Surviving Picasso(1996)- User Reviews

It's hard to believe that a brilliant artist like Picasso, who had such a long and unreal life, basically only has this one movie made about him! There are plenty of good documentary films, but nothing like this in a movie form. I recently found out that Picasso's most prominant biographer, John Richardson, really doesn't think this is an accurate portrayal of Picasso, and he knew Picasso during this era of his life. And even if Anthony Hopkins' take on Picasso isn't 100% true to history, it's fun, and way better than nothing. Another thing to keep in mind, is that John Richardson said that the movie is basically taken from a book written by Francoise Gilot, against her consent. Francoise was Picasso's ex that has gotten some acclaim for being the only woman to leave Picasso. Gilot's book, "Life With Picasso", is very educational and fun to read, but you've got to keep in mind that she may be twisting things a bit to make it sound like Picasso never got the best her and that she won in the end. But I have respect for her as an artist and will give her the benefit of the doubt that most of the content is accurate.
The movie is about Picasso when he was older. After the blue period, cubism, and guernica. He is still verile and inspired, very famous and quite a force. He walks up to Francoise in a restaurant, unnecessarily introduces himself and welcomes her into his bizarre and alluring wonderland of a life. And Francoise is brave enough to go along for the ride. Anthony Hopkins delivers many great witty zinger as Picasso. There is a flashback scene where they show you a peek of what it may have been like while he was working on Guernica. They have some scenes where you get an idea what if may have been like between him and Dora Maar. even a scene with him sparring with Matisse. Basically alot of priceless stuff if you are into Picasso or art. In closing, I would like to ask Hollywood to make a movie that takes you thru the whole life of Picasso. Show all his major phases, show all the famous myths, make the movie 3 hours long and get a bunch of biographers to help! Please! Pretty Please! I'll even help.