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Product Reviews:
Difficulty of a Life Spent Realizing a Substantial Talent, September
25, 2004
Reviewer: Nicholas Croft
"W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult" is a ninety-minute
documentary produced for the Public Broadcasting System's American Masters
television series. It was written by Jan Hartman and is based on the
letters and journals of this internationally respected photojournalist.
The program introduces the viewer to hundreds of Mr. Smith's photographs
through a dramatic recreation of the photographer's life. Peter Riegart
portrays the artist, starting with his assignment covering the South
Pacific war experiences of the 1940's. Through his photographs for Life
Magazine, Mr. Smith wanted to "carry some message against the greed,
stupidity and intolerance that causes war". If it were not for just a
"simple accident of birth, the fate of a particular country of origin, we
could be considered as the enemy".
Interwoven with details regarding particular photojournalistic assignments
is the story of the photographer's personal life. He was raised by a
father who committed suicide as the result of business failures, and a
mother who maintained a staunch Catholic faith. She inculcated, in her
children, the idea that life might be considered as under the spell of a
punishment resulting from some primeval transgression. This intense
upbringing instilled in the man a ferocious work ethic and contributed to
his desire to cover subjects of perennial social importance.
Upon returning from the war, Smith's next assignment was to follow a
country doctor for some 23 days and nights, sharing intimately in the life
of his subjects. Such intensive immersion was to become a signature of all
his subsequent projects, which include: the coverage of life under Fascism
in Deleitosa, Spain; following the life of Maude Callen, a nurse midwife
in the American South; doing a story on Albert Schweitzer's work in
Lambarene, Africa; and the making of some 10,000 images for an assignment
on the city life of Pittsburgh.
A retrospective of W. Eugene Smith's work was created for a show at New
York's Jewish Museum in the early 1970's. The concentrated exposure that
this show provided, provoked almost universally, an overwhelming emotional
response on the part of it's viewers. Smith died as the result of
complications from a wound he received during his photojournalistic work
in Minamata, Japan. His friends feel that he is best remembered through
the informal Jazz performances of downtown Manhattan's lofts, as these
perhaps best characterize the later 'lost' years of his life.
We are fortunate that this talented PBS team, who assembled "Photography
Made Diffcult" as a labor of love, has given us an appreciation of the man
commensurate to the dedication with which he lived his life. This program
can be recommended, to all fans of photography, without reservation.
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Well done, July 13, 2003
Reviewer: "jwpete"
This is a great introduction to the greatest photojournalist. I don't feel
that I am exagerating here at all. Smith changed the history of
photography, and his pictures changed in very real ways, the history of
our country and others as well. He was a complicated person, likely
suffering from significant psychological issues and other problems, but
his work shines through.
The movie shows him, blemishes and all, as the
photographer,poet,benzadrine user,manic artist who defined a discipline
that brought horrow and joy from places far away, suddenly into our living
room, suddenly very close to us.
This is a typical "PBS style" documentary - you're children may become
bored, but I would recomend it to any one who loves photography and
photojournalism.
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Eugenius, November 26, 2002
Reviewer: Luis G. P. Davidson "guime"
I just watched this documentary. It is an honest and very well conducted
portrait of this man, Gene Smith, probably one of the most important
photographers of our time. Claerly, the man who inspired the
fancy-overrated-rich-and-famous Sebastião Salgado. But Eugene was an
artist in the pure sense, sensible, human, and with a genuine concern
about our world, and obsessed with his job to show us the truth. Even a
very bad conducted personal life, wouldn't hurt the precious art he left
to us.
The fact about this film is that it seems to be no book around as rich and
detailed. If you already like Eugene Smith, buy it. If not, buy it too,
and you'll learn to love him.
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W. Eugene Smith - Photography Made Difficult, April 2, 2000
Reviewer: A viewer
The video W. Eugene Smith - Photography Made Difficult gives a solid
picture of a complicated, talented photographer. It is not a picture album
on tape. It is the dramatization of Smith's life as he moves from place to
place to capture his stories. This video is the story behind the story. If
you did not know that Smith was passionately outraged at social injustices
and bringing those injustices to the public eye, you certainly know it by
the end of the video. Excellent for soruce of knowledge and for
entertainment.
Back to W. Eugene Smith - Photography Made Difficult
(1989)
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