To me the power of this documentary was in the display of the stunning photographs of Bert Stern. To me they were not only stunning but could be highly provocative and erotic, capturing the personality of the person (usually a famous woman) that was being photographed.
The film traces Stern's career as he began to receive notoriety with his highly successful advertising campaign for Smirnoff Vodka(interesting to note that due to the moral codes of the 1950's women were not allowed to appear in liquor ads). He went on to be a major contributor to Vogue magazine, in the 60's. Also, Stern created the highly controversial movie posters and ads for the 1962 film "Lolita", which not only stirred up the censors but the general public.
Considered to be his most famous shoot was the "Last Sitting" photos of Marilyn Monroe shortly before her death, in '62. They captured Marilyn's sensual naked body covered in part by jewelry or sheer wraps. Just a note here that a number of photos in the film reveal either bare breasts or full frontal nudity of women, but to me they seemed professional and certainly not smutty.
I saw that Stern passed away earlier this year at the age of 83, as he was over 80 when the movie was being shot. He's telling the story of his life to the filmmaker Shannah Laumeister, whom he calls his muse while she maintains they have been soul mates for many years. Stern seems emotionless and monotone as he reveals his life, and possibly depressed at times.
There is some history of his personal life, which includes failed marriages due to womanizing and drug use. He became addicted to amphetamines which eventually led to his hearing voices, mania, and agoraphobia. He lost everything including his career and his money and ended up in Spain at the home of a friend.
Amazingly, having to return to the States for a divorce hearing, he made a startling comeback by photographing pills out of "The Physicians Desk Reference Book", for what became "The Pill Book", selling 17 million copies to date. It seemed to me there was a lot more to his story than was revealed, but I didn't really care as I was more interested in his photographic work.
As mentioned, the strength of this documentary was seeing the amazing ability of Stern to capture an image with his photographs. To me they seemed timeless, brilliant, and unforgettable.
The film traces Stern's career as he began to receive notoriety with his highly successful advertising campaign for Smirnoff Vodka(interesting to note that due to the moral codes of the 1950's women were not allowed to appear in liquor ads). He went on to be a major contributor to Vogue magazine, in the 60's. Also, Stern created the highly controversial movie posters and ads for the 1962 film "Lolita", which not only stirred up the censors but the general public.
Considered to be his most famous shoot was the "Last Sitting" photos of Marilyn Monroe shortly before her death, in '62. They captured Marilyn's sensual naked body covered in part by jewelry or sheer wraps. Just a note here that a number of photos in the film reveal either bare breasts or full frontal nudity of women, but to me they seemed professional and certainly not smutty.
I saw that Stern passed away earlier this year at the age of 83, as he was over 80 when the movie was being shot. He's telling the story of his life to the filmmaker Shannah Laumeister, whom he calls his muse while she maintains they have been soul mates for many years. Stern seems emotionless and monotone as he reveals his life, and possibly depressed at times.
There is some history of his personal life, which includes failed marriages due to womanizing and drug use. He became addicted to amphetamines which eventually led to his hearing voices, mania, and agoraphobia. He lost everything including his career and his money and ended up in Spain at the home of a friend.
Amazingly, having to return to the States for a divorce hearing, he made a startling comeback by photographing pills out of "The Physicians Desk Reference Book", for what became "The Pill Book", selling 17 million copies to date. It seemed to me there was a lot more to his story than was revealed, but I didn't really care as I was more interested in his photographic work.
As mentioned, the strength of this documentary was seeing the amazing ability of Stern to capture an image with his photographs. To me they seemed timeless, brilliant, and unforgettable.