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Frazetta: Painting with Fire

Frazetta: Painting with Fire (2003)

January. 01,2003
|
7.5
| Documentary

A documentary on the life of painter Frank Frazetta, who revolutionized science fiction, fantasy and comic art with breathtaking realistic paintings of fantastic heroes, most famously Conan the Barbarian.

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Steineded
2003/01/01

How sad is this?

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Platicsco
2003/01/02

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

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Curapedi
2003/01/03

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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Zlatica
2003/01/04

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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Stango Tigerfists
2003/01/05

Right up front, I'm a Frazetta fanatic and have been since childhood. I am among those who bought a few too many mediocre Conan paperbacks from Waldenbooks in the early 80s because I had to own the Frazetta covers. Since there is no other documentary on his life and work to choose from, I am extremely grateful for the existence of this film and for the efforts of those who made it.The film features a lot of well-known fantasy and comic books artists, and various other industry insiders who have a great appreciation for Frazetta's work. They do a good job of explaining what makes his artwork remarkable and inspiring to a certain subculture of geeks and fans (and famous filmmakers), and why the quality of his work transcends the genre in which he attained fame and success.There's also an undercurrent of defensiveness about the lack of critical acclaim directed toward Frazetta from anyone outside of the sci-fi/fantasy industry, but it is never really addressed. I think the film would have benefited greatly from some critical voices, and that may have provided a more substantive context in which to consider his work. Instead the film is a bit of a fanboy product, and as much as I agree, Frazetta's career deserves more serious consideration than that.

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MARIO GAUCI
2003/01/06

Overlong but generally informative feature-length documentary on celebrated artist Frank Frazetta (whose work in comic strips influenced generations of designers), which is perhaps slightly too reverential towards its subject. His distinctive three-dimensional style (with which I was familiar, if not the artist's name) is discussed at length - as is Frazetta's personal life, including his recent health problems - and, of course, even features interjections from noted film-makers such as John Milius (who directed the Frazetta-influenced CONAN THE BARBARIAN [1982]) and Ralph Bakshi (with whom Frazetta collaborated on FIRE AND ICE [1983]). Still, one would have liked some narration to smooth over, i.e. put into context, the many anecdotes and opinions - rather than have 90 uninterrupted minutes of just 'talking heads'!

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Chung Mo
2003/01/07

Frazetta is one of those artists who's forceful creativity and technique overwhelms the field he's in and everyone labors in the shadow for years. Comics and fantasy illustration will never be the same because of this man and it will probably be a long time before someone steps into his shoes. A good analogy in films would be Hitchcock in the suspense thriller genre. Nobody has surpassed his mark yet. That said, this documentary partially succeeds in explaining the man behind the work. A lot of time is spent exclaiming about how great Frazetta is. This comes from friends, fans, fellow artists and, amusingly, Frazetta himself. Unfortunately the conceit here is that Frazetta spontaneously burst into his style and that hurts the film more then anything. Anyone with a smattering of 20th century illustration art history can see the influences that Frazetta took from. N.C. Wyeth immediately comes to mind with his color Verne illustrations. Extend that history into 19th century mythological paintings and you'll see more.What is missed under all the fawning over a bunch of naked barbarian women paintings is that Frazetta was one of the best "realist" painter of the 60's and 70's. Unfortunately that style was out of style and he probably would have never made a living if it wasn't for the paperback books and magazine covers. The documentary fizzles out about an hour in when it spends a great deal of time with the opening of the Frazetta museum. The rest of the film is good for hard-core Frazetta fans but not for anyone else. The constant mixing of live-action with Frazetta's work gets tiresome and there some flimsy contextual editing. At one point, when the film discusses Frazetta's illness (strokes) and how he trained his left hand to draw and paint, the film makers cut to some very odd drawings of naked women with male munchkins who sport large genitals. Sure he did them with his left hand but I'm sure there was something else they could have shown. A film that the typical male fantasy art fan can really enjoy. Everyone else....I'm not too sure.

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mightygeo
2003/01/08

Came upon this by accident on IFC and could not turn away from it. Practically everyone is familiar with Frazetta's work even if they don't realize it. Google him and you will see what I mean. The movie tells his story through numerous interviews with family, friends and co-workers. Very interesting as you see just how many people love his work and were influenced by it, especially in Hollywood. It also does a nice job of placing his work in historical context. I like Frazetta's work though I'm not a huge fan. The way this movie just captured me despite me not being a fanatic speaks a lot as to just how good this movie is. It's a true documentary that shows how you can entertain while staying true to form unlike some of the garbage that seems to win awards these days. Please watch this if you get a chance!

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