The September Issue : A Vogue / Anna Wintour Documentary

[user.n.]

thanks to a sweet tfser i've been able to watch it before the DVD arrived.

(De rien )

I really like this docu beacause the director is not forcing any opinions just filming. The whole Grace thing is good, shows that she's the only human at US Vogue... But i don't want to disapprove the work of Anna. She's very very self-contained (remember the scene when she told her brothers/sisters opinion about her work).
Never say too much. Never be in an awkward situation. Always able to decide things. (no Hilary)

One of the best scene was the one with Pilati and the one in the elevator.
They don't need any comments because Anna's face was speaking... Same where Sienna welcomed her.
I loved the scene with Grace in Paris, too. She looked very lonely, sad and i wanted to give her a big hug.
But so true what she said to Edward E. Cruel but true.
Strange that Anna said in the past: "our jewel in the crown" [Grace]

Finally, i enjoyed this dodumentary so much. Great work. But missed Hamish. If i remember well, he appeared just for 4 seconds...
(Less Virginia, Tonne, Sienna and more Hamish and Sims.)

Edit: this Charlie Churchward was very antipathic. Such a spoilsport. The bad guy in the film.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

I have finally seen it, and after all read, and seen, it did not disappoint as i thought it would. Very, very well done.

Without doubt Grace was the star of the film, i always liked her, and now love her. Wintour i thought was way to political when it came to killing shots, always looking at what brands are featured, and not caring if the shot was brilliant if eventually the brand was all over the place, that is a shame. But i guess its what makes her great, she knows how to cater to her audience & advertiser's.

I also agree with you user.n. would have loved to see more Hamish & ALT instead of Miller.etc

Mr. Churchward has a tough job, they rely on him to deal with pesky questions, so he did not come out looking nice, how could he, but he was getting his job done.

Fantastic docu, so glad i bought the DVD!

 

[tigerrouge]

I loved the fleeting bit in the end credits, where the issue is being printed, the final product coming together as a reality for the rest of us. Well, for an editorial nerd like me, the sight of printing presses in action is always a sweet one.

 

[ettebe]

I have a treat for people just pm me.

 

[para]

And my heart broke when she discarded the all-Galliano shot from the 20s editorial. It was so exquisite, perhaps it would have been the best shot from 2007 coming from American Vogue.

It didn't disappear entirely. The shot ended up in the pop-up Visionaire (#55) where it was made to look like a three-dimensional stage. You can see it here around the one-minute mark.

But yes, with Grace the filmmakers definitely found their hero because she came across as fearless and genuine. Anna was as fearless but so (expectedly) guarded that you never really knew what was going on. I'm also with the people who were just a tiny little bit curious about the business aspects of it. The bit where Anna schmoozed up to the retailers was pretty much my favorite part.

 

[user.n.]

Good eye, para!

amazon.com

visionaire.com

 

[MissMagAddict]

^I didn't really care for that shot at all. I think Anna was right to kill it. I love that edit by the way... the way it was run. Stunning

 

[colter1982]

Did anyone else think Mario Testino was a hot mess?

i COMPLETELY thought testino was a hot mess! there's something very DILF-y about him IMO. It's a mix of his success, his line of work, and his personality i think...altho, in the docu, didn't he seem to be completely in his own world/head? like he was talking to anna and "comprehending" but not really...so frivolous!

 

[Filipe]

It was really funny the part when Anna's daughter says she doesn't want to become an editor and wants to go to Law and Anna says that it was still early to decide.

 

[ilaughead]

I've ordered from them & they ship pretty fast.

Apparently! It arrived today. Somehow, Amazon.co.uk has faster shipping times to my address than Amazon.com...

Of course, I'm not at home, but at least the rest of my family got to see it tonight.

 

[pinksofa]

seen it last night - it's wonderful!

but one thing i don't understand: why did it take so long to come out? i thought the shooting was over when the sept issue was published - right? i mean, that's 2 years ago. did they want to show it at a festival and the whole movie wasn't finished until feb 2008 so that they decided to bring it to a festival in feb 2009?

and now i think it's very confusing with the release dates: here in germany it's not shown in cinemas yet but you can order the dvd already...so, isnt that bad for the movie? now i think there's only little chance to be shown at a cinema.
or did they think the movie wouldn't be successful and so decided to bring it out on dvd very early?!?

 

[balmain1914]

Anyone else here wanna be Anna's daughter or son?I really wanna be.
Stefano is poor at the movie,you know,Anna wants colorful piece which Stefano couldn't give,how embarrassing

 

[homeboy]

I bought the DVD last week and have now watched the documentary twice. Disappointing it lacks depth. A good 20% is fluff while the rest just scrape on the surface of who Anna is, how important the September issue is and how a magazine is run. A part of me wish that it was more autobiographical or focused more on one or two aspects of Vouge and Anna. Not to mention the lack of extra material.

Another thing that has crossed my mind is Anna never mentioning or crediting the people who helped her rise to her current position.

 

[vogue28]

^But the documentary isn't about Anna herself, it's about a September Issue of Vogue. I thought whole documentary was well done.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Yes, exactly, it was not meant to be about Wintour, but rather about creating the biggest issue of the year. So Homeboy i think you might enjoy the docu about her called "The Boss Woman". It was done several years ago by BBC, and it certainly has some similarities of course, but that is about Anna and her career.

Of course its hard to get it, and the DVD on their site is insanely expensive......

 

[homeboy]

^But the documentary isn't about Anna herself, it's about a September Issue of Vogue. I thought whole documentary was well done.

Even on that subject it offered insufficient insight. A great portion of the documentary covered grace, the up and coming male designer and the rest was office drama. A bit too vague in achieving its objective because it did indeed focus a great deal on the persona by the name Anna Wintour. Nevertheless it was meant to entertain the introduce Anna to the general public. Fashion enthusiasts with a great interest in publishing should look elsewhere for knowledge and inspiration. Worthwhile watching but not buying.

 

[honeycombchild]

I know someone asked earlier in the thread for the music listing, here it is for anyone who's interested, including the instrumental pieces used:

Opening Title - Craig Richey
Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron
Back From Paris - Craig Richey
The September Montage - Craig Richey
Anna's History - Craig Richey
Textures/ Grace's History - Craig Richey
Grace's Photos - Craig Richey
Burn It All Down - VHS Or Beta
Golf Cart - Craig Richey
Around the Bend - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Nostrand - Ratatat
Packing For Rome - Craig Richey
At Sea - Electrelane
S to U - Chessie
Grace at Versailles - Craig Richey
Give It Up - LCD Soundsystem
Diversion - Mark Ronson
Anna's Meltdown - Craig Rickey
That Home - Cinematic Orchestra
Grace In Car - Craig Richey
Don't You Worry - Jim Noir
Flathead - The Fratellis
Swisha - Ratatat
Suffer for Fashion - Of Montreal
Be A Star - Oh No! Oh My!
End Titles - Craig Richey

There's more original score in it than I seem to remember from watching it!

 

[SugarMe]

I bought the DVD last week and have now watched the documentary twice. Disappointing it lacks depth. A good 20% is fluff while the rest just scrape on the surface of who Anna is, how important the September issue is and how a magazine is run. A part of me wish that it was more autobiographical or focused more on one or two aspects of Vouge and Anna. Not to mention the lack of extra material.

Another thing that has crossed my mind is Anna never mentioning or crediting the people who helped her rise to her current position.

I completely agree with this. As I stated in my previous post, it left far too much to be desired in order to be a successful documentary, in my opinion. I felt like I learned much more (which truly isn't saying much) about Anna then I ever did about the way the September issue of Vogue comes to be. It was ultimately one-dimensional, I thought.

 

[colter1982]

honeycombchild -- thanks for the updated list! the instrumentals are really great and were what i was originally after...it'd be great if a compilation CD came out but i don't see anything online...yet.

the DVD is up for preorder now for us stateside people...no mention of a release date tho...

 

[colter1982]

did a little digging and I also discovered Craig Richey has his own website complete with tracks that he's written, including several from The September Issue -- the two I've been searching for, Opening Title and Texture Shoot are among those featured...