The Impressionists [DVD] [2006]

Wonderful miniseries that gives us a glimpse of the people behind their world-famous, well-loved paintings. The passion of these young, struggling artists shines through in every scene, their lust and love for light, nature and the simple, elegant beauty of everyday life. It made me want to pause the dvd and take a trip to the museum immediately to look at their amazing, moving works! To us, the modern audience, it seems ridiculous, implausible almost that these paintings were once rejected as vulgar, unprofessional, "unfinished" and crude. They are so filled to the brim with light and life, how could the people of the time not see it? This series does well in not only portraying the young artists and their almost ferocious need for beauty and art (as well as their financial and personal struggles, that for some of them lasted a lifetime) but also the restraints and ridicule they had to endure from the conservative minds and politics of their time. It takes persistance and a brave heart to break the mould of convention, and these men collectively smashed it with a passion that is to this day truly inspiring. And when the classical works of their time are still displayed in museums and admired for their technical skill, the paintings of these artists are admired and loved throughout the world for their colour, their vibrance, their passion and their sheer life. They persisted and together, in their own unique ways, changed art forever. The scene where a young Monet is painting at Les Grenouilles, using bright, bold colours and brushstrokes, and tells Renoir that "we can never go back from this moment" sent a shiver down my spine. He was right.I'll admit that I mainly bought this for Richard Armitage, and he's brilliant as the passionate (his face beams with an infectious enthusiasm when he paints or describes the beauty he sees in the world around him), but also naieve young Claude Monet through who's eyes we see this world. But the rest of the cast is just as good, and I was drawn in completely from the get go. It was filmed on locations in lush, sunny France, and many times the scenery itself seems like a painting. The paintings themselves are the beats of the story, as they should be, each being shown in all its glory after the scenes where we see how, where and most importantly, why, they came into being.A series that re-kindled my love for the impressionists and the beauty of nature and that I'll gladly re-watch many more times to come!

I can't do justice to this in the way that other reviewers have but it:*was so beautifully shot that it was like a painting in itself*taught me things that I didn't know about the relationships between the artists*made me want to go and just gaze at the pictures*made me want to visit monets garden in giverney*made me wish I had any artistic talent at allhad me wishing that it had been twice as long and covered the stories in much more depth.Oh and for those of you out there just thinking of buying this because it has the spectacularly beautiful Richard Armitage in it, you won't be disappointed, I was rather delighted to find that as a man of 25-26 which I think he was when this was made, he was slightly gawky skinny and less polished than now but just as good to watch on screen.Sparkhouse is still my favourite piece of his work if only for the most excruciatingly embarrasing sex scene in TV history acted so well that I was squirming with sympathy for many weeks at the thought of it!!!

A 3-part series from the BBC made in 2006; a dramatised telling of the history of Impressionism based on archive material and told principally from the point of view of Claude Monet.This is the kind of thing the BBC do very well and it's entertaining, moving and informative; where it falls down is in those artists who are not mentioned, and this is a fairly irritating and rather serious flaw; Pissarro, Sisley, Caillebotte, Cassatt, Morisot and Guillaumin (who outlived Monet by a year) are not even mentioned - each an important contributor to Impressionism - any and all are serious omissions.As a general entertainment for the casual viewer it's certainly a fair introduction to some of the artists in the movement, and it does provide a good representation of those painters upon whom it centres – but it isn't an historically rounded picture of Impressionism.The UK DVD contains the 3 hour-long episodes with little in the way of useful extras – a photo gallery (of scenes from the film, not paintings) short artists biographies and actor's filmographies.There are no subtitles. 3 ½ stars due to the narrowness of it's scope.

In an interview on Desperate Romantics DVD the director states that he didn't want to film the usual life of a painter with Monet standing in a field saying I want to paint the light! Unfortunately I feel that this is the series he is referring to.It has a strong cast, it provides a factual overview of the Impressionists and the filming locations seem realistic. However, I could have lived without the elderly Monet's voiceover as it's viewpoint was mainly in retrospect. I would have preferred the focus to have been on the actors and to have been more engaged with the "present". Personally I didn't feel I "learnt" anything about the artists but maybe that is because I have read a lot about the group previously.This was originally broadcast in the Sunday afternoon slot on BBC 1 and if intended as a layman's introduction to the group it fills the brief. Pleasant viewing.

I watched this film several times on YouTube and downloaded it in its three parts onto my RealPlayer so as not to lose it. However, when I saw it on Amazon I wanted a copy for myself to take about with me to watch on my lap top or DVD player. I was glad I did this for the resolution etc. was so much better than the download and made it even better to watch and enjoy. The actor who played Monet at the beginning was almost exact to a clip I downloaded of Monet painting at Giverney in his garden in 1915 from YouTube. It is a BBC film based on original letters and interviews with Claude Monet which makes it even more interesting and factual. The lives of Cezanne, Degas, Manet and Renoir etc. are all there. The film is informative, entertaining, including the wit and humour of these great painters. A great film of 175 minutes of inspiration and learning to paint like the masters. I sent one to my brother in Scotland as a birthday present.

Von der DVD konnte ich wirklich einen Haufen über das Lebe der darauf portraitierten Maler lernen. Ich wusste ja nicht, dass sich diese Maler alle gekannt haben. Wenn die zusammen Mal-Ausflüge unternommen haben, ist mir jetzt auch klar, dass es teilweise die gleichen Sujet von verschiedenen Maler gibt.Natürlich könnte man über jeden Einzelnen dieser aussergewöhnlichen Männer eine eigene Mini-Serie drehen. Für mich war die Serie viel zu schnell fertig.Was mir vor allem gut gefallen hat, ist dass man im Film die Maler in einer Landschaft stehen und pinseln sieht und am Schluss das Original kurz eingeblendet wird.Ich kann die DVD wirklich jedem empfehlen.

Like many others, I found the series illuminating, especially the role the Franco-Prussian war played so many of their lives. I found at least two odd omissions: the two most prominent female Impressionists (Cassatt & Morisot) do not exist in this film, & nor does Pissario. His work was part of all the Impressionist exhibitions alluded to in the film. In academic terms, Pissario was was both an Impressionist & a Neo-impressionist & while those classifications may not be intrinsically interesting to a viewer, they do raise questions about who was featured & why. Cezanne, who is featured, is generally considered more of NeoImpressionist, so why tell his story & not even allude to these others? Morisot was Manet's sister-in-law: could nothing of her contributions be recognized during the focus on him? I recognize that the film is supposed to be a both entertaining as well educational, & a 3-part TV show cannot sustain too many narrative threads. That said, it might have been interesting if the film had at least left open the possibility of some narrative threads being opened in one or more sequels. Despite these quibbles, I quite enjoyed the show & only wish it had been longer & more comprehensive.One other small note: I'm a big fan of Amanda Root's. Delighted to see her.

I loved The Impressionists so much I actually began loving the Impressionist art, which I previously didn't appreciate too much.It was particularly pleasant seeing the actual paintings with their titles and dates.I enjoyed the episodes and at the end I realised I had learned more things with this doumentary than I had in high school

I always loved the Impressionists and when I discovered a movie had been made by the BBC about them, I couldn't resist to see it... in part too because Monet is played by Richard Armitage (the great and handsome actor who played Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood BBC or John Thornton in the wonderful adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South).This is a mini-serie of 3 episodes telling us how the Impressionists appeared and how they struggle to survive in a world who wasn't ready for them.You will meet Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas... and see some of their most beautiful works.The movie is only in English and even if I'm French I didn't need the subtitle (also only in English) to understand it as it is really well played. I'm just so ashamed that France, Impressionists' cradle, never bought this amazing mini-serie...[...]- you can find here the complete review I made about the mini-serie on my blog.

This mini series is so well done. The cast are wonderful, bringing to life Monet,Manet,Degas,Renoir,Bazille and Cezanne.Julian Glover is lovely as the older Monet looking back on his life and friendship with the other painters. A glimpse of some of the famous works of the artists are shown throughout the series.