5 Films About Christo & Jeanne-Claude

Art critics hold very different views of Christo, the Bulgarian-born, New York-based artist known for his large-scale public display pieces involving landmarks and (literally) tons of cloth and wiring. Some consider him a master of transitory grandiosity; others see him as a flamboyant charlatan. Whatever one's opinion of his extravagant projects, you have to admire the efforts of documentarian Albert Maysles to record his endeavors over the years (lending them permanence) while also offering an inside view of the creative process, which in Christo's case often involves complicated and frustrating negotiations with politicians and landowners. This three-disc set includes five films made between 1974 and 1995 covering a handful of high profile projects: spreading an orange curtain between two Colorado mountains, putting a 24½-mile white fabric fence across northern California, arranging a vast quantity of pink cloth around the contours of 11 islands in Miami's Biscayne Bay, wrapping the Pont Neuf in Paris in tan fabric, and opening thousands of huge umbrellas simultaneously in Japan and southern California (other famous Christo undertakings, such as the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, are mentioned only in passing). Capturing both the staggering logistical problems involved in the projects, as well as the almost fanatical devotion of the artist and his wife Jeanne-Claude, this handsome collection serves as a fine introduction to the impressive, if controversial, examples of the massive art in which Christo specializes. DVD extras include audio commentaries by Christo, Jeanne-Claude, and Maysles on all five films, a chatty conversation/interview in which the trio talk about their long collaboration, and an 82-page color booklet. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)