Herb & Dorothy (2009/New Video DVD)

 

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

 

 

Imagine if with very little money, you could spot very valuable items long before anyone understood their value, got thousands of them for very little money, then watched them become worth literally millions of dollars.  In this, you get two kinds of collectors: those who are out for a profit and those serious about putting a collection together that holds together.  Herb Vogel is such a man, who was always an art fan when he married his wife Dorothy.  Megumi Sasaki’s Herb & Dorothy (2008) arrives on DVD a year later telling their story.

 

By sticking to small pieces and affordable ones, they were buying in the Golden Era of Modern Art in the 1950s and 1960s in particular and in New York.  The result is that they owned pieces by hundreds of artists, including Richard Tuttle, Sol LeWitt and especially Andy Warhol.  The result is that their apartment became packed beyond belief with the works and one of the biggest privately-held collections in the world; a domain usually reserved for the richest and wealthiest people in the world.

 

This is their story, about their art, their lives, how they built the collection and what has become of it.  Even if you know nothing about Modern Art or any other art, it is worth a look and you will not be disappointed.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is a little softer than one would have liked for a new low def digital shoot, but that could just be the slight weakness of the transfer here.  Otherwise, this is a clean transfer with some archive footage and simple animation.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is stereo at best and has some location audio flaws, but is better than the picture.  Extras include Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Premiere, Trailers and Festival Appearances.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo