The Mystery of Picasso 12/14/21

Art theaters of the 1950s art theaters often featured documentary films about great painters and this may be the most significant example. Fresh from his shocker Diabolique director Henri-Georges Clouzot instigated an ingenious filmic experiment that works in surprising ways. We don’t just see Pablo Picasso paint, we see him on task through highly creative means, sketching and painting in a way that we can often watch his face at the same time. Some of it done by painting on glass, and other filming methods are more mysterious. Clouzot changes the screen format halfway through, from flat 1:37 to anamorphic CinemaScope. Milestone has combined the short feature with a number of useful extras, creating a special treat for followers of art. On Blu-ray from Milestone/Kino.
12/14/21