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| J.C. Leyendecker - The Great American Illustrator | 
 enlarge | Director: Amy Stone
Actor: Ossie Davis
Studio: Kultur Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $17.99
You Save: $2.00 (10%)
Buy New/Used from $11.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 72885
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 45 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 076972244X
UPC: 032031224490
EAN: 9780769722443
ASIN: B00006RCMS
Release Date: September 24, 2002
Theatrical Release Date: 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
J.C. Leyendecker was the most successful illustrator of his time, creating over 500 paintings for magazine covers - including 322 for the Saturday Evening Post - and advertisements that made his clients famous. His paintings portrayed a lifestyle that resonated with millions of Americans. Even when depicting those issues that mattered most - a woman's right to vote, the economic woes of the Depression, victory over Nazi Germany - he never employed a heavy hand or a dark mood; his images were always full of human warmth and imagination. Leyendecker told the story of consumerism as if it were lyric poetry; replacing the turbulence of cultural history with a beauteous glance, a beguiling child, a muscular vision, or a gentle hand.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Not as mainstream as he appeared November 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a pretty interesting film. Ossie Davis was an unusual choice of narrator, but certainly perfectly adequate. Having a strong interest in graphics I had always disregarded Leyendecker as a banally commercial artist, but the interviews here provide more insight into his life and artistic contribution. It's ironic that he was gay, given the very conservative image he presented in his paintings - some good close ups here. He had a long and apparently happy relationship with the football player-type model depicted in many of his works. Of course, they should not have been allowed to obtain any emotional security by marrying, since that would destroy the institution of marriage on earth and probably precipitate the Second Flood.
An artist in his time November 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really don't understand the very negative tone of many of the customer reviews here. This film struck me as a very well done piece that appreciates the talent of this underrated artist, and perhaps equally importantly sets him in the context of his time. There are many splendid close-ups of the works, and the various people interviewed on screen are articulate and well qualified to comment.
Leyendecker's virtuosity and humor are well illustrated, and the issues generated by his necessarily concealed homosexuality covered in detail. The technical commentary is enlightening, and the inevitable comparisons to Norman Rockwell are intelligently investigated; quite a bit of professional jealousy there, it seems.
After viewing, I feel I understand a great deal more about the man and his art. I'm glad to see him receiving some of the credit he deserves.
 Slap Dash July 24, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
To start on a positive note, it's nice to see anything available that attempts to explore the art of J. C. Leyendecker. So little is known of the man and so few recognize his name. That being said, this DVD offers little else to praise. And while I am appreciative of the creator's attempts to shed some light on the artist and his work, it seems they themselves know so little about their subject. The tone of the entire thing is sort of strange - from the music to the narration (my apologies Mr. Davis) a mood is never achieved or maintained. Even the interviews come off disjointed and random. For fans of the artist this is a review of what most already know or, rather, reminding us of what we don't know about the man. I remember viewing a much more comprehensive and insightful documentary on Leyendecker in college. Where that came from, I am not certain. I had hoped this might be it. I was sadly mistaken. So, for potential buyers, I say skip it. There's nothing you can't find online in this breezy doc.
Sorry J.C, you deserve so much more.... February 3, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
(I would have given this film a ZERO but 1 star is the lowest I was allowed to choose.)
We all waited so long for a really wonderful , beautiful film about this great artist ,but what we got was an insult. This"film" is the most dreadfull piece of rubbish imaginable. All involved should be ashamed of themselves.
It starts with an extremely annoying jumble of flash images of Leyendeckers work, put to an obnoxious(and inappropriate) jazz track that is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Then Ossie Davis (a good man, but he couldnt have been a worse choice for this project) does his best to narrate this incredibly inept and superficial look at an important 20th century artist. The interviews are worthless, with no one offering any real insight into this mans complex life, not to mention his contributions to pop culture.
I guess the reason im so upset is that this artist deserves so much more than this truly pathetic attempt ,that fails so miserably on all levels.
Hopefully a real filmaker will take on this neglected artist and put the same love and respect into a film bio , that Leyendecker himself put into his art. He truly deserves it. Thanks for listening.
 Subject matter is extraordinary, but this documentary is not May 5, 2005
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
J.C. Leyendecker's work remains an enduring staple of American illustration, instantly recognizable for his SATURDAY EVENING POST covers as well as his well-tailored gentlemen in fashion magazines. Yet little is known about the man himself, a reclusive and private figure whose name became overshadowed by his onetime apprentice, Norman Rockwell. This documentary earns a special place, if only for focussing on a subject rarely discussed outside major art circles. Alas, "J.C. Leyendecker - The Great American Illustrator" is neither a particularly insightful or well-made program, and one can't help but wish that someone hadn't done the artist justice. Awkwardly edited, jarringly photographed, with only a bare bones description of Levendecker's private life (the film merely glosses over the artist's checkered relationship with his brother -- a successful artist in his own right, but plagued with personal demons, as well as Leyendecker's homosexuality and his friendship/rivalry with Norman Rockwell), the documentary loses focus, giving little insight into either the man or his art. While images of his paintings are voluminous, they flash by so quickly that we're never given the opportunity to explore their meaning, or Leyendecker's marvelous artistic technique. The narration by Ossie Davis, while he is a tremendous talent, feels inappropriate to the material. Worse still is the selection of jazz music that must be two decades out of place from the source.
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