Stern Was Remarkable - But You'll Want More
First-time director Shannah Laumeister pulls together a somewhat disorienting documentary about Bert Stern, who was arguably, one of the most innovative photographers of the last century.
The story line bounces about, documenting Stern's classic American success story life. Born poor and not educated, Stern became an established and very successful photographer by his mid-twenties.
His early job working for `Look' magazine got him his chance where he became friends with Stanley Kubrick. Reluctantly interviewed, Stern discusses his life. Most of it is about his womanizing and his drug abuse. When he discusses his work, its magic - as if it was a different person. His first successful series of shots was for Smirnoff and even by today's standards; his commercial photography was new, fresh and inventive. His work with Kubrick included promotional shots for the infamous film, "Lolita". His most famous work is the series of stills called, "The Last Sitting"; a...
A wonderful "portrait" (not biography) of the multi-talented Stern (who died just a few weeks ago)
As I watched this 89-minute 2011 film on DVD today, knowing that photographer Bert Stern died (at age 83) on June 26th, there was one question that Director Shannah Laumeister asks near the end the film that took on new meaning based on his recent death. She asks Stern, who has just finished telling us how bored he is with life in his older years (and comments on the thousands of photos he still has), "Who's going to handle your archives?" "I don't know", Stern replies. Then we see the auction he attends where a folio of 16 photos he took of Marilyn Monroe are sold. The price: $113,000. Two years later Stern is dead and I, for one, am curious to know if they were donated or sold to private collectors.
But we are here to discuss the film and the DVD, aren't we? I found it fascinating (as well as great DVD to test out my new flat screen HD TV). The film is on DVD (not Blu ray). A few of the other reviews I read said that they thought the film was lacking in depth and they...
Pictures are for ever
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. This documentary presents us a story of the life, love and work of Bert Stern. It weaves an interview with Bert Stern himself with looking at his timeless photographs. It was very interesting to hear the stories behind the famous photographs.
His photos are not just images, each one creates a story. His photo compositions were innovations, he came up with angles and backgrounds that no one has seen or imagined before. His eyes were able to isolates and defines images others did not see. I am avid photographer and really enjoyed learning of how he came up with the ideas for his photographs. Many of his compositional ideas are now taught in every photography class.
The movie covers his commercial photography, which created modern advertising as we know it, as well as portraiture work of beautiful women. We get a glimpse of his personal relationships with various models, including Marilyn Monroe. He had an ability to establish...
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