Shirley: Visions of Reality

Shirley: Visions of Reality (2013) (DVD) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $14.97

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival

Language Selections:
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Netherlands ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
92 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2013 and produced in:
Austria ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Gustav Deutsch

Written By:
Gustav Deutsch

Actors:
Stephanie Cumming ..... Himself
Christoph Bach
Florentín Groll
Elfriede Irrall
Tom Hanslmaier
Jeff Burrell

Synopsis:

In SHIRLEY: VISIONS OF REALITY, austrian artist Gustav Deutsch takes a somewhat controversial approach to the work of American painter Edward Hopper. Adapting 13 of Hopper's best known paintings as a series of cinematic tableaus, Deutsch constructs a narrative about the actress Shirley that spans 32 years of 20th century American history. With the help of cinematographer Jerzy Palacz, Deutsch recreates Hopper's paintings with an uncanny precision, and the resulting film is a highly fascinating take on the iconic artist.

13 of Edward Hopper's paintings are brought alive by the film, telling the story of a woman, whose thoughts, emotions and contemplations lets us observe an era in American history. Shirley is a woman in America in the 1930s, '40s, '50s, and early '60s. A woman who would like to influence the course of history with her professional and socio-political involvement. A woman who does not accept the reality of the Depression years, WWII, the McCarthy era, race conflicts and civil rights campaigns as given but rather as generated and adjustable. A woman whose work as an actress has familiarised her with the staging of reality, the questioning and shaping of it; an actress who doesn't identify her purpose and future with that of solo success or stardom but who strives to give social potency to theatre as part of a collective. A woman who cannot identify with the traditional role model of a wife yet longs to have a life partner. A woman who does not compromise in moments of professional crisis and is not afraid to take on menial jobs to secure her livelihood. A woman who in a moment of private crisis decides to stick with her partner and puts her own professional interest on the back burner. A woman who is infuriated by political repression yet not driven to despair, and who has nothing but disdain for betrayal. Shirley, an attractive, charismatic, committed, emancipated woman.

The life of a fictional actress (Stephanie Cumming) and the paintings of Edward Hopper illustrate 30 years of American history.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 22 December, 2021.