The Impressionists arrives to North America advertised as the lavish BBC production seen on Public Television. And indeed this much-talked about 3-part mini series shown on cable networks throughout the United Kingdom is one surprisingly well-executed and for the most part convincing semi-documentary that sheds plenty of light on the impressionist movement.

The film opens up with Claude Monet's (Julian Glover) recollections of the events that led to the rise of the artistic movement, those who were associated with it, and finally the works that symbolized the creative ideas behind it. In 19th century Paris Monet, Renoir, and Bazille are all friends sharing the same creative vision.

Their advanced ideas however prove difficult, at times even impossible, to justify in front of Parisian critics. Monet's early sketches for example offer something that other artists at the time were either incapable or unwilling to experiment with: a new look at the use of light and its variances. As you could easily guess what Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Bazille, Sisley favor quickly becomes the subject of many passionate discussions.

Spread over two discs The Impressionists takes on the difficult task of being both entertaining and factual at the same time. The core of this film relies on plenty of well known facts and amongst those a few artistic embellishments that mainly serve the "entertainment" appeal sought by its director. Fortunately enough the pacing of the story is comfortable enough to keep both viewers familiar with the impressionists and those who have little knowledge about the history behind their works satisfied.

If there is anything in this BBC production that I could not quite get over while watching Richard Armitage, Anthony Calf, Charlie Condou, Aden Gillet, and Julian Glover among others play their characters it was the heavy British accents that somewhat stood up on their own. I hope this does not sound as too picky of a comment but truly there is something very strange in hearing the voice of Renoir with a bit of a British inflection in it.

This being said I specifically would like to point out the contribution of film editor Andrea Carnevali who not so long ago worked on the "Making Of" to Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (2003). She certainly provides The Impressionists with a much needed sense of continuity thus successfully erasing that dreaded feeling of common TV productions where unexpected cuts take away from the charm of the story (you would be hard pressed to tell that this was indeed a TV project as abrupt cuts are rarely seen).

Finally the costumes and decors seen in The Impressionists successfully provide the film with a fresh, authentic feel, I must say much to my surprise as I was not expecting great emphasis on detail, which makes Paris from the early 19th century look and sound alive. So, let's give credit where credit is due: The Impressionists aims high and for the most part it delivers!

How Does the DVD Look?

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV's the print herein reviewed reveals some heavy amount of "ghosting". Obviously this is not a progressive transfer and it is a shame as just about everything else we typically examine is of top-notch quality. Colors are well-saturated, contrast exceptionally well-done, and the actual print is free of any disturbing marks-dots/or damage. I am going to assume that what happened here is yet another quick but ineffective transfer where the producers at Koch Lorber simply copied what the UK rights-holders provided. It is rather sad really as we could have been looking at one remarkably well-done presentation.

How Does the DVD Sound?

The only audio option on this is an English DD 2.0 track which as far as I am concerned gets absolutely everything right. The audio quality is of exceptionally high quality and you won't detect any disturbing imperfections. There are no hissings, pop-ups, or sound distortions to be concerned with. Just an all around steady presentation!

Extras:

The only extra on this disc is a rather large and well-done documentary titled " Painter of Light" (55 min) in which the life of Monet and his works is being closely examined. Essentially what this documentary does is it further elaborates on facts that might have eluded your attention while watching The Impressionists. What I do not think this extra successfully address is the complex nature of Monet's paintings, their relevance to the rest of the impressionists. I would have loved to see an in-depth analysis on some of Monet's most famous works.

Final Words:

Produced by BBC The Impressionists is a surprisingly well-done project that manages to be both entertaining and serious at the same time. The performances by the British cast are solid though at times a tiny bit flashier than what the subject requires them to be. Nevertheless this is indeed a successful attempt to retell the story of a group of painters that changed the landscape of Europe in the early 19th century. Unfortunately the transfer supplied by Koch Lorber isn't what it could have been!