Underplayed Gems

The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001)

The Private Life of a Masterpiece poster
Directed by
Samuel West
Genre
documentary television program
Country
United Kingdom
Length
5 seasons, 29 episodes
Rating
5.8 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This documentary series examines famous artworks and the stories behind their creation. Each episode focuses on a single piece, discussing its history, the artist, and its cultural impact.

educationalleisurelyinformativecontemplativecalmfascinatingdetailed

What happens

The Private Life of a Masterpiece is a BBC arts documentary series which tells the stories behind great works of art; 29 episodes of the series were broadcast on BBC Two, commencing on 8 December 2001 and ending on 25 December 2010. It initially ran for five seasons from 8 December 2001 to 17 April 2006, for a total of 22 episodes; each episode was 50 minutes long. A seven-DVD box set of the first five series was released in 2007, which re-arranged the documentaries into genres from art history. A further seven episodes were broadcast between 24 December 2006 and 25 December 2010. The series has been widely broadcast around the world, often in re-voiced into national languages. The original narrations were done by the actor Samuel West. Works of art featured range from Michelangelo's David for the first episode to Filippo Lippi's Adoration of the Christ Child for the last. The series was produced by independent TV production company Fulmar Television & Film, based in Cardiff. The series producer, who also devised the concept of the programme, was Jeremy Bugler. The series was well received by art and television critics. The Times' David Chater placed it at Number 30 in his paper's Top 50 TV shows of the Noughties. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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