Picturing the Presidents

Feb 10, 2009

1h 10m

★ 7.0

Is image everything?

Overview

We go behind the scenes and into the minds of artists as they capture, commemorate, and, at times, condemn our presidents.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

The Smithsonian Network

Picturing the Presidents Trailers

Cast

Narrator

Salvatore Vecchio

Self (archive footage)

George H. W. Bush

Self (archive footage)

Gerald Ford

Self (archive footage)

Bill Clinton

Self (archive footage)

Lyndon B. Johnson

Self (archive footage)

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage)

John F. Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

Elaine de Kooning

Self

Addie Moray

Self

Marc Pachter

Self

Nelson Shanks

Self

Hilary Kacser

In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.

8.0

François Hollande, le mal-aimé

Sep 10, 2017

No overview available.

7.4

Selma

Dec 25, 2014

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

10.0

Being and Becoming Chua Ek Kay

Jan 1, 2012

The film offers exclusive and intimate insights into how and why the classically trained artist risked rejection to revolutionize the traditional Chinese ink art form in Singapore.

7.4

The Savior for Sale

Nov 25, 2021

In November 15, 2017, the painting Salvator Mundi, attributed to Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), was sold for an unprecedented $450 million. An examination of the dirty secrets of the art world and the surprising story of how a work of art is capable of upsetting both personal and geopolitical interests.

7.2

Invictus

Dec 11, 2009

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

8.0

30 Years of Democracy

Dec 22, 2019

Two journalists born in the mid '80s decide to take a look back at how their country changed in the last 30 years since the fall of communism. The end product is a documentary containing footage of political events and historical milestones significant to Romania accompanied by a narrator's voice walking the viewer through the events, and also interviews with Romanian politicians and other influential public figures sharing their thoughts and their different views on those events.

6.0

Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime

Jun 14, 2017

Celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday and 50 years in the business, three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel MacLean - each create a new portrait of the Big Yin. As he sits with each artist, Billy talks about his remarkable life and career which has taken him from musician and pioneering stand-up to Hollywood star and national treasure.

7.2

Lust for Life

Sep 15, 1956

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

6.8

Dark Star: H. R. Giger's World

Oct 23, 2014

An account of the life and work of Swiss painter, sculptor, architect and designer H. R. Giger (1940-2014), tormented father of creatures as fearsome as they are fascinating, inhabitants of nightmarish biomechanical worlds.

5.0

Achieving the Unachievable

Sep 1, 2007

M.C. Escher is among the most intriguing of artists. In 1956 he challenged the laws of perspective with his graphic Print Gallery and his uncompleted master-piece quickly became the most puzzling enigma of modern art. Fifty years later, can mathematician Hendrik Lenstra complete it? Should he?

7.5

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Mar 5, 2010

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

0.0

FACE OF FIRE

Sep 23, 2020

He pours gasoline on every fire

7.3

The Most Dangerous Man in America

Oct 16, 2009

"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "imperial" presidency – answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people – in order to help end the Vietnam War.

7.5

Two Portraits of MIYAGINO

May 29, 2010

In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.

8.7

Mitterrand et la télé

May 11, 2021

May 10th, 1981. François Mitterrand is elected President of the Republic. The “soviet tanks” supposedly coming upon the Champs-Élysées dressed in red, feared by some, did not march. Serge Moati takes a personal look at this episode, focusing on the relationship the president had with television, that he witnessed and played a role in.