| View Larger Image | Masters of Illusion [VHS] | VHS TapeStarring: Masters of Illusion
| List Price: | $19.95 | |
| | Binding: | VHS Tape | | Rating: |  | | Run Time: | 30 minutes | | Format: | Color, NTSC | | Studio: | Homevision | | Number of Discs: | 1 | | Release Date: | June 13, 2000 | | Sales Rank: | 15,385th |
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Description
The extraordinary special effects we enjoy in films today are based on principles established more than 500 years ago by Renaissance masters such as Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Raphael. This film examines artistic and scientific discoveries of the Renaissance, provides new insight into a remarkable visual revolution, and uses modern technology to analyse the old masters in amazing new ways. |
Amazon.com
This documentary hosted by James Burke is a fascinating examination of the concept of how we see things, specifically how images that appear to our eyes to be three-dimensional are rendered convincingly on flat surfaces. Starting out in a movie studio special effects lab, Burke explains how visual illusions practiced today actually began during the Renaissance, when painters first mastered the skills of incorporating the idea of depth into paintings. The principle of "linear perspective," in which parallel lines all diverge to a common vanishing point, sounds complicated, but the examples shown in this documentary make the idea perfectly clear to the layperson. By way of contrast, paintings completed before the Renaissance are shown, and it's immediately clear to the viewer that artists who hadn't mastered perspective drew scenes that appear flat on the canvas. But when artists such as Brunelleschi and Michelangelo practiced using perspective, art suddenly jumped forward. Quotes from Leonardo da Vinci's writings, in which he talked about perspective and the effects of light, are offered along with examples of his paintings that illustrate beautifully how a master used a scientific principle to create great art. This is an unusual documentary that makes fascinating a subject that most people have never considered, though it relates to things we see everyday. --Robert J. McNamara |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 11 reviews)
|
OVERPRICED!!!! by Anonymous  1 Stars
June 07, 2009
I am an educator and am highly insulted that someone out there is pricing a thirty minute "educational video" at such an absurd price! I would have been interested in having this video to help my students learn about perspective drawing, but I guess my students will just have to miss out on watching this video due to money hungry sellers on Amazon.
| |
Excellent, but beware of errors by David H. Peterzell (San Diego, CA United States)  5 Stars
July 16, 2006
I enjoyed watching the video and have used portions of it in the university classes that I teach. Technically, it is quite good and the story line is captivating. But the slick production value of the video doesn't guarantee that they got all the facts right. I've heard grumblings about the National Gallery focusing on famous artists, giving them more credit for innovations than they deserve. For instance, Durer was a great artist, but the makers of this film give too much credit. Durer's contributions to linear perspective are overstated in the video, and his understanding of linear perspective was actually quite poor. I found it helpful to supplement my understanding by reading articles by Christopher Tyler (available online) that clarify the history and facts surrounding the development of linear perspective. Tyler is one of the great unheralded scientists of our generation, so take a look at his work in this area (mostly available online, via the Smith-Kettlewell website, I think).
| |
Great film for Renaissance History Class by Theresa M. Flannery (Lakewood, Co USA)  4 Stars
February 16, 2006
I teach World History and this film is a very good introduction to the art of the Renaissance and the technology behind it. Beautiful examples of art with many of the Masters of the Renaissance included. It is also short, which helps to keep students engaged and interested! I really like this one!
| |
Interesting But Not Outstanding by Rosemary West (Mission Hills, CA United States)  3 Stars
March 26, 2005
I bought this because it was used in a class I am taking and I wanted to review it. The price seems high for such a short (about 30 minutes) tape. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable and educational. It summarizes how the painters of the Renaissance developed mathematical models that enabled them to create realistic-looking perspective in their work, so that a flat painting could appear three-dimensional. The past is linked with the present, since these same principles are still being used today to create realistic sets and special effects for movies. The material should be easily understood by anyone at a high school level or above.
| |
INEXCUSABLE by Martin Wolman (San Franciso, CA USA) 1 Stars
November 16, 2004
THIS VERY SHORT VIDEO (NOT 30 MINUTES LONG) HAS UNACCEPTABLE POOR SOUND AND BADLY RECORDED IMAGES. THE CONTENT WAS FASCINATING BUT THE TECHNICAL PROBLEMS MADE THIS VIDEO UNWATCHABLE. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern
by Carol Strickland (Author)
This second edition of Carol Strickland's The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern offers an illustrated tutorial of prehistoric to post-modern art from cave paintings to video art installations to digital and Internet media.Featuring succinct page-length essays, instructive sidebars, and more than 300 photographs, The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern takes art history out of the realm of dreary...
| 
| Perspective Made Easy
by Ernest R. Norling (Author)
Perspective is easy; yet surprisingly few artists know the simple rules that make it so. Now they can remedy that situation with this step-by-step book, the first devoted entirely to clarifying the laws of perspective. Using over 250 simple line drawings, the author leads the reader through every important concept, from horizon to vanishing point to the crucial relationship of eye level to perspective drawing. 256 illus.
| 
| Simon Schama's Power of Art
Starring: Simon Schama
Beautiful. Fascinating. Emotional. Art is all of the above. But only a few are powerful. These are the works that not only lift you off your feet in their sheer artistry, they forever alter the human psyche. Focusing on eight iconic works of art, Power of Art reveals the history of visual imagination through the ages, from the murderous world of baroque Rome to paranoid, revolutionary Paris; from the carnage of civil-war Spain to the paradox of 1950s New York, caught between Cold War jitters...
| 
| Guns, Germs, and Steel
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book and national best seller, Guns, Germs, and Steel is an epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal. Professor Jared Diamond traveled the globe for over 30 years trying to answer the biggest question of world history. Why is the world so unequal? The answers he found were simple yet extraordinary. Our destiny depends on geography and access to: Guns, Germs, and Steel. Weaving together anthropology and science with...
| 
| The Beatles (The White Album)
by The Beatles
Better known as the "White Album," this was meant to be the record that brought them back to earth after three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at the height of their powers, with Lennon in particular growing into one of rock's towering figures. But even McCartney could still rock, and the amazement on "Helter Skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. From Beach Boys...
|
|
|
![Masters of Illusion [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518CDK23WFL._SL160_.jpg)
