Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art

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Customer Review: Picasso - A true work of art
Firstly, this isn’t Iron Maiden. If your looking for anything even remotely close to Englands finest then check out ‘Accident of Birth’ or ‘Chemical Wedding’. If, on the other hand, your willing to take a little risk and experiment a little then check out this little gem, and for my cash, Bruce Dickinsons’ finest solo effort. I didn’t fully appreciate this album on first listen, it wasn’t until i saw the tour that backed this album that my ears and eyes opened up and i have never had any regrets. It’s an interesting exploration of various styles of rock music by a vocalist, who, let’s be honest, at that time wasn’t sure if this whole solo project was even going to work. He took a risk, and i urge you to do the same. From the best song you never heard on your radio in ‘Shoot all the Clowns’, to the social observations of ‘Sacred Cowboys’, into the soft, mellow tones of ‘Change of Heart’ to the anthemic and Bruce’s best solo effort of ‘Tears of the Dragon’ this album is so well constructed - it carries you along on a musical journey. From the opening chords of the examination of modern day media intrusion that is ‘Cyclops’, through a more rock vane of ‘1000 Points of Light’ to the Alex Dickinson (Bruces’ son) inspired ‘Laughing in the Hiding Bush’ this is Bruce at his songwritting best and sounding awesome. Buy it - buy it now - and buy it’s twin brother ‘Alive in Studio A’ - and don’t blame me if you suddenly realise that, with this gem nearly a decade old, you’ve been missing out big time.
Customer Review: Excellent album, but with a few weak tracks.
The opening song, Cyclops, is magnificent in every respect. Over seven minutes of pure unadulterated rock. A masterstroke to open the album with. Change of Heart, is also a fantastic song. But certainly not typical of Maiden’s stuff… definitly something that Bruce has thought he can pull off without them. And did he just. Makes you wonder really why he doesn’t write more like this for the Irons? A song of pure class. Tears of the Dragon, is easily the best song on the album and possibly Bruce’s finest ever, ranking easily alongside ‘Bring your daughter… to the Slaughter’. This is a completely different kind of track and probably more universally appealing. But if you are hard rock only don’t let that put you off. This album isn’t hard rock. Bruce avoided that until his ‘Chemical Wedding’ album. It is very much soft, as Bon Jovi is. The other tracks on the album are definitely listenable to, but they wn’t be the ones you’ll have playing seven times on repeat before moving on.
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Picasso’s War: The Destruction of Guernica and Picasso’s Masterpiece Customer Review: Fascinating story of a masterpiece
As all the reviews have said, this is a fascinating story of a masterpiece. The Spanish Civil War and Picasso’s life are well explainedto put the story of the painting itself into both contexts.
I’ll justadd that the book is let down by a lack of illustrations (the only one isof the painting itself), and by the lack of an index.
Customer Review: Flawed masterpiece
As ‘Guernica’ was the painting that introduced me to the works of Picasso, I was really looking forward to this book.

And it’s a convincing tale well told - with such a work of art (still) inextricably linked to international politics and war (both world and civil) Russell Martin does a competent job of placing the work into the necessary socio-political context.

The illustrations don’t do the painting justice - but how can you adequately illustrate Guernica in a small book anyway? Even weighty art books about the painting stuggle with this.

It’s a history of ‘Guernica’ as symbolic art rather than an analysis of the painting per se, whereas some fans may want to know more about the creative processes behind the production of the painting.

More ‘art’ and a larger format may have made this a great book, but as it stands it’s certainly a good book about the trials and tribulations of a great painting.

Read more..

Picasso
Customer Review: The Most Unusual Biography Ever?
One of the most engaging, stylistically intriguing and honest books I’ve ever read. Stein’s writing is impatient, brusque, passionate and scarily insightful. She offers a real sense of Picasso - the man and the artist - as well as of Gertrude Stein herself. It also provides a tantalising glimpse into the wonderful, romantic life enjoyed by writers, artists and their cronies in early twentieth century Paris. Brilliant. If you care at all about art; life; Picasso; the notion of genius; Paris; indeed, creative or intellectual pursuits of any kind, then your life will be slightly less if you fail to read this book.

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Paloma Picasso Perfume by Paloma Picasso Gift Set ( EDP Spr 1.7 Oz+ Perfumed Body Lotion 6.7oz) Launched by the design house of Paloma Picasso in 1984, PALOMA PICASSO PERFUME is classified as a refined, woody, mossy fragrance. This feminine scent possesses a blend of many florals along with citrus, woods, and greens. It is recommended for evening wear. All our fragrances are 100% originals by their original designers. Satisfaction guranteed.
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Paloma Picasso for Women 1.7 Oz (50 ml) Eau De Parfum Spray Launched by the design house of Paloma Picasso in 1984, PALOMA PICASSO PERFUME is classified as a refined, woody, mossy fragrance. This feminine scent possesses a blend of many florals along with citrus, woods, and greens. It is recommended for evening wear. All our fragrances are 100% originals by their original designers. Satisfaction guranteed.
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A HEFTY tax increase on luxury cars emerged yesterday as the latest move in a tough Government Budget strategy aimed at targeting the rich and curbing inflation. Treasurer Wayne Swan yesterday said Tuesday night’s Budget would herald a “new era of Continue

Pablo Picasso (Taschen Basic Art Series) Customer Review: Excellent value
(A review of the papeback editon)

The two volume book is arranged in seventeen chapters concluding with a considerable Chronology illustrated with numerous black and white pictures, mostly photographs with many of the artist, Notes, a Bibliography which includes exhibition catalogues, and a rather brief (one page) Index of Names.

The opening Chapter reminds us of the stature of the man, and of his prodigious output; briefly summarising his career. The subsequent Chapters chronicle Picasso’s progress starting with his childhood efforts, through the Blue and Rose Periods, Cubism, “Guernica” to mention just a few and concluding with “The Legend of the Artist”. It is intelligently written, accessible and makes very interesting reading. The illustrations run with the text and are usually within a page or two of the relevant reference.

Produced in two paperback volumes in a cardboard slipcase Taschen’s 25 anniversary edition is an impressive effort. It is superbly illustrated throughout with approaching 1,500 images mainly in colour but with a few back and white (usually drawings or photographs). The smallest pictures are just thumbnails, the largest full page and the occasional double page spread, with every size between; but there are plenty of good sized pictures with whole sections of colour plates, it certainly makes an impressive array. Overall the pictures far outweigh the text.

At such good value for money it is hard to be critical of this two volume set, but I fear I have two concerns. Firstly the Index seems wholly inadequate, an Index of Names which amounts to one page; finding a particular painting or anything else might prove difficult. Secondly, while the two volumes come protected in a slipcase, the card covers (paperback edition) to the individual volumes feel very slight; with each approaching 400 pages one feels one has to handle them with great care for fear of damaging the binding. It is however a very worthwhile set, one would be hard pressed to find so many reproductions of Picasso’s work elsewhere for the money,
and would not hesitate to recommend it.
Customer Review: A 'Must Have' book for Picasso lovers.
A must have for anyone really. Lovely cover, big print, easy to get around and absorb. Educational for those who are not familiar with his work. Now a classic really for it refers to last rather than this century.

Picasso (Profiles in Art)

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Picasso’s Line Drawings and Prints (Dover Art Library)

Minotaure 75ml EDT Spray Fragrance for Men

The Tragedy art print by Pablo Picasso, 72cm x 57cm

Loving Picasso: The Private Journal of Fernande Olivier Fernande Olivier was Picasso’s first great love. Happily for us, she had a lively writing style and a keen eye for detail, evident throughout Loving Picasso: The Private Journal of Fernande Olivier. Illustrated with more than 80 contemporary photographs and paintings, the journal is a compulsively readable account of the quarrels, escapades, pleasures and privations of the young artist and his circle between 1905 and 1912. The two met when Olivier was working as an artist’s model, having escaped a loveless childhood and a disastrous early marriage. This book smoothly melds retranslated material from her 1933 memoir (Picasso et ses amis) with the posthumously published Souvenirs intimes and selections from her correspondence, including her plaintive letters to Alice B Toklas during a lonely holiday with Picasso in rural Spain. Honest to the point of bluntness, Olivier–whom Picasso eventually abandoned for Eva Gouel, a younger, more passive friend of hers–sums up her lover as a workaholic, an impulse buyer (when he had cash) of bric-a-brac and good furniture, a contrarian who found charm in wearing peculiar outfits and pretending he had no taste and a jealous lover who often kept her locked up when he went out. She describes their home, the Bateau Lavoir in Montmartre, as

A weird, squalid building echoing from morning to night with every kind of noise: discussion, singing, shouting, calling, the sound of buckets used to empty the toilet clattering noisily on the floor … doors slammed, suggestive moaning coming through the closed doors of the studios.

As Picasso biographer John Richardson relates in an afterword, Olivier never rebounded from her rejection by Picasso. Her middle years were dogged by faithless lovers, financial woes and Gertrude Stein’s deviousness–agreeing to help Olivier publish her memoirs, Stein instead wrote her own version of the era. –Cathy Curtis
Customer Review: A Challenging Life!
Loving Picasso is a book that will touch your heart, and my moisten your eyes.

When we visit a museum and see wonderful paintings of striking women, seldom do we think about the conditions under which the art was created. Did the artists and the model have a relationship? If so, what was it? Did they have enough to eat while the work was done? Were they considerate of one another? Was the studio warm or cold? What was the model thinking about as she posed? How had the woman come to model? And so on.

I will never look at another painting or sculpture again of a human model without being filled with such questions, as a result of reaching about the life of Fernande Olivier from her private journal, letters, and memoir as presented in Loving Picasso.

This beautiful, charming woman lived an extremely difficult life. It was so challenging that few could have emerged from such awful circumstances without being distorted in mind and personality. Yet, Ms. Olivier seems to have avoided both, and been a light in the life of her many male admirers, female friends, and an inspiration to Picasso in his most innovative years.

From the book’s title, you will think that the material is mostly about the years when Ms. Olivier and Picasso lived together, but that’s only about half the book. The book is really an autobiography through the time when the two split up for the final time in 1912.

Readers will be rewarded with many intriguing views of the lives of “starving” artists in Paris, the many distinguished friends of Picasso and Ms. Olivier, and how Picasso changed as he went from an unknown to one of the recognized leaders of avant-garde art along with Matisse.

Having read about Picasso’s troubled relationships with other women, I was surprised to see that his relationship with Ms. Olivier was one of the most pleasant and productive connections he had in his life. Certainly, he often chose her as a model for his work, and we will always see her as the young person she was then. Many other details in here will either surprise or shock you about Picasso, and expand your understanding of his creative methods and personality.

One of the most charming parts of the book can be found in the many images of places where she lived, the people she knew, the paintings and sculptures for which she was the model, and her own drawings.

For those who have enjoyed Gertrude Stein’s, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, you will probably be interested to know that Ms. Olivier’s writing is considered to be a more accurate and complete version of many of the same events.

After you finish this rewarding memoir of a most unique person, I suggest that you think about what the purpose of life is. That’s a question with which Ms. Olivier had trouble coming to grips.

Follow your purpose!

Cubism: Picasso

Picasso Notebook (Decorative Notebooks)

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Burton Morris, Pittburgh pop artist, in his Monroeville studio. On a recent chilly spring morning, Burton Morris is standing beside the colorful, iconic paintings that line the walls of his Monroeville art studio, doing his best to captivate a group Continue

Picasso (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists)

Pablo Picasso - Olga's Gallery

Tate Collection | Pablo Picasso

Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay

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Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso Eau de Parfum Spray 50ml
Launched in 1984, this is a RICH CHYPRE (mossy/woody) fragrance. This was the first fragrance from Paloma Picasso (daughter of the artist Pablo Picasso). Originally called Mon Parfum, it attracted considerable attention and won two FiFi awards. The flacon followed one of Palomas^ favourite themes, a circle within a circle and was inspired by an earring she had made for Tiffany. Top Notes : lemon, bergamot, angelica, hyacinth, ylang-ylang; Heart Notes : rose, jasmine, mimosa, cilantro; Base Notes : oak moss, iris, sandalwood, patchouli, amber, musk, honey.

Picasso: The Real Family Story

High Quality Art Jigsaw Puzzle - Toros y Toreros by PICASSO - 1000 pcs

Souren Melikian: A healthy tempo set in Modernist sales - International Herald Tribune
NEW YORK : When the strength of the auction market is being tested in key areas such as Impressionist and Modern art, it is the second day that really tells the story. Sotheby’s remarkable performance on Wednesday night when 41 pictures, drawings and

Picasso: Art as Autobiography

Pablo Picasso: Ceramics

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The Picasso Flop (Texas Hold’em Mysteries)

OddFellows Mini Figures Pablo Picasso - Designer Vinyl Figure
OddFellows Mini Figures Pablo Picasso

:: Figures based on various famous icons through out history
:: Designed and craeted by Jailbreak Toys

:: Features removable blaster/jet pack accessory
:: Each figure stands at 3″ tall
:: Comes in window display box

Records for Munch, Leger at New York auction - Raw Story
Works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse have been sold at a Sotheby’s sale of impressionist and modern art in New York, with new records for works by Edvard Munch and cubist Fernand Leger helping to calm some fears over the health of the art market

Asia’s love of ‘living art’ koi fish growing - SAWF News Connect
SINGAPORE (AFP) - Asian fish connoisseurs treasure koi — domesticated varieties of the common carp — as Europeans would a painting by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, they say.

Picasso Lithographs (Dover Art Library)

Museu Picasso de Barcelona | El web de la ciutat de Barcelona

A Life of Picasso: The Cubist Rebel, 1907-1916 (Borzoi Books)

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Under Fire was one of a trio of notable films from the mid-1980s about journalists involved in Third World war zones. While certainly a lesser film than Salvador (1986) or The Killing Fields (1984) Roger Spottiswoode’s movie is still a commendable work from a director who later brought a similarly political edge to Noriega: God’s Favourite (2000).

Nick Nolte plays an American photo-journalist covering the civil war in Nicaragua in 1979, finding himself caught in a dangerous and cynical web of duplicity and self-interest, as well as falling in love with fellow American, Claire (Joanna Cassidy). Nolte gradually uncovers the degree of his own government’s involvement with the corrupt regime, and inevitably ends up crossing the line from neutral observer to helping the rebel cause.

Under Fire is in essence a reworking of Casablanca, especially as Gene Hackman’s network newsman proves to be Cassidy’s ex-lover, yet thanks to an intelligent script, strong support from Ed Harris as a mercenary and some genuinely unnerving and frightening scenes of the random chaos of war, it’s one which packs a powerful punch. Jerry Goldsmith’s evocative score is among his best of the 1980s.

On the DVD: Under Fire is presented in an anamorphic 1.77:1 transfer which is very clean and clear with minimal grain. The well-mixed Dolby Pro-logic soundtrack is highly effective, if not so startling as a 5.1 track. Beyond multi-language and subtitle options, the only extra is the original trailer, which is also anamorphically enhanced. –Gary S Dalkin
Customer Review: Taking sides
Under Fire is one of the few mainstream American `political’ movies to emerge from the studio system, but along with Missing it’s probably the best. On one level it grafts a traditional romantic triangle onto its story of American war correspondents in Nicaragua gradually finding themselves drawn to taking sides instead of taking pictures, but at least it’s a convincingly grown-up relationship that allows Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman and a never better Joanna Cassidy to really shine. It’s a shame that Cassidy never got more opportunities like this: a last-minute replacement for Julie Christie, she’s extraordinarily good here. The film also boasts an impressive supporting cast, with a star-making turn from Ed Harris as an amiable but deadly mercenary a standout, although Jean-Louis Tritignant’s deceptively unsubtle CIA man gives him a run for his money (not so much for his performance - his English was non-existent and it’s obvious he’s learned his lines phonetically - but because he has most of the film’s best dialog). Extremely well directed by Roger Spottiswoode with a promise he never really fulfilled, it’s an impressive albeit partisan portrait of a country decaying in the last stages of revolution and also boasts what is possibly Jerry Goldsmith’s finest score (which is saying quite something). Impressive stuff. The DVD’s only extra is the superb theatrical trailer, although it does boast a decent widescreen transfer.
Customer Review: A film with new resonance
Set in civil war torn Nicaragua where the US was propping up the regime of a Dictator (Antonio Somoza) against a popular left wing uprising. Stars Nick Nolte Joanna Cassidy and Gene Hackman. The heroes all make poor choices and are flawed, for both good and bad reasons. The journalists become committed to one side in the conflict, and in this action harm those they wish to support, and yet ultimately an honest piece of reporting does produce change. Thus it addresses the eternal dilemma for journalists who must ask whether to remain passive or become active - record or participate? Now probably - “suppress or report”? Its resonance is the hypocrisy and arrogance of US foreign policy - then supporting South American Juntas through the 1980s and 1990s - and now… It is based upon a true story - the the death of journalist Bill Stewart at the hands of a Nicarguan soldier was filmed by a TV crew and really did change the course of a Civil war - but not before countless “less important” deaths. The film is driven along by an excellent soundtrack, which sucks you in as the tension builds. Weaved in this is an inevitable but credible love story. The leads all give strong performances. I think this film has been rather overlooked - perhaps it said too many things the American public did not want to hear. Better than Salvador. A policitical drama and love story about a murder set in a war! Worth a watch.
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Essential Cubism, 1907-20: Braque, Picasso and Their Friends

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Picasso’s War: The Destruction of Guernica and Picasso’s Masterpiece
Customer Review: Fascinating story of a masterpiece
As all the reviews have said, this is a fascinating story of a masterpiece. The Spanish Civil War and Picasso’s life are well explainedto put the story of the painting itself into both contexts.
I’ll justadd that the book is let down by a lack of illustrations (the only one isof the painting itself), and by the lack of an index.

Customer Review: Flawed masterpiece
As ‘Guernica’ was the painting that introduced me to the works of Picasso, I was really looking forward to this book.

And it’s a convincing tale well told - with such a work of art (still) inextricably linked to international politics and war (both world and civil) Russell Martin does a competent job of placing the work into the necessary socio-political context.

The illustrations don’t do the painting justice - but how can you adequately illustrate Guernica in a small book anyway? Even weighty art books about the painting stuggle with this.

It’s a history of ‘Guernica’ as symbolic art rather than an analysis of the painting per se, whereas some fans may want to know more about the creative processes behind the production of the painting.

More ‘art’ and a larger format may have made this a great book, but as it stands it’s certainly a good book about the trials and tribulations of a great painting.

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High Quality Art Jigsaw Puzzle - BACCANALE 1631/33 by Nicolas Poussin - 1500 pcs

High Quality Art Jigsaw Puzzle - GUERNICA, 1937 by PICASSO - 2000 pcs

Who’s Online - Leader
RUTHERFORD — Her brown hair falls lightly on an exposed shoulder. Her right hand, with gentle fingers extended, has a child-like playfulness. Her pink, skin-tight shirt covers shapely breasts, while her simple red skirt hangs loose. Her face emits

Container ship Francois Gilot grounded off Melbourne - News.com.au
BREAKING NEWS: A HUGE container ship has been grounded in Port Phillip Bay off the Mornington Peninsula, soon after losing power. The fully laden 160m-long Francoise Gilot came to grief about 5.50am off coast at McCrae as it headed out of port this

A Life of Picasso: The Prodigy, 1881-1906 (Borzoi Books) Customer Review: A Fan Explains His Hero
Where does genius come from? What are the motives? What are the stars that guide?

Picasso was arguably the most original and influential artist of the 20th century. In volume one of four planned volumes (three of which have been produced to date), John Richardson collaborates with Marilyn McCully to establish the detailed record of how Picasso developed as a man and an artist through the early Rose period. The book is made richer by Richardson’s friendship with the artist and his access to Picasso’s memories of key events. But he doesn’t slavishly accept Picasso’s version (except in damning Matisse as inferior to Picasso) but rather checks out the different versions and picks what seems to make the most sense.

Picasso’s fanatic desire to succeed was fueled in part by his contempt for his father’s failed career as an artist and his father’s views that Picasso should follow in his footsteps. Picasso also needed to be treated as special, more than most of us. Groveling before exploitive dealers built a lifelong passion to be in charge. Picasso also knew that Paris was where he had to shine and suffered greatly to make his success there. His struggles will impress you.

Where the book is unequaled in my experience is in tracking down the sources of Picasso’s images, gestures, styles, and innovations. The book is filled with black and white images from the works of other artists, Picasso’s notebooks, photographs of the scenes and subjects, and related works that Picasso did. From these, you get a better sense of Picasso as a synthesizer of styles and modes.

In closely examining Picasso’s work from these years, it’s easy to develop superficial impressions of what sort of man did those paintings. For instance, the paintings of women show someone who feels compelled to alternately adore and dominate women . . . especially sexually. Learning later that he locked his mistress into the studio even on the hottest days when he left adds to that impression.

The book provides other powerful insights of this sort by relating the heavy use of opium by Picasso and his circle of artist friends during the Blue period. A lot of the models seem stoned in those paintings. Could it be that they were? Picasso loved to paint the circus performers and one of his first mistresses was one. Could it be that those performers are really emotional self-portraits? The book isn’t clear on that point, but the possibility of the interpretation will occur to you.

A few central mysteries are left undeveloped. Why did Picasso stick so long with styles that he later abandoned and which didn’t sell well when he was very poor? Picasso admitted to Richardson that the Blue and Rose periods had been mistakes. Why did Picasso slow down his production at times when he had contracts and shows upcoming? How did Picasso incorporate his love for poetry into his paintings?

At times Richardson is over the top in his fawning. Here’s an example. Picasso is described as clearly one of the great poets of the 20th century, but Richardson doesn’t reveal any evidence . . . nor was Picasso doing any poetry writing at the time of this volume. I suspect that the fawning was the price of admission for his access which rewards us in other ways.

Ultimately, the book’s main weakness is that the images are not in color. Fortunately, color is less important to Picasso’s work during this period than in later periods. Perhaps there will be another edition at some point that will bring the full dimensions of the work to bear at least for the masterpieces.

Enjoy your immersion in Picasso’s chaotic world.

Pablo Picasso (Taschen Basic Art Series)
Customer Review: Excellent value
(A review of the papeback editon)

The two volume book is arranged in seventeen chapters concluding with a considerable Chronology illustrated with numerous black and white pictures, mostly photographs with many of the artist, Notes, a Bibliography which includes exhibition catalogues, and a rather brief (one page) Index of Names.

The opening Chapter reminds us of the stature of the man, and of his prodigious output; briefly summarising his career. The subsequent Chapters chronicle Picasso’s progress starting with his childhood efforts, through the Blue and Rose Periods, Cubism, “Guernica” to mention just a few and concluding with “The Legend of the Artist”. It is intelligently written, accessible and makes very interesting reading. The illustrations run with the text and are usually within a page or two of the relevant reference.

Produced in two paperback volumes in a cardboard slipcase Taschen’s 25 anniversary edition is an impressive effort. It is superbly illustrated throughout with approaching 1,500 images mainly in colour but with a few back and white (usually drawings or photographs). The smallest pictures are just thumbnails, the largest full page and the occasional double page spread, with every size between; but there are plenty of good sized pictures with whole sections of colour plates, it certainly makes an impressive array. Overall the pictures far outweigh the text.

At such good value for money it is hard to be critical of this two volume set, but I fear I have two concerns. Firstly the Index seems wholly inadequate, an Index of Names which amounts to one page; finding a particular painting or anything else might prove difficult. Secondly, while the two volumes come protected in a slipcase, the card covers (paperback edition) to the individual volumes feel very slight; with each approaching 400 pages one feels one has to handle them with great care for fear of damaging the binding. It is however a very worthwhile set, one would be hard pressed to find so many reproductions of Picasso’s work elsewhere for the money,

and would not hesitate to recommend it.

Customer Review: A 'Must Have' book for Picasso lovers.
A must have for anyone really. Lovely cover, big print, easy to get around and absorb. Educational for those who are not familiar with his work. Now a classic really for it refers to last rather than this century.

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Are you quick on the draw? Even harder, can you put a title to someone else’s masterpiece?
Customer Review: Picasso the funniest game around
Picasso is a very simple game to play with few rules, but so much fun. It’s best if you can’t draw too well; the fun is all in the ridiculous suggestions that the other competitors come up with for your drawings. Even ardent Pictionary fans have agreed that this is much better.
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Under Fire was one of a trio of notable films from the mid-1980s about journalists involved in Third World war zones. While certainly a lesser film than Salvador (1986) or The Killing Fields (1984) Roger Spottiswoode’s movie is still a commendable work from a director who later brought a similarly political edge to Noriega: God’s Favourite (2000).

Nick Nolte plays an American photo-journalist covering the civil war in Nicaragua in 1979, finding himself caught in a dangerous and cynical web of duplicity and self-interest, as well as falling in love with fellow American, Claire (Joanna Cassidy). Nolte gradually uncovers the degree of his own government’s involvement with the corrupt regime, and inevitably ends up crossing the line from neutral observer to helping the rebel cause.

Under Fire is in essence a reworking of Casablanca, especially as Gene Hackman’s network newsman proves to be Cassidy’s ex-lover, yet thanks to an intelligent script, strong support from Ed Harris as a mercenary and some genuinely unnerving and frightening scenes of the random chaos of war, it’s one which packs a powerful punch. Jerry Goldsmith’s evocative score is among his best of the 1980s.

On the DVD: Under Fire is presented in an anamorphic 1.77:1 transfer which is very clean and clear with minimal grain. The well-mixed Dolby Pro-logic soundtrack is highly effective, if not so startling as a 5.1 track. Beyond multi-language and subtitle options, the only extra is the original trailer, which is also anamorphically enhanced. –Gary S Dalkin
Customer Review: Taking sides
Under Fire is one of the few mainstream American `political’ movies to emerge from the studio system, but along with Missing it’s probably the best. On one level it grafts a traditional romantic triangle onto its story of American war correspondents in Nicaragua gradually finding themselves drawn to taking sides instead of taking pictures, but at least it’s a convincingly grown-up relationship that allows Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman and a never better Joanna Cassidy to really shine. It’s a shame that Cassidy never got more opportunities like this: a last-minute replacement for Julie Christie, she’s extraordinarily good here. The film also boasts an impressive supporting cast, with a star-making turn from Ed Harris as an amiable but deadly mercenary a standout, although Jean-Louis Tritignant’s deceptively unsubtle CIA man gives him a run for his money (not so much for his performance - his English was non-existent and it’s obvious he’s learned his lines phonetically - but because he has most of the film’s best dialog). Extremely well directed by Roger Spottiswoode with a promise he never really fulfilled, it’s an impressive albeit partisan portrait of a country decaying in the last stages of revolution and also boasts what is possibly Jerry Goldsmith’s finest score (which is saying quite something). Impressive stuff. The DVD’s only extra is the superb theatrical trailer, although it does boast a decent widescreen transfer.
Customer Review: A film with new resonance
Set in civil war torn Nicaragua where the US was propping up the regime of a Dictator (Antonio Somoza) against a popular left wing uprising. Stars Nick Nolte Joanna Cassidy and Gene Hackman. The heroes all make poor choices and are flawed, for both good and bad reasons. The journalists become committed to one side in the conflict, and in this action harm those they wish to support, and yet ultimately an honest piece of reporting does produce change. Thus it addresses the eternal dilemma for journalists who must ask whether to remain passive or become active - record or participate? Now probably - “suppress or report”? Its resonance is the hypocrisy and arrogance of US foreign policy - then supporting South American Juntas through the 1980s and 1990s - and now… It is based upon a true story - the the death of journalist Bill Stewart at the hands of a Nicarguan soldier was filmed by a TV crew and really did change the course of a Civil war - but not before countless “less important” deaths. The film is driven along by an excellent soundtrack, which sucks you in as the tension builds. Weaved in this is an inevitable but credible love story. The leads all give strong performances. I think this film has been rather overlooked - perhaps it said too many things the American public did not want to hear. Better than Salvador. A policitical drama and love story about a murder set in a war! Worth a watch.
Continue …

Continue …

If I asked you to name the major artists who have produced a body of work with strong religious themes, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Rembrandt would probably come to mind. Whomever you chose, chances are that Andy Warhol wouldn’t Continue

Pablo Picasso (Artists in Their World)

Loving Picasso: The Private Journal of Fernande Olivier
Fernande Olivier was Picasso’s first great love. Happily for us, she had a lively writing style and a keen eye for detail, evident throughout Loving Picasso: The Private Journal of Fernande Olivier. Illustrated with more than 80 contemporary photographs and paintings, the journal is a compulsively readable account of the quarrels, escapades, pleasures and privations of the young artist and his circle between 1905 and 1912. The two met when Olivier was working as an artist’s model, having escaped a loveless childhood and a disastrous early marriage. This book smoothly melds retranslated material from her 1933 memoir (Picasso et ses amis) with the posthumously published Souvenirs intimes and selections from her correspondence, including her plaintive letters to Alice B Toklas during a lonely holiday with Picasso in rural Spain. Honest to the point of bluntness, Olivier–whom Picasso eventually abandoned for Eva Gouel, a younger, more passive friend of hers–sums up her lover as a workaholic, an impulse buyer (when he had cash) of bric-a-brac and good furniture, a contrarian who found charm in wearing peculiar outfits and pretending he had no taste and a jealous lover who often kept her locked up when he went out. She describes their home, the Bateau Lavoir in Montmartre, as

A weird, squalid building echoing from morning to night with every kind of noise: discussion, singing, shouting, calling, the sound of buckets used to empty the toilet clattering noisily on the floor … doors slammed, suggestive moaning coming through the closed doors of the studios.

As Picasso biographer John Richardson relates in an afterword, Olivier never rebounded from her rejection by Picasso. Her middle years were dogged by faithless lovers, financial woes and Gertrude Stein’s deviousness–agreeing to help Olivier publish her memoirs, Stein instead wrote her own version of the era. –Cathy Curtis

Customer Review: A Challenging Life!
Loving Picasso is a book that will touch your heart, and my moisten your eyes.

When we visit a museum and see wonderful paintings of striking women, seldom do we think about the conditions under which the art was created. Did the artists and the model have a relationship? If so, what was it? Did they have enough to eat while the work was done? Were they considerate of one another? Was the studio warm or cold? What was the model thinking about as she posed? How had the woman come to model? And so on.

I will never look at another painting or sculpture again of a human model without being filled with such questions, as a result of reaching about the life of Fernande Olivier from her private journal, letters, and memoir as presented in Loving Picasso.

This beautiful, charming woman lived an extremely difficult life. It was so challenging that few could have emerged from such awful circumstances without being distorted in mind and personality. Yet, Ms. Olivier seems to have avoided both, and been a light in the life of her many male admirers, female friends, and an inspiration to Picasso in his most innovative years.

From the book’s title, you will think that the material is mostly about the years when Ms. Olivier and Picasso lived together, but that’s only about half the book. The book is really an autobiography through the time when the two split up for the final time in 1912.

Readers will be rewarded with many intriguing views of the lives of “starving” artists in Paris, the many distinguished friends of Picasso and Ms. Olivier, and how Picasso changed as he went from an unknown to one of the recognized leaders of avant-garde art along with Matisse.

Having read about Picasso’s troubled relationships with other women, I was surprised to see that his relationship with Ms. Olivier was one of the most pleasant and productive connections he had in his life. Certainly, he often chose her as a model for his work, and we will always see her as the young person she was then. Many other details in here will either surprise or shock you about Picasso, and expand your understanding of his creative methods and personality.

One of the most charming parts of the book can be found in the many images of places where she lived, the people she knew, the paintings and sculptures for which she was the model, and her own drawings.

For those who have enjoyed Gertrude Stein’s, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, you will probably be interested to know that Ms. Olivier’s writing is considered to be a more accurate and complete version of many of the same events.

After you finish this rewarding memoir of a most unique person, I suggest that you think about what the purpose of life is. That’s a question with which Ms. Olivier had trouble coming to grips.

Follow your purpose!

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anamorphic widescreen 16:9 40 min bonusmaterial and trailers uncensored and unedited backside in dutch english audio with removeable dutch subtitles
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Picasso: My Grandfather Customer Review: Understanding Picasso
Picasso lived a contradictory life, dedication to art and big causes but failure to love and support his own family. Marina Picasso shows the devastating effects of living in the shadow of a genius.

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