Antonio Gaudi: Amazon.ca: Isidro Puig Boada, Seiji Miyaguchi, Junichi Segawa, Ryu Segawa, Yoshikazu Yanagida, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Eiko Yoshida, Noriko Nomura: DVD

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Creator of one of the most bizarre and organic styles in the history of architecture, Antonio Gaudi Cornet, Spain's national treasure, was blessed with not only the vision, but the patronage that allowed him to build his elaborate and surreal designs. With Antonio Gaudi, Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman in the Dunes) gives a tour of the makings of Gaudi's world. Almost entirely without narration, Teshigahara guides us instead with an eerie score by Toru Takemitsu and a few subtitles. The film is more a poem than a documentary, but don't expect an approach similar to Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi. Instead we are given a quiet soundtrack that mixes Takemitsu's sparse score with the natural sounds surrounding Gaudi's structures, and a stationary camera presents the buildings as if they have sprouted: supports seem to magically erupt from the ground like roots, and our eyes are led through the textures and patterns of Gaudi's elaborate mosaic stone and brick designs. Visually revealing and comprehensive, Teshigahara leaves us with only one thing to do--to view Gaudi's amazing world with our own eyes. --Ted Sonnenschein

Video Details

A spellbinding visual journey through the enchanted world of the great Spanish architect whose work influenced Picasso, Miro and Dali. A mind-blowing sensory experience like "Koyaanisqatsi," this film follows every curve of Gaudi's colorful, organic--and sometimes even erotic--architecture. Like "The Mystery of Picasso," Academy Award-nominated director Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman in the Dunes) captures the grand scope of the artist's creative genius. The haunting score by Toru Takemitsu helps bring the fantastical visions of this architectural celebrity to life.

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Beautifully captured images of Gaudi's work. Nov 11 2002

By Wayne E. Barry

When I first saw this film, I did not know what to expect. One thing is there is no dialogue, just footage of the glorious city of Barcelona and the effect Gaudi's work had on the place. It's beautiful, surreal and an extremely awe inspiring experience to view it all on film. There is a depth to this film which words cannot convey, only seeing this film can one appreciate Gaudi and the city of Barcelona. A city imbued with enormous beauty and creative genius. One can feel great pride for the Catalan people by just his (Gaudi's) example alone. Well worth your time to see!

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A boring bore and even more of the same! Nov 30 2001

By A Customer

Oh, boy! This is an interesting but unfortunately FAILED experiment. This long pseudo-artsy "documentary" provides nothing more than a series of shots of Gaudí's buildings presented with an annoying electronic background music which sounds like it belongs in a cheap thriller. There is NO commentary, although buildings are labelled at times. Judging by cars in the streets, it's a rather old material. Most of my students in a Spanish art class were either annoyed, bored, or fell asleep during the viewing of this material. On the positive side, the DVD format lets one access just one building at a time -- in small doses it may be more palatable.

Better have time to kill, but in a good way Aug 7 2001

By Christopher Robey

Although it knew the dialogue was going to be sparse, I had no idea it was going to be virtually non-existent ! Having visited Barcelona/Sagrada Familia, Park Guell in May 2001, I was extremely interested in seeing (again) the magnificent works of Gaudi, and hearing the intoxicating Catalan language. Thankfully this DVD provided striking images of the magnificent buildings, but what I missed was any sort of background on the man, his inspirations, schooling, etc. While I may be regulated to perusing books and other assorted publications to find out more about Gaudi, this video will provide stunning visuals. My favorite part ? When his student discussed Gaudi himself.