Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts (2007)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio Deleted Scenes-(22:26) Theatrical Trailer-(2:40) Interviews-Cast-Gramercy Park Hotel (40:08) Interviews-Cast-Tibet House (28:31) Interviews-Cast-The Met Opera House (24:46) Music Highlights-Metamorphosis (23:16) Music Highlights-Einstein On The Beach (4:36) Music Highlights-Orion (37:11) Music Highlights-Dracula (6:44) Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	114:28
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Scott Hicks
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Woody Allen Philip Glass Errol Morris Godfrey Reggio
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	?	Music	Philip Glass

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Glass is an intriguing documentary film, demystifying and exposing the austere composer through intimate interviews and revealing footage of his family life. For the purpose of this documentary, Director Scott Hicks (Shine) followed Philip Glass on and off for eighteen months, capturing him hard at work on a vast array of projects at home, on holiday and in rehearsal.

    Produced to coincide with Glass' 70th birthday, Hicks' documentary also examines Glass' extensive career, from the late 1960s and his collaborations such as Einstein On The Beach, to the inception of his Ensemble and the challenges he encountered trying to make ends meet. I was amazed to learn that Glass actually held down mundane day jobs while struggling as a composer in the 70s - jobs as a taxi driver and plumber supplemented his income so that he could support the family while living in NYC and also keep his Ensemble alive. Similarly, I had not realised how critically derided and misunderstood Glass' work had been over the years; if you think rock musicians gets some bad press this will really be an eye-opener!

    Besides interviewing his immediate family and work colleagues, Hicks has also tracked down some extended family members, Philip's eccentric-artist mates, an ex-wife, and more importantly, an assortment of musical collaborators and directors including the likes of Ravi Shankar, Godfrey Reggio, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen.

    I'm only moderately familiar with Glass as a composer and as fascinating as his work may be to me personally, I can appreciate that this documentary may not be for all tastes, both in terms of music and film. While there are a great deal of enjoyable, light-hearted moments to be found, the film still has an air of awkward fan-boy gushiness at times that can only be blamed on the director. I do suppose that by working so intimately with the subject some of that sentiment is bound to come across in one way or another, and what little there is is more than made up for in Glass' good humour and tolerance for the cameras while he is clearly hard at work. Having said that, Hicks has succeeded in crafting an enjoyable, revealing portrait of the composer that highlights the genius behind the family-man.

    Glass: A Portrait of Philip In Twelve Parts is essential viewing for those with an interest in the composer, or the magic of creativity in general. As a DVD package it is also fantastic value.

Video

    The documentary appears to have been shot on DV cam and this DVD transfer is faithful in that regard, preserving the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement.

    The image is generally sharp and clear, with no dire artefacting or authoring issues to be concerned about. MPEG compression is healthy throughout. There are obviously no film-related artefacts, this being a digital production.

    I noted several moments of distinct softness during the interview footage, which I put down to issues with camera operation and focus rather than the actual DVD transfer.

    The feature is not subtitled at all, which is surprising.

    This package is comprised of two DVD9 formatted discs. I was not able to detect any layer transition while playing back on my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
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Audio

    There are three soundtracks accompanying this film on DVD. The default is a more than ample Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, encoded at 448Kb/s. An audio commentary by Director Scott Hicks is the alternate option, along with an unnecessary Dolby 2.0 soundtrack.

    The English interview dialogue is always clear and prominent in the mix. Audio sync is perfect.

    The surround channels are used sparingly, most notably during the fairground scenes that bookend the film. For the remainder of the film's duration, surround activity is minimal, atmospheric at best. Interview audio, narration and other dialogue is kept front and centre. For a documentary such as this, this is a lot more than I was expecting initially so I'm happy.

    The subwoofer isn't utilised to any great degree, which is no surprise.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    This is a fantastic array of bonus material which is certain to please anyone with even a passing interest in Glass' music.

Menus

Disc One

Audio Commentary- Scott Hicks (Director)

    This is a little dry as far as commentaries go, erring on the factual side more than entertaining. Hicks has the best of intentions and he is clearly a great fan of Glass' work, however he often falls into the mistake of describing or reciting exactly what is on screen. Here, he relates some anecdotes regarding the making of the film, his impressions of Philip as an interviewee and why the documentary is structured the way it is.

Theatrical Trailer (2:40)

    An apt overview of the film that successfully conveys the nature of the documentary without giving too much away.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (22:26)

    There are nine in total, but while these make for interesting side notes they don't necessarily add anything new to the film and it is easy to see why they were cut.

Disc Two

    The extras on disc two are rather extensive and can take some time to digest in their entirety, the interviews in particular. Clips of these interviews were utilised in the film, some audio clips only, so there are some familiar passages to be found. All of these extras are presented with stereo audio and 16x9 enhancement.

Interview- Gramercy Park Hotel (40:08)

    Philip recounts his upbringing and musical education, particularly his experiences at the Juilliard School of Music in Paris. We also learn more detail about his relationship with Ravi Shankar and the challenges he faced in creating the Philip Glass Ensemble back in the late '60s.

Interview- Tibet House (28:31)

    Here, the focus is on Philip's spiritual and quasi-religious outlook. Of particular interest are his anecdotes regarding a confronting trip to Mexico.

Interview- The Met Opera House (24:46)

    Philip discusses the various productions of Einstein on the Beach that have surfaced over the years, and the reaction to his work; good and bad. He acknowledges that his style is progressing as he gets older, an evolution he is not perturbed by in the slightest.

Performances- Music Clips (71:47)

1. Metamorphosis (23:16) - Solo piano performance in Melbourne.
2. Einstein On The Beach (4:36) - With dancers in rehearsal with the Adelaide Vocal Project.
3. Orion (37:11) - With the Philip Glass Ensemble and featured artists. Quite a bit of backstage footage here, and interviews with performers such as the fabulous Pipa musician Wu Man.
4. Dracula (6:44) - Philip Glass and Michael Riesman rehearse with the remarkable Kronos Quartet - a real treat to see.

Booklet

    Eight colour pages, with photos, a track listing and an essay by Director Scott Hicks.

    The transfer is great.

    The extras are extensive and very worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall