The Devine Michelangelo and Rapheal A Mortal God videos criticism - Essay Example

Explanation and Criticism of Selected Films Introduction Michelangelo feature as one of the skilled sculptors and architects of Renaissance art. The artist was born in Rome, Italy, in 1475 and died in 1564. Another renowned artist and architect of Renaissance period is Raphael. Raphael was born in Urbino, Italy in 1483 and died in 1520. In contemporary times, Raphael and Michelangelo are regarded as the leading figures of classic art in Italian Renaissance. Their skills and works are used as reference points of artistic excellence in art schools today.

Both artists lived more than five centuries ago. Facts surrounding their lives and artistic works have faded through time. In an effort to recreate and retell the stories of these two classical artists, BBC, in association with acclaimed directors like Bernard Hill and Sydney Kean, produced informative documentary films. These films are; Raphael – A Mortal God and The Devine Michelangelo. Raphael – A Mortal GodIn 2004, BBC created a drama-documentary on the life and works of Raphael. Raphael – A Mortal God was directed by John Holdsworth.

The film, which runs for 60 minutes, was released in January 2004. In the film, Bernard Hill takes the role of a background narrator. Among the key cast members include McKenna, acting as Pope Julius 2 and Joe McFadden acting as Raphael. The documentary is educational in nature (Weyant). It covers on the life and heydays of Raphael as one of the most colorful artists of Renaissance Italy. In order to enhance understanding, the documentary shows graphical representations of Raphael’s work. In addition, motion pictures depicting characters and scenes synonymous to those of Renaissance Rome are used.

Personally, I think the documentary on Raphael – A Mortal God is successfully inspired. As an educational documentary, Raphael – A Mortal God captures a viewer’s attention through a recognizable conflict between the characters and the environmental context of the story. As a means of developing the dramatic curve of Raphael’s story, Bernard Hill takes a reserved stage and narrates events in a contrasting manner. For example, Raphael succeeded as an artist because he employed experimental techniques instead of adhering to conventional artistic techniques of renaissance art.

In depicting Raphael’s conflict with conventional techniques of renaissance art, the film uses audio and visual medium in alienating the artist in respect to the background context (Weyant). Despite the documentary’s success in certain aspects, there is an apparent inadequacy in the use of motion pictures. In addition, the film’s quality is compromised by the relatively poor lighting of specific scenes. The Divine MichelangeloStill in the course of recreating stories of renaissance artists, BBC produced a documentary called The Divine Michelangelo.

The documentary is designed and produced impressively to retell the life and times of Michelangelo. Part 1 of the film, which runs for 120 minutes, was released in February 2004. Among the key cast of the film are Susannah York as the narrator and Stephen Noonan as Michelangelo. Direction of the film was a combined work of Stuart Elliot and Tim Dunn (Docheaven). The Divine Michelangelo starts by narrating the traumatic childhood of the artist and progresses to recreate the artistic genius that bolstered Michelangelo up to unprecedented heights of architectural esteem.

Theoretically, scholars and historians of Michelangelo assert that the artist’s works possessed such extraordinary beauty that people hesitated in believing that Michelangelo’s works were created by a mortal being. In the film, the immortal side of Michelangelo is depicted through unimaginable animations. The film starts with a seductive opening using cinematic portraits of Michelangelo’s works. The coordinated harmony between characters’ personalities, narration and contextually appropriate scenes produces a magnificent reconstruction of Michelangelo’s story.

One technical hitch of the documentary involves its length. As mentioned earlier, The Divine Michelangelo is a 120 minutes documentary. Despite being enjoyable, the film’s length makes viewers drop their attention.Works CitedWeyant, Calvin. “BBC – Raphael – A Mortal God” Online video. Youtube.com. September 23, 1013. Web. November 7, 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMDJhhbtqJQDocheaven. “BBC Documentary: The Divine Michelangelo Part 1” Online video. Youtube.com. July 27, 2013. Web. Nov 07, 2014.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T7qypR5n0c