What Critics Say About Avedon, Streaming Now on Netflix

Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard’s new documentary about Richard Avedon, succinctly titled just Avedonhas arrived on Netflix to critical acclaim. Early indications suggest it’s a must-have, especially for photography enthusiasts.

“‘Avedon’ tells us a lot about the man, as his friends at the New Yorker (Tina Brown, Adam Gopnik, Mr. Lahr, Hilton Als) recall, where, in 1992, he became its first photographer. His gallerist and dealer, Larry Gagosian, adds a lot about Avedon the businessman and says that a ‘Dovima’ once sold for $2 million. And we hear about many models whom he has worked with over the years, including Beverly Johnson, Twiggy, Penelope Tree, Lauren Hutton and Isabella Rossellini, who always have something interesting to add and do so here,” writes The Wall Street JournalIt’s John Anderson.

“The most personal and moving memories, however, come from Avedon’s son, John, and the subject himself, who remembers among other things that throughout his childhood, all official Avedon family photos included a dog. “We never owned a dog,” he says. And although he laments “the sadness of borrowed dogs,” the conclusion is left to us, the viewers: that Avedon learned early on that the image was everything.”

Although Anderson’s review is not rated, it is undoubtedly positive.

More at VarietyOwen Gleiberman describes Howard’s situation Avedon as a “fascinating documentary”.

“Avedon,” Ron Howard’s documentary about the legendary photographer, is a fantastic film. It’s the best documentary Ron Howard has made (my favorite before this one: “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week”), and it was put together in such a flexible and artful way that its technique should be studied in film classes. (The film’s editor is Andrew Morreale.) The film contains hundreds of photographs taken by Richard Avedon, and there’s no doubt that the images are stunning, but the way the film layers them into your consciousness is almost musical in its finesse. And it helps tell the very big story that “Avedon” tells: how Richard Avedon changed the metaphysics of photography, changing the way we see the world.

Gleiberman adds that Howard’s new documentary does a superb job of showing how Avedon, on the one hand, was absorbed in the world of high fashion and, on the other, fascinated by the much more important human struggles and activism. The reviewer also notes that Avedon’s photography remains truly timeless, captivating and inspiring.

For those who want to know all about the technical details of Avedon’s photography, they may find Howard’s film lacking. It’s not because Howard doesn’t care, it’s because Avedon doesn’t care.

“Talk to him about f-stops and he will marvel,” Gleiberman writes. This is another no-rating review, but the praise is overwhelming.

Film critic Peyton Robinson Roger Ebert given Avedon four stars, noting that Avedon is perhaps the “greatest portrait photographer who ever lived.”

“Scaling ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds was not his feat; his humanity was. Through his captivating charm and empathy, Avedon harvested evocative truth from each portrait session,” writes Robinson.

“Long before Avedon picked up a camera, photography had to earn its respect. Once it did, the practice still had stipulations: rigidities and qualifiers that controlled which images received the special title of “art.” Fashion images were captured to look like paintings. Avedon made photographs unapologetically and unashamedly. the root of a person.

“The film is stylish and energetic and looks fantastic, offering an abundance of images, including many of the most famous; it has something of the layout of a magazine without ever trying to look like a magazine,” writes Robert Lloyd for Los Angeles Times.

TimeStephanie Zacharek calls Avedon a “gracefully constructed documentary on a great American photographer”.

“Avedon is a roadmap through his career, a life spent looking at faces and striving to capture the life within them, before it disappears forever,” concludes Zacharek.

Like his fellow critics, Zacharek tackles the most difficult subject of Avedonincluding the photographer’s difficult upbringing, complicated family life, and lifelong passion for photography and the power it offered.

Although there are not enough critical reviews to Avedon for a Tomatometer score at the time of writing, every review counted so far is positive. It’s on track to become a certified new documentary and so far, all critics agree, it’s extremely well made, enduringly fascinating, and an honest and compelling look at Richard Avedon, one of the greatest and most accomplished photographers in history.

Image creditsNetflix