Iris

Released By: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Released On: August 25, 2015
Director: Albert Maysles
Cast: Iris Apfel
Year: 2014
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The Movie:

"Who the hell is Iris Apfel, and why does she deserve her own movie?", you may ask. "Beats the hell out of me," I would've replied before seeing Iris, a new documentary from the very recently deceased Albert Maysles (one half of the creative team that brought you Gimme Shelter). But learning about new things is the fun part about documentaries...most of the time...and Iris is no exception.

For those who don't know, Iris Apfel is a 94 year-old New York woman who is a legend in the world of fashion and design. Though she's more well-known these days as a visionary when it comes to costume jewelry and accessorizing, Iris made her name in interior design, traveling the world to acquire exotic patterns and unique display pieces for very selective clients. Realizing that she was onto something good, she then went into business with some skilled weavers and made a business out of recreating 16th-18th century fabric patterns. As a testament to the strength of her reputation, she was even contacted to do some work in the White House, in accordance with their strict decorating rules.

Told by Loehmann's Department Store founder Frieda Loehmann that she'd "never be pretty, but it doesn't matter...you have style" set Iris on her course in the fashion world, proving that bold and outlandish statements had the potential to sell, and sell big. Fighting the homogenization that she saw, especially in "Manhattan, where everyone wears black and thinks they're stylish", Iris created a look based on costume jewelry...layers and layers and layers of costume jewelry, things like gigantic wooden bracelets and garish necklaces...that she found by scouring the shops that the other designers would probably have turned their noses up at. And when an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute fell through, the curators decided to instead host an Iris Apfel exhibit, introducing her to a whole new generation of admirers.

On its own, the idea of a documentary about a designer, fashion or interior, wouldn't sound that great to people who weren't interested in such a topic...self included. However, Iris has a whole lot going for it, and it's not just Maysles dynamic filmmaking style. The major factor in the enjoyment of the film is Iris herself, with her gigantic glasses, oversized accessories, and elderly charisma that says, "I've seen a lot, and I'd love to share it with you, but don't mess around because I mean business." The most basic of stories comes to life when told by Iris, and Maysles spends a lot of the running time focusing just on her talking head. Maysles also works a good number of industry professionals into the film who are obviously thrilled to be talking about such an icon, and their enthusiasm is catching. Maysles also makes her status known by showcasing the massive exhibitions of her work in multiple museums, influential storefront window displays in Manhattan, and by giving us a sneak-peak into her storage lofts that contain an unknown number of the treasures that she's amassed over the years.

Multiple pictures, film clips, and the occasional glimpse of Iris interacting warmly with her husband of almost 70 years keep Iris rolling along for it's 82 minute runtime, making Iris a pleasure to watch, and a window into a world that most people would not know about otherwise.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Magnolia presents Iris on blu-ray in a 1.78:1 transfer. Taking into consideration that most of this film is a camera following the subject around and otherwise filming in some less-than-ideal locations, the picture is solid with crisp detail and bright colours, with a lack of visually intrusive artifacts.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is more than adequate as well, balancing the dialogue nicely with an upbeat soundtrack. If the surrounds are used, they're used tastefully and sparingly, and nothing stands out as glaring or out of place. No hisses, pops, clicks, or any other audio gremlins are present.

Magnolia has included a few extras on the disc as well. First up are four Deleted Scenes (5:59) that don't really add too much to the film, but are nice to see...especially Iris' talk of "Country Living" in Queens, New York.

An Interview With Iris (12:28) features the title actress discussing her introduction to the film project and her lack of interest in being the subject of a documentary, as well as many other aspects of the film.

A Trailer for Iris and a Trailer Reel for other Magnolia titles is also included.

The Final Word:

A rather surprising film, Iris functions exactly as a documentary should; by providing an insightful, educational, and interesting look at its subject.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!