The
First Monday In May
(2016/Magnolia DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: B Documentary: B+
Welcome
to the biggest party/event of the year, Anna Wintour and Andrew
Bolton's 2015 Met Gala "China: Through the Looking Glass",
a fusion of Chinese culture mixed with modern Western/European
fashion with over 150 dresses. It is where hundreds of name brand
designers/dressmakers have a chance to display their master pieces
for the rich and famous and all the latest of fashions, designers,
hottest models and actors are gathered together for only one night.
Yet, what was only for one night took months of planning, follow Anna
Wintour and Andrew Bolton as they plan this massive gathering for New
York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in Andrew Rossi's The First
Monday In May (2016).
It
the social gather event of the year for those in fashion industry,
one night for them to find next year's sponsors, clientele and
prospective customers. However, most of all it is one night for them
to make a name for themselves in the years to come. This documentary
film takes a look into the fashion industry, at what point does
fashion turn from clothes to art? The Gala is one night where
fashion designers knows no limits to their imagination, where million
dollar dresses/costumes appear on the red carpet to be worn by rich
and powerful. Who cares if you can barely walk in them or if you
can't sit in them? They are beautiful and therefore works of art.
This is very thoroughly detailed, joining a cycle of such fashion
docs and runs 91 minutes.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image can look good, but also have
its share of motion blur and the lossy Dolby Digital is also
sometimes weak due to flaws and some location audio limits. Maybe it
would play better on Blu-ray, but we get mixed results here. Extras
are a plus and include deleted scenes, interview with the director
and trailers.
-
Ricky Chiang
