surrounds, but is a new, clear, clean recording that is not a problem.  Extras include an on-camera interview with Schama and audio commentaries by Schama, Clare Beavan, David Belton and Andy Serkis on some of the episodes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo