This three-DVD set is the most complete motion picture collaboration ever released between filmmakers and artists. Spanning 30 years, this unique DVD package shows the passion, vision and complexity of the environmental art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The five award-winning films have been digitally remastered with new transfers supervised by Albert Maysles and presented with new interviews, feature commentary on all five films by Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Albert Maysles, an 82-page full-color booklet with an introduction by Albert Maysles, an essay by film critic Charles Taylor and a detailed history of the projects with exclusive photos, technical details, film stills and credits. This deluxe box will be released in association with Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P.).

FIVE FILMS ABOUT CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE chronicles a 30-year collaboration between acclaimed documentary filmmakers Albert and his late brother David Maysles (GIMME SHELTER, SALESMAN, GREY GARDENS), and the internationally renowned environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Maysles Brothers, along with such frequent co-filmmakers as Charlotte Zwerin and Susan Froemke, have captured the artists' enduring relationship and the grandeur of their large scale temporary public works. This series 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 in contact with them.

These huge undertakings, such as surrounding eleven islands in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, erecting a 24-mile-long/18-foot-high fence in two Northern California counties or hanging a giant curtain between two mountains in Rifle Gap, Colorado, become stories of hope and triumph in the face of adversity. The act of filming becomes the project itself, as the filmmakers are present every step of the way from planning, approval, execution and display of these temporary artworks.

The release of FIVE FILMS ABOUT CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE anticipates The Gates Project for Central Park, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's newest public work which will be making its appearance in February 2005, along with a major touring exhibition on the project debuting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in April 2004. Once again, Maysles Films will be documenting the entire process.

"[The Maysles Brothers] have made a compelling statement about the artist and society; Christo's success becomes personal, artistic and allegorical triumph." -Desson Howe, THE WASHINGTON POST

"The Christos' projects and our films are both outrageous acts of faith." -Albert Maysles

The DVD set:

DISC 1:

CHRISTO'S VALLEY CURTAIN a film by the Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Ellen Hovde
1974, 28 minutes
The first collaboration between the Maysles Brothers and the Christos and recipient of an Academy Award Nomination, CHRISTO'S VALLEY CURTAIN celebrates the dramatic hanging of a huge orange curtain between two Colorado mountains and the powerful effect it has on a community.

"By far the finest film I have ever seen about an artist and his work."
- Calvin Tompkins, THE NEW YORKER

RUNNING FENCE a film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin
1978, 58 minutes
An engrossing document of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's efforts to build a 24 1/2-mile-long, 18-foot-high fence of white fabric across the hills of northern California. The artists' struggle with local ranchers, environmentalists and state bureaucrats ends when the fence is unfurled, reuniting the community in a celebration of beauty.

"One of the most exhilarating hours of your life."
- Judith Crist, THE NEW YORK POST

"Shows America at its very best. I was quite literally moved to tears."
- John Walker, Director Emeritus, National Gallery of Art

DISC 2:

ISLANDS a film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin
1986, 57 minutes
A film that further explores the artists' fusion of culture, environment and politics. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's fight for permission to surround eleven islands in Miami's Biscayne Bay with 6.5 million square feet of bright pink fabric, interwoven with their struggle to wrap the Pont-Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin.

"A wryly funny and ultimately beautiful film. Splendid."
- Bill Cosford, THE MIAMI HERALD

"Captures the shimmering tropical poetry of blossoms more epic than any painted by Monet."
- Manuela Hoelterhoff, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

CHRISTO IN PARIS a film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Deborah Dickson and Susan Froemke
1990, 58 minutes
Winner of the Grand Prize at the Amsterdam Film Festival and Best Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, CHRISTO IN PARIS explores Christo's escape from Bulgaria, his early years as a struggling artist, his romance with Jeanne-Claude and the fulfillment of a ten-year obsession: the wrapping of the Pont-Neuf in Paris.

"Never did anyone look at the Pont Neuf as much as the day it was hidden... Christo teaches us to see."
- Jack Lang, French Minister of Culture

DISC 3:

UMBRELLAS a film by Albert Maysles, Henry Corra, Grahame Weinbren
1995, 81 minutes
East and West are brought together through the medium of art: 1,340 blue umbrellas are opened in a rice-farming valley in the Japanese province of Ibaraki, and 1,760 yellow umbrellas across a cluster of cattle ranches in the rolling hills of southern California. A beautiful journey filled with both triumph and tragedy.

"An ambitious documentary about an ambitious environmentalist art project. UMBRELLAS unfolds as an increasingly suspenseful drama." - Howard Feinstein, VARIETY
Further Information:

INTERVIEW
- New video interview. Albert Maysles, Christo and Jeanne-Claude discuss their friendship, the films, and their ongoing collaboration as well as the upcoming Gates Project for New York City's Central Park.

AUDIO COMMENTARY
- Feature commentary on all five films by Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Albert Maysles

BOOKLET:
82-page full-color booklet contains:
- An introduction by Albert Maysles
- An essay by film critic Charles Taylor
- a detailed history of the projects with exclusive photos, technical details, film stills and credits.

Catalog Number: MC-348	Type: Collection / Set	Genre: Art / Artist
Copyright: 2004	Length: 282 minutes	Format:  DVD  Region: 0 (All)
TV System: NTSC	ISBN:	UPC: 082354001728
Label: Plexifilm

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2006-12-13   By Kendall H. Gelner I was at the Gates in New York, and based on that great experience I viewed a few of these DVD's as rentals. I have only seen the Valley Curtain and Running Fence films, but based on that I am ordering the set to keep. The films themselves of course are a little dated and not perfect transfers by any means, as they are older films made with older equipment and not a lot of effort was made to improve the video quality over the original material. But the original film work itself is very well done (even in sometime very challenging conditions) and the director did a great job capturing the essence of what it is to put up these projects that operate on such a large scale. The Running Fence one was especially good in this regard as it covered a number of public hearings and talks with the ranchers involved well before any construction showing people arguing against the projects. However that is not the best part of these films. The best part is the commentary tracks which seem to have all been done in 2004 (sometime just before the Gates opened), and include Jeanne-Claude, Christo, and the film maker himself. All of them are very interesting and have a lot to say throughout the film, including a lot of information you'll not get from the films alone. As these were all pretty recent commentaries it also allows for much more interesting perspective in commentary as they can compare some aspects of these older works to more recent ones. For anyone interested in the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, this is a must-watch set of films and will give you great insights into their thought process.

2006-12-13   By Amanda Hooker This elegant package from the independent DVD publisher Plexifilm chronicles the long-running and unique collaboration between the contemporary installation artist Christo, his creative partner and wife Jeanne-Claude and acclaimed documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles (Salesman and Grey Gardens). The series of award-winning films spanning from 1974 to 1995 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 in contact with them. The vision of Christo and Jeanne-Claude creates a whirlwind of controversy in many of the communities where they install their work. Known for projects as seemingly incomprehensible as surrounding islands around Miami in flamboyantly pink fabric and using fabric to disguise the Pont Neuf in Paris, the pair aim to change the way people view their surroundings -- both natural and manmade drawing attention to the collision between art and everyday life. The documented works in this series are Valley Curtain (Colorado, 1974), Running Fence (California, 1978), Islands (Florida, 1986), Pont Neuf (Paris, 1990) and Umbrellas (A joint project for Japan and USA, 1995). Each film has a similar way of presenting Christo's art projects, but are different enough to work very well as a whole, capturing the impact, controversy, humor, and ultimate glory of Christo's wondrous vision. My previous experience of and exposure to Christo’s diverse projects have all been through reproductions in various publications, so upon viewing these films I was excited at the possibility of these works being brought to life. In Valley Curtain, Christo endeavors to hang a large orange curtain between two Colorado Mountains. The film is an intimate account and practical realization of installing a project of this scale within a natural environment. The shortest and first film in the series Valley Curtain marks the beginning of the captivating look at Christo and Jeanne-Claude whilst at work. In this initial film you can see that to capture Christo’s work on film enhances it and now I cannot imagine the works existing without the moving images of documentation. Until watching these films I was not aware that Christo and Jeanne-Claude self-financed all of their expensive installations with the sales of Christo’s preparatory drawings, collages, scale models and sculptures. In Umbrellas Jeanne-Claude was asked if that project was the most expensive to which she replied “No” and continued to say, “Each project costs us everything we have and everything we can borrow”. Self-financing their project allows Christo total creative control. Each film addresses new territory that the previous left out, while Valley Curtain focuses on the conceptual and engineering realization of the project Christo in Paris delves into Christo’s grounding in art history and exposing his personal and working relationship with Jeanne-Claude. Highlighted through out the films are people’s reactions to Christo’s work and this is one of the most intriguing aspects of these documentaries for me. In some films his audience have said of his work to be “conceptually offensive”, “environmentally hazardous” and that “it is just not art”. These opinions are counterbalanced by other’s reactions to the completed work which illustrate Christo’s sentiments that “Before everything, it is beautiful”. All five films were shot on 16mm, creating the vibrant colours throughout and while sharpness and contrast at first can be distracting are typical of the film stocks used and assist to create a sense of time in the works. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work are accompanied by an engaging 2004 interview between Christo, Jeanne-Claude, and Albert Maysles (David Maysles died in 1987), and an 80-page booklet including Taylor's excellent essay and detailed statistics on each of the featured projects. Five Films about Christo and Jeanne-Claude is a timeless testament to Christo's assertion that "all of our art is about freedom". It comes as no surprise, then, that the experience of viewing these inspiring films is both liberating and enlightening.

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