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13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol review
:. Director: Andy Warhol
:. Starring: Nico, Lou Reed
:. Running Time: 1:10
:. Year: 2009
:. Country: USA
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What's probably the most fascinating aspect of this project, beside the screen tests themselves and the impressive ensemble of iconic figures they feature, is that Andy Warhol never intended to produce them as a work of art — at least not as a piece that would be exposed in galleries or commercialized. At the special screening presented at the Los Angeles film festival and, which was accompanied by a live set from Dean and Britta who also scored this DVD, the actress Mary Woronov who is portrayed, explained that Mr. Warhol's goal was to simply create a collection of living portraits for his personal use. Rather than hanging pictures or paintings on his wall, he instead shot these tests, which he then would watch and rewatch several times by himself — think of them as "family" home videos.
Knowing this, before watching these 13 screen tests is certainly essential, as it allows you to transcend your experience, from their quite improvised and unexciting format to a work of art in motion. The project also boosts a naturalistic dimension, as by just turning the camera on and leaving his unprepared guests by themselves in front of the lens, Mr. Warhol was able to capture his friends in their most authentic selves — even the pros who are posing for the camera end up dropping the act after a while.
Featuring mostly friends of acquaintances of the artist, the screen tests presented here include, among others, Factory icons such as Nico (the most striking and glamorous here), Edie Sedgwick (somewhat lost ingenue) and stars such as Lou Reed (holding a bottle of coke) and Denis Hopper (cool and menacing). Fans of these personalities should appreciate the screen time, and to their credit, fully aware that such a project in the rough might bore most audiences, the producers of this DVD have spiced up the tests by having electro-folk duo Dean and Britta score the soundtrack. Light and artistic, their music — whether it's original cuts or renditions — perfectly create the mood for these films, sometime even venturing into Velvet Underground territory. Another plus is the fact that this box set includes biographies of the subjects — the band introduced them between each song and offered anecdotes — as most of us are not familiar with some starlets and boyfriends featured here.
13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol Screen Tests is certainly not the kind of film for which one sits tight. Rather, this is a mood piece that you can put in the background when having parties — assuming that you roll in a somewhat artistic environment. This isn't either vital or useful. This has the same purpose as paintings and pictures that might be hanging on you walls - you guessed it, this is art re-packaged in a different and more accessible media and that's exactly how you should approach it.
Fred Thom
 Factory Girl review
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