September Issue, The

A movie with style and Grace!
Great and fun documentary! What a treat to see inside this magazine. I went to learn more about Anna Wintour and I came out of this movie feeling like I developed a nice understanding of her - as much as one can from a film. She has a tough job. She is in a brutal industry (two actually: Fashion and Publishing) and she clearly cares about fashion and Vogue. Frankly. I see men who act FAR tougher than she, and no one gives them frosty nicknames. So what if she does not smile all the time? Half that industry has so much Botox, there is not too much smiling going on anyway.

Grace is the one who you come out of the movie wanting to have dinner with. She is talented, brilliant, warm, tough, and her photo shoots are amazing! There were moments where she just radiates warmth and insight so effortlessly, even when she is just taking in a gorgeous view of Paris. You can see how such an interesting person can produce such great art. The cost of the movie ticket was worth it just to...

amazon.com version is lacking....
...something very important, and that is THE THIRD DISC.

I am not going to review the movie, but the DVD itself. The extra material is superb. It is fantastic actually, and these are for the true admirers of fashion and VOGUE. Could there be even more? Yeah, sure... They could have included the basic bios of the subjects, more pictures, VOGUE through ages, pivotal photos from the magazine archives, even more footage with the fashion designers and models etc. Still, over 90 minutes of extra material is just great.

But you know what is even greater than this version?

The THREE DISC VERSION that Barnes&Noble has to offer.

This elusive third disc in question includes a 25 minutes of footage from the preparation of the legendary Costume Institute Gala. It is just amazing. You get a lot of Anna here, and no Grace actually. However, you get to witness the MET event preparation including the decor, some peacocks, even Naomi Campbell, Cate Blanchett...

Behind Every Strong Woman Is a Stronger One
The success of television shows devoted to fashion and of websites that follow the runways is ample proof that when it comes to our appetite for fashion, more is more. The handicap that this documentary faces is that we think we know more than we do. Take Anna Wintour, who was so memorably caricatured by Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada." Anyone would probably pale in comparison to a fictionalized representation of herself by Meryl Streep, so if Wintour emerges from this film as less interesting than you had assumed, it's not her fault.

It may be the fault of the director, however. Surely the world that Ms. Wintour orchestrates is a complicated place, and everyone on screen agrees that Wintour's influence is far-reaching. But no one, least of all the director, seems to be able to say precisely why. Instead, R.J. Cutler's direction gives us redundant shots of Wintour at runway shows or studios (always with dark glasses, which begs the question of whether she can...

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