This new boxed set includes both the Emmy-winning "The Face: Jesus in Art" and "Picturing Mary." Both of these are cut from the same cloth, with much the same visual technique used throughout, including some great morphing between depictions of their subjects. Both of them also start their real in depth focus with Giotto and then move both forward and backward in time exploring everything from the better-known artisans who tackled these daunting subjects, like Michelangelo, to the anonymous early believers who dotted the Roman catacombs with various very basic depictions of the then "new Gods."

"The Face" has a string of well-known narrators, one of whom, Mel Gibson, may now be a little more unseemly for some viewers than he was when the show was produced. Others featured in this documentary are Edward Herrmann, Stacy Keach, Juliet Mills, Ricardo Montalban, Patricia Neal, and Bill Moyers, who handles the bridging segments. "Mary" is narrated solely by Jane Seymour. The amount of information presented here is good, if at times fairly basic and descriptive rather than analytical, but there are occasional very surprising nuggets dropped by the wayside. Maybe I had known this at one point in my distant past, but I had completely forgotten that the word "iconoclast" sprang from the Byzantine Empire's campaign to destroy all iconographic representations of Jesus. There were therefore both iconoclasts, those who went around destroying depictions of Jesus, and iconophiles, those who sought to preserve these works of art. In another astonishing moment, a segment on frescoes shows lapis lazuli being prepared and documents how, ounce for ounce, it was actually more valuable than the gold that was gilded into the same piece of art. It's little snippets like this that keep this piece as informationally engaging as it always is visually.

In fact, the very fact of these depictions of religious figures is one of the tangentially fascinating aspects to both of these documentaries. Anyone familiar with relatively current events will remember the international uproar when Muhammed was physically depicted in some political cartoons, leading to riots across various Muslim countries. Of course it's forbidden in Islam to portray Muhammed's face in any context, let alone one less than complimentary. My hunch is few Westerners are aware that that same philosophy underlay at least the early era of Christian art, which makes the promulgation of many of these masterpieces all the more remarkable.

Both of these pieces contain a remarkable visual sweep, with lots of nice tracking shots through gorgeous cathedrals, as well as some beautiful "up close and personal" views of various landmarks in painting, fresco and sculpture through the ages. Augmenting the supreme visuals are two very beautiful soundtracks, filled with lovely choral and instrumental religious music from eras past, adding a timeless quality to the proceedings. This set might make an unusually thoughtful Christmas present for the discerning viewer with an interest in art history and iconography.

The DVD

Video:
"The Face" is offered in an unenhanced 1.78:1 transfer, while "Mary" ups the ante with an enhanced 1.78:1 transfer. Both of these pieces sport very sharp and well detailed images, with excellent color and contrast. "Mary" is obviously a more appealing piece with its enhanced transfer, but even using the zoom feature on "The Face" didn't expose too many defects in its image.

Sound:
The standard stereo soundtracks for both of these features are superb, with beautiful music perfectly rendered and the narration always front and center and easy to hear. Both of these features also offer a Spanish language version. No subtitles are offered.

Extras:
Other than the Spanish language versions, none are offered.

Final Thoughts:
This is a very thoughtful and well produced set of documentaries that should appeal to anyone with an interest in either art or religious history. Highly recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet