Iris Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Iris Blu-ray Movie Review

The Art of Living

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 26, 2015

Iris was one of the last films completed by legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, co-director of Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter (among many others), who died in March of this year at the age of 88. Fittingly, the film's subject is Iris Apfel, an artist even older than Maysles, whose individual style and outspoken independence have made her an icon in the fashion and design industries. Currently 93, Iris celebrated her ninetieth birthday on camera during the making of Maysles' film.

Iris Barrell was born on August 29, 1921 in Astoria, Queens. Her mother owned a fashion boutique, and her father was an importer, and Iris worked with both parents as a child. She studied fine arts at New York University, then worked at Women's Wear Daily, before apprenticing with interior designer Elinor Johnson. Eventually she started her own business. In 1948, she married Carl Apfel, an advertising executive, and together they founded Old World Weavers, which manufactured specialty textiles for clients as diverse as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the White House. Traveling the world for business, Iris became a collector of distinctive fabrics she made into clothing and "found" artifacts she turned into jewelry. While other women wore designer clothing, Iris created her own style. She mixed designer wear with flea market purchases. For her, dressing became a form of artistic expression.

In 2005, the Metropolitan Museum asked Iris to assemble an exhibit from her life-long passion for collecting and creating outfits. The result was so successful that it traveled the country, transforming its subject into what she self-deprecatingly calls "a geriatric starlet". Iris was ready for her closeup.

"I like individuality", says Iris Apfel to Maysles' camera. At another point, she questions why people keep asking her about her rules for fashion. "I don't have any rules", she says, "because I would only be breaking them." She compares her approach to creating an outfit to a jazz musician improvising: try this, then try something else—and work from instinct.

Maysles captures both her process and the results. One example of the process can be glimpsed in the costume jewelry emporiums where, according to Iris, she would rather spend time than at a famous high-end jeweler like Harry Winston (where she would certainly never be able to haggle over prices, as she routinely does with obvious relish). The results can be seen both in Iris' own outfits and in those she helps choose for attendees at an event staged by discount merchandiser Loehmann's, a retailer dear to Iris' heart. As a young girl shopping in the original Brooklyn store, Iris was singled out by founder Frieda Loehmann, who told her, "You're not pretty, but you've got something better—you've got style!" (In a sign of the times, since the filming of Iris, Loehmann's has dissolved its brick and mortar business and been reinvented as an online merchant.)

According to the extras, Maysles shot enough footage for several films, but the editing (by Paul Lovelace) concentrates on Iris' personality, which is as colorful as her creations. Despite her age, she hardly seems frail, even when she walks with a cane or is pushed in a wheelchair. Her focus on any subject being discussed, and her attention to the people and activities around her, are sharper than those of individuals many years her junior. At least some of the fascination of Iris comes from the unasked (and unanswerable) question that hangs over the entire film: What is it about this one individual that has endowed her with such remarkable vitality for so many years (and how can the rest of us do likewise)? Is style really the secret to longevity?

While fashion may not be the secret to long life, it's impossible to miss the joy that Iris Apfel takes in pursuing her passion and, more importantly, sharing it with others. Wherever she is, her pleasure in interacting with people is obvious, even if it's just with Maysles behind the camera. Yet another key element to Iris' durability is the unwavering support of her husband of 67 years (and counting). Carl turned 100 during the filming of Iris, and scenes from his birthday celebration are included. He does much less talking than his wife—a life-long habit, one suspects—but the bond between them is impossible to miss. In addition to being married, they were business partners for over forty years, during which Iris gathered and designed the collection that has now made her famous. It is clear throughout Iris that Carl was essential to everything she has accomplished. (Having lived long enough to share his wife's triumph, Carl passed away on August 1 of this year.)

Maysles fills out Iris with a selection of commentators to explain Iris' broad-based appeal, since she doesn't fit into any one category such as "decorator" or "designer". These include Harold Koda, curator of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Margaret Russell, editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest; Linda Fargo, a senior vice-president at Bergdorf Goodman; and various fashion designers, photographers and writers. All of them bear witness to the unique phenomenon that is Iris.

Iris Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Iris was shot digitally by a crew that included Maysles himself, plus Sean Price Williams (Heaven Knows What) and Nelson Walker III (Watchers of the Sky). Post-production was completed on a digital intermediate, from which Magnolia's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced by a direct digital path. The Blu-ray image is sharp, clear, free of interference or noise and, above all, profusely colorful, which is essential for depicting Iris' world. Although her intricately ornate collages of clothing and accessories probably need 3D to be fully rendered onscreen, the Blu-ray image does the best that 2D can manage at reproducing the impact of Iris' imaginative layering of colors and patterns. The results may not be to everyone's taste, but at least the Blu-ray lets you see what they're all talking about. (The film also incorporates short segments taken from older VHS footage and home movies, which are obviously of lesser quality.)

Magnolia has mastered Iris with an average bitrate of 19.996, which is sufficient for a digitally originated film made up largely of talking heads. The compression has been capably performed, and artifacts are not an issue.

Iris Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Consistent with its documentary aesthetic, Iris' 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, is front-oriented and emphasizes the voices of the interview subjects and Iris in her many activities. (Indeed, one of the first sounds heard on the track is the clackity-clack of the many necklaces and bracelets worn by Iris gently bumping against each other.) Some amount of ambient noise from the various locations has been retained from the production recordings, but it is confined to the front soundstage. An unobtrusive background score has been contributed by guitarist Steve Gunn.

Iris Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1; 5:59)
• Bergdorf Goodman (First Meeting)
• Errol
• Matzah Balls
• Iris Family History



• Interview with Iris (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:28): Interviewed shortly after Maysles' death, Iris reflects on making the film, working with the documentary crew and the odd experience of suddenly becoming famous in her eighties.



• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:24).



• Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment: The disc includes trailers for Life Itself, The Wrecking Crew and Serena, as well as promos for the Chideo web service and AXS TV. These also play at startup, where they can be skipped with the chapter forward button.



• BD-Live: As of this writing, attempting to access BD-Live gave the message "Check back for updates".

Iris Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As Iris Apfel relates in her separate interview, she was initially reluctant to participate in a documentary but was persuaded by a friend, who told her she'd be crazy to refuse Albert Maysles. As he had done so many times before, Maysles befriended his subject, set her at ease, and let her be herself. He had a unique gift for fading into the background so that his subjects always remained front and center. Iris says that she barely knew the camera crew was there. She also says she fell in love with Albert and will miss him. So will we. Highly recommended.