Raiders Of The Lost Art [DVD]

“Raiders of the Lost Art” is a fascinating documentary television series about art that was lost or stolen and sometimes recovered. Season 1 was shown on British television (Yesterday TV – UK TV) and released on DVD in 2014. Here is some basic information about it: ** Written and directed by Cal Saville ** Narrated by Jonathan Kydd ** Number of episodes: 6 ** Number of discs: 2 ** Studio: 3DD ** Soundtrack: English ** Subtitles: English (turn on//turn off) ** Run time: 6 x 44 minutes = 264 minutes As stated above, there are six episodes on two discs. Each episode is a story that can stand alone. You do not have to watch them from the first to the last (from 1 to 6). You can watch them in any order you like. Here is the table of contents: DISC ONE Episode # 1. Hitler’s Dealer Episode # 2. The Hunt for Fabergé Eggs Episode # 3. Van Gogh’s Guardian DISC TWO Episode # 4. Monuments Men Episode # 5. Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Episode # 6. Vanishing Vermeers Bonus features on disc one: an image gallery and a short film about the “Entartete Kunst Exhibition” from 1937. Bonus features on disc two: a lost and found gallery (12 items); biographies of the contributors; and special thanks. Several experts were interviewed for the television series. Here are their names, listed for each episode. As you will see, some names appear more than once. EPISODE # 1 ** Martin Bailey – The Art Newspaper ** Calandra Caldecott - art historian ** Julian Radcliffe – The Art Loss Register ** Charles Darwent – art critic ** Charley Hill – art detective EPISODE # 2 ** Cynthia Coleman Sparke – author of Russian Decorative Arts (2014) ** Toby Faber – author of Fabergé Eggs (2008, 2009) ** Donald Rayfield – professor emeritus, University of London ** Frances Welch – author of The Russian Court at Sea (2011) ** Kieran McCarthy – Wartski (a British family firm of antique dealers) EPISODE # 3 ** Christopher Riopelle – curator, National Gallery London ** Calandra Caldecott – art historian ** Hans Luitjen – senior researcher, Van Gogh Museum ** Martin Gayford – author of The Yellow House (2006, 2007) ** Martin Bailey – author of The Sunflowers Are Mine (2013) ** Charles Darwent – author and art critic ** Liz Kreijn – Kröller-Müller Museum EPISODE # 4 ** Julian Radcliffe – The Art Loss Register ** Ian S. Wood – author and historian ** Calandra Caldecott – art historian ** Martin Bailey – The Art Newspaper ** Konstanty Czartorsky – artist EPISODE # 5 ** Marina Wallace – professor, curator, Central St Martins College ** Martin Kemp – professor of art history, Oxford University ** Joe Medieros – author and filmmaker: "Mona Lisa Is Missing" (2014) ** Calandra Caldecott – art historian ** Charley Hill – art detective EPISODE # 6 ** Martin Bailey – The Art Newspaper ** Herman Wyers – Vermeer Centre, Delft ** Charles Darwent – author and art critic ** Quentin Buvelot – senior curator, Mauritshuis ** Laura Houliston – curator, Kenwood House ** Pieter Roelofs – curator, 17th century paintings, Rijksmuseum ** Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. – curator, National Gallery of Art Episode # 1 focuses on the German art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt (1895-1956) and on his son Cornelius Gurlitt (1932-2014). The following article is relevant here: Jeevan Vasagar & Elizabeth Paton, “Art: Lost & Found,” Financial Times, 9 November 2013 (available online). The following book is relevant here: The Munich Art Hoard: Hitler’s Dealer and his Secret by Catherine Hickley (2015, 2016). Episode # 2 focuses on Karl Gustavovich Fabergé (1846-1920). Episode # 3 focuses on Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and on Johanna Bonger (1862-1925) who was married to Vincent’s brother Theo Van Gogh. Episode # 4 focuses on the Monuments Men, the special unit of the US Army whose members tried to save as many works of art as possible while World War Two was coming to an end. In this episode we also hear about Rose Valland (1898-1980), who worked as a curator in Jeu de Paume, which is a part of the Louvre. Episode # 5 focuses on Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and on Vincenzo Peruggia (1881-1925) who stole the famous Mona Lisa painting from the Louvre in 1911. In France this painting is known as La Joconde. In Italy it is known as La Gioconda. Episode # 6 focuses on Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) and on the French art critic Théophile Thoré (1807-1869) who re-discovered Vermeer in the 19th century. In this episode we also hear about the famous Dutch forger Henricus “Han” Van Meegeren (1889-1947) who painted several paintings which he was able to pass off as paintings by Vermeer. The following books are relevant here: ** I Was Vermeer by Frank Wynne (2006, 2007) ** The Forger’s Spell by Edward Dolnick (2008, 2009) In each episode there is a combination of old footage and interviews with experts. In addition, some historical scenes have been re-enacted by modern actors. What do reviewers say about this product? On IMDb it has a rating of 85 per cent, which corresponds to 4.3 stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too low. Here on Amazon UK there are seven reviews of this product. The average rating is five stars. If you ask me, this average rating is quite right. I understand the positive reviews and I agree with them. Having said that, I must add that there is one minor flaw: the re-enactments are done with actors who speak English, even though this language is wrong in most cases. Here are three examples: ** In episode 2, a conversation between a Russian commissar and Fabergé is in English, even though it takes place in Russia. ** In episode 5, a conversation between two Italians is in English, even though they are both Italians. ** In episode 6, a conversation between an art critic and an art collector is in English, even though they are both French. Why are these re-enactments done with English actors? This is most unfortunate, because it is not realistic. However, since there are not so many of them, and since they take up only a small part of the total time, I have decided to regard this flaw as minor, and it will not affect my overall evaluation of the product. To sum up: the topics covered are well-chosen. Different countries. Different periods of time. The people who are interviewed are also well-chosen. The panel of experts changes from one episode to the next. Different experts for different topics. As for the historical re-enactments, they are interesting, but it is a shame they are all done in English, because in most cases this language does not match the topic and the characters connected with it. If you are interested in the world of art - in particular the question of art that is stolen and sometimes recovered - this series is definitely something for you. PS # 1. Season 2 was shown on television in 2016. In this season there are 12 episodes. Twice as many as in season 1. Unfortunately, it seems this season has not been released on DVD. Why not? As far as I know, it is available on Netflix. PS # 2. The title of the series is an echo of the 1981 movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” starring Harrison Ford as the renowned archaeologist Dr Indiana Jones. PS # 3. Art of the Heist is a somewhat similar product: a series of 14 documentary films about the world of art. It was shown on Ovation TV in 2007 and released on DVD in 2015. PS # 4. For more information, see the following book: The History of Loot and Stolen Art from Antiquity until the Present Day by Ivan Lindsay (2014).

Some of the information here is well-known and of course this was originally a BBC series, but for an art lover it's disturbing just how much great art is missing. However some has been recovered.

This is an amazing documentary. I watched it first on Netflix (Canada) and afterwards decided that I want to own it. Something to watch with family.

A bizarre presentation based around a non academic Calandra Caldecot who simply confirms the elite control of the arts .....check out her current job! The units referring to Germany 1936-45 is crude propaganda.... at no time are there references to the plundering carried by 'Great Britain' or other 'empire's throughout history....the presentation is crudely skewed for the purposes of mixing fact and media drama..... Looting/ theft of artefacts is a fact going back to the beginning of cultured civilisation......

Can't Wait To See It !

The DVD is super. Would recommend highly!

Watched on tv and had to buy.

Received as described and on time

A wonderful documentary.

There was no warning that this would not be playable. Waste of money. Don't purchase if you have a USA player.