Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011) User Reviews (8)

Fascinating Documentary of a Unique Personality

[larrys3 · 9/10 · 31 May 2013]

I found this documentary of the life and career of Diana Vreeland to be very fascinating. The journey of her life is conveyed through recorded interviews she game to writer George Plimpton , who was writing her autobiography "D.V.", as well as clips from interviews she gave to Diane Sawyer, Jane Pauley, and Dick Cavett, among others. Additionally, there's interviews with many people that worked with her over the years such as designers, models, photographers, film stars, assistants, and her family. There's many wondrous film clips of the eras and people of her time.

The movie covers her personal life and personality to some degree as well. She had a pampered childhood growing up in Europe, but suffered, it seemed, verbal abuse at the hands of her mother who referred to her as her "ugly little monster" and "ugly duckling". Eventually she met her husband Reed Vreeland and entered a marriage that lasted nearly a half century. Before, WWII, she moved to America, and eventually began working for the famed Harper's Bazaar magazine. She quickly rose to become fashion editor, but was notorious for her demanding and rude ways with her assistants, one of which surprisingly was the future movie actress Ali MacGraw.

At Harper's, Vreeland displayed many of the characteristics that made her so unique. She was an amazing visionary with seemingly impeccable instincts for fashion and how to transform that onto the pages of the mag. She also had an amazing eye for beauty in the models that were photographed and knew how to accentuate those features of the models that no one else could. Such notables as Lauren Bacall, Cher, Lauren Hutton, Twiggy, Marisa Berenson, Penelope, and Veruschka, all thrived under her watch at Harper's and later Vogue magazine.

After many years at Harper's, Vreeland was lured to Vogue to become Editor-In-Chief. It was the 1960's and the freedom and revolutionary spirit of the time were perfect for her. She thrived there as well and added to her legend. In her seventies, she became a lead consultant for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and their Costume Institute, where she staged fantastic exhibitions for the museum.

All in all, I was quite fascinated by this detailed documentary on the genius, and the "warts", of a very unique personality who added so much to the eras she lived through.

Meet Diana Vreeland (aka. "The Empress Of Fashion")

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 8 June 2020]

Even though I'm really not a very "fashion-conscious" fellow (as a lot of other people certainly seem to be) - I was still quite impressed with this first-rate bio-documentary that focuses in on the life and times of the "Empress of Fashion", Diana Vreeland.

Back in the mid-20th century (spanning the years from 1940-1970) - Diana Vreeland was not only credited for her vast influence on the ever-changing face of women's fashions - But, she was also noted for being the trusted fashion-adviser to such high-profile women as Jacqueline Kennedy.

All-in-all - "The Eye Has To Travel" is the sort of presentation that is sure to appeal to a wide range of viewers (whether they are women, men, or trans).

Thank you, Diana Vreeland!

[thejdrage · 8/10 · 3 September 2022]

This is a fascinating, if very flawed, film about one of the most fascinating women of the 20th Century who opened doors for women in the 21st Century.

It was informative, and "in her own words", but, as one reviewer put it, the talking heads were never identified. I only knew when her sons spoke because they called her "mother". Otherwise - unless you know from looking at this crew who they are, you have to just sit back and enjoy their stories about her taking it on faith.

Thank goodness she had the fortitude and strength to steamroll over the man at the Met who wanted to know her "credentials". What an idiot.

What a wonderful woman! Well ...... to a lot of people.

An audacious lady who became the First Name of Fashion in "Modern Times "

[leomoviecritic · 10/10 · 9 October 2012]

Her first name Diana is pronounced "Deeanna). Unsure if that was to sound better with Vreeland or was the original pronunciation. It would surprise me not one whit if she suddenly changed it because it went better - that is the audaciousness of who she was.

To view this very well done documentary is a sheer delight and an amazing time capsule of women's fashions and a very intimate and up close documentary of the woman who has had the biggest impact of anyone on the planet on women's fashions.

You will be highly entertained, laugh often at this most audacious lady who says "Live the life you know you want, make it your own". Who's statements of fact become what she terms "faction" a better story than telling it like it actually was.

It is rare to meet someone who so lived their life at full throttle. A fascinating in-depth documentary that includes conversation with Diana, those who worked with her, celebrities, musicians, etc.

You cannot help but be mesmerized and riveted. Loads of pictures, covers of Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, and notable people.

Her impact on fashion, photography, creating an experience on the pages of these fashion magazines that challenged, entertained and gave snippets of geography, history and knowledge to the reader was and still is unmeasurable.

I am so happy that I enjoyed the full movie experience to this bigger than life Grand Dame. A definite buy when available on DVD - but I do encourage you to see it in the theater.

A feast for the eye

[ygdrasl · 10/10 · 19 August 2013]

This is an art history of the twentieth century as seen through fashion, its most glittering art form. Weaving together video footage, magazine layouts, and first-hand accounts, the filmmakers trace the life of DV, one of fashion's all-time most imaginative thinkers.

Born rich ('but ugly', as her mother would have said) in Paris at the turn of the century, she partied her way to New York. When Carmel Snow noticed her chic outfit in a nightclub, she offered her a job at Harper's Bazaar. Thus began a fabulous self-created career, first at HB through the thirties forties and fifties, and then at Vogue in the sixties. There, she launched photographers like Richard Avedon and David Bailey, and put designers like Yves St Laurent on the map. She discovered an endless succession of models like Verushka and Iman, who turned notions of beauty inside out. And she originated idea of celebrities as models, studding Vogue with wonderful shots of Cher, Mick Jagger, and Jacqueline Kennedy. She also spent staggering amounts of Vogue's money pursuing fashionable subjects around the globe; they she fired her in 1972.

She was not idle for long- soon the Metropolitan Museum persuaded her to help launch the Costume Institute. There, she was able to bring her extravagant sense of fashion to a wide audience, and, not incidentally, throw some great parties.

The best thing a documentary can do is pick a fascinating subject, and clearly, DV was a LOT of fun. A Who's Who of actors, artists, writers, and fashion luminaries signed on to supply their recollections, both then and now. Her interviews with George Plimpton, Jack Paar, and Dick Cavett are lavishly excerpted, as well as material from her sons and grandchildren. (Her granddaughter's reading aloud from a vintage issue of Vogue is definitely a high point!)

The wealth of material here is stunning- and the filmmakers' skill in handling it is a triumph.

enjoyable but annoying

[Bayboodlesauntie · 6/10 · 17 November 2015]

Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel, was an interesting film but a few jarring issues made it hard for me to really enjoy it. Firstly, the decision by the film maker (who I assume is a relative of the subject) to leave unchallenged Ms Vreeland's assertion that she was "not rich". How can anyone how has their clothes tailor-made by Coco Chanel be anything else! Not rich compared to whom, the Vanderbilts? Also the decision not to name any of the talking heads was infuriating. I note one of the other reviewers claims that the child reading from a magazine column was a grandchild of the subject. How did they know that? The print I saw did not identify a single soul. Finally, several of these nameless heads spoke in languages other than English, and none of what they said was translated. Mystifying! Maybe I saw a dodgy version, and all the captions and subtitles left off... Or maybe I am too much of a pleb to be included in the target audience for this film (who are trilingual and have an intimate inside knowledge of the fashion industry and an encyclopeadic knowledge of the physical appearance of dozens of designers, photographers, models and, I assume, hangers on of the fashion world). Bah humbug.

Awesome!

[heidibrideofchrist · 10/10 · 23 June 2021]

I think I love this the most for Diana's ugly duckling syndrome. Not all people are beautiful. Very beautiful people can be intimidating, which does nothing to encourage friendship and commerce. The way this problem intersects with fashion is very important. You can correct, or disguise physical defects with clothing and makeup. Diana set a good example for women who are not classic beauties. She got to work and made herself useful. She had good taste. She got dressed up every day, put on makeup and jewelry, and forayed out into the world. The alternative was staying home, depressed and useless. She had the good sense to pay attention to what the public was wearing out in the street every day. How are other people interpreting fashion, solving clothing problems, and individualizing their clothing? What are the kids wearing? Viewers want to see that in a magazine. That is why we read, after all, to collect new ideas. Diana paid attention to the wider world. That's the sign of a healthy person. Good clothing makes us feel good about ourselves. It is an essential part of sobriety. Good personal hygiene is the first step to staying sober. The alternative is people sleeping in the street with no clothing on, drunk and stoned. We don't want that, right? So, for those reasons alone, I loved this movie. But wait, there's more! We want a magazine to encourage women to engage in good hygiene. She did that. So why fire her? If you were not making money, it's because you were not advertising. Good advertizing makes or breaks a company. In any event, you did fire her, but she survived it, and thrived. That sets a good example as well. She got back up and got out of the house and made herself useful again. The photography in her magazine was truly inspiring. It inspired the viewer to imagine another life, which is good. This is one of the reasons we make art, and share photographs: to inspire and inform the viewer. The alternative is stagnation and a kind of artistic death. Diana's style was sexy and feminine. We want to encourage women to feel sexy and attractive to the opposite sex. The alternative is a utilitarian and androgenous style, which does nothing to encourage procreation. So what's the problem with keeping Diana employed? By the way, I do not think Diana is ugly. She is totally unique. I think she needs to gain some weight.

Did this get released before finished?

[CambronMcK · 5/10 · 5 November 2019]

I'm completely mystified by the fact that there are no name titles given to a single person interviewed nor subtitles used when someone being interviewed did not speak in English (keep in mind this film is in English the majority of time so I guess those interviews in French weren't important for us to know). I watched this in Hulu so unless they released an incomplete version, I'm at a loss to understand such an amateur decision to leave your audience in the dark.