Publisher's Synopsis
"Five Films About Christo and Jeanne-Claude" chronicles a 30-year collaboration between the internationally renowned environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and acclaimed documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The Maysles brothers, along with such frequent co-filmmakers as Charlotte Zwerin and Susan Froemke, have captured the artists' enduring romantic and artistic relationship and the grandeur of their large-scale temporary public works. This series of award-winning films stands as a permanent document of the process, the political drama, the emotional investment, and the transforming effect the finished works have on all those who come into contact with them. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artistic undertakings are legendary. Whether they were surrounding islands off the coast of Florida in bright pink fabric, erecting a 24-mile-long, 18-foot-high fence of white cloth across two Northern California counties, or wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris, their monumental works become narratives of hope and triumph in the face of adversity. And the act of filming becomes a project in and of itself, with the filmmakers present every step of the way, from planning and permission, to execution and display of these temporary artworks.
This three-DVD set is the most complete motion picture collaboration ever released between filmmakers and artists. Five award-winning films are included: "Christo's Valley Curtain" (1974), "Running Fence" (1978), "Islands" (1986), "Christo in Paris" (1990), and "Umbrellas" (1995). Each film has been digitally remastered with new transfers supervised by Albert Maysles, and the whole is presented along with new interviews and an 82-page, full-color booklet featuring stills, drawings and essays.
