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Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
| image = Diana_Vreeland_-_The_Eye_Has_to_Travel_(2012)_Poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| director =
| producer =
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Paul Cantelon
| cinematography = Cristobal Zanartu
| editing =
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| released =
| runtime = 86 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $1,017,579
}}
'Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel' is a 2011 documentary about the life and career of Diana Vreeland, a fashion legacy famous for her time at 'Harpers Bazaar' and 'Vogue'. The film was directed and produced by Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Dianas granddaughter-in-law), Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, and Frdric Tcheng. It premiered at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. It has a total running time of 86 minutes, and can be seen with English, French, and Italian subtitles.
Synopsis
The film features recorded audio and filmed interviews of Vreeland, as well as interviews with colleagues, family, and friends of Vreeland. Beginning with an exploration of Vreelands childhood, the film offers a glimpse of fashionable Paris during the Belle poque, a time when Vreeland had access to exciting and influential friends of her parents, such as ballet dancer Sergei Diaghilev. She even claimed to have ridden with Buffalo Bill Cody, though the documentary makes it clear that Vreeland would occasionally exaggerate for the sake of storytelling.
The film then focuses on Dianas move to New York City in the 1920s, where she was inspired by the dancing, jazz, and new fashions of the time, and her subsequent move to London with her husband, Reed Vreeland. Here she opened a lingerie shop, thus beginning her career in fashion. Shortly after moving back to New York when war broke out in Europe, Vreeland was asked to do a column in 'Harpers Bazaar' called Why Dont You? She quickly became the magazines fashion editor and, as such, revolutionized fashion by doing such acts as popularizing the blue jean and the bikini.
Much of the documentary looks at Vreelands time at 'Vogue', where she began working after nearly two-and-a-half decades at 'Harpers Bazaar'. Vreeland quickly became the editor-in-chief at 'Vogue', making the magazine into a much-loved artistic publication. The documentary features several accounts from people who worked with Vreeland during this time, including models, photographers, and fellow editors, discussing Vreelands drive and her vision for the magazine.
The film ends with Vreelands time as a consultant for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which she became after being asked to leave Vogue in 1971, and final recollections of Vreeland and her fashion legacy.
Reception
The film has received positive critical review.
John DeFore of 'The Hollywood Reporter' claims, The vibrant, entertaining and of course stylish doc should enjoy a nice arthouse run before becoming an essential presence on the DVD shelves of fashionistas everywhere.
Writing for 'Variety', Jay Weissberg says, Few names conjure style with the zest of Diana Vreeland, and documentary 'The Eye Has to Travel' gets the zing just right.
, the film has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 71 reviews and an average score of 7.16/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "An affectionate portrait created with visual flair, 'Diana Vreeland' is entertaining, informative, and stylish, due in large part to its charismatic subject."
References
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