Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
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Actor: Dale Kent, Jerry Brotton, Marcello Fantoni, Mario Biagioli, Ross KingBrand: Paramount
Editor: Richard Cox
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 220 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
DVD Review: This PBS series does not always keep its focus on the Medici
Summary: 4 Stars
Actually, what troubled me while watching "Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance," was the narration by Massimo Marinoni. It was not as bad as listening to Chico Marx's Eyetalian accent, but I did find it a bit heavy handed at times for this PBS documentary series. If this were for a part in a movie about the Medici it might work, but here it ended up being an annoyance far too often and made the silent actors who play out the historical episodes under consideration look good in comparison. Those re-enactments are mixed with the talking heads of historians and writers who comment on the history.
The focus here is on the Medici family of Florence during the Italian Renaissance in the 15th century, and I should point out that my family cooked for them (and did some poisoning apparently). Their rise to power was as a political family was based on running a bank, which, in time, became the official bank of the Vatican. Two of the Medici even became Popes, but they are also remembered for being patrons of the arts and sciences. Such towering figures as Michelangelo, da Vinci, Botticelli, Vasari, and Galileo all worked for the Medici, and there are times when the documentary gets sidetracked by artistic and architectural accomplishments that push the Medici into the background. This is what justifies the series subtitle, since it suggests the Medici were operating the strings that allowed art to flourish. But you will end up knowing more about how Michelangelo's "David" served as a political symbol during this period than you will about some of the Medici who are supposedly the primary focus. The result is a general introduction to both the Medici and the Italian Renaissance, but not by any means a comprehensive examination of either.
"The Medici" is comprised of four episodes, which basically focus on succeeding generations of the Florentine family. "Birth of a Dynasty" follows the rise of Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464) as the family came to power in Florence in the early 1400s amidst political intrigue. This was when Cosmio established a balance of power between Florence, Milan and Venice. As a patron of culture, Cosimo was responsible for the Palazzo Medici and commissioned works by the likes of Donatello. "The Magnificent Medici" is centered on Cosmio's grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-92), who survived an assassination attempt by the competing Pazzi family and gathered the intellectual flower of the times in Florence. With great artists like Botticelli, Michelangelo and da Vinci around, this is probably the most familiar ground of the documentary. What becomes key here are Lorenzo's failures in the family banking business, because along with the rise of Girolamo Savonarola, who religious orthodoxy led to the celebrating Bonfire of the Vanities, that set the stage for the next generation of Medici where the Church becomes the stage for power politics.
"The Medici Popes" finds the Medici cousins Givoanni (1475-1523) and Giulio (1478-1534) ending up in robe as Pope Leo X and Pope Clement VII. This episode establishes the greatest impact of the Medicis on western civilization as Pope Leo X commissions the Sistine Chapel and other great works fo arts, but empties the coffers of the Church. As a way of raising money he starts selling papal indulgences, which is what outrages Martin Luther and leads to the Reformation. By the end of this one the question "How many battalions has the Pope?" is clearly not a rhetorical one. "Power vs. Truth" is centered on Cosimo I the Great (1519-1574), who restored the Medici fortunes as the First Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, this Cosimo is forgotten by the end of the episode as the Inquisition takes sway in Italy and the fate of Galileo is presented as not only the end of the Italian Renaissance but the final chapter of the Medicis as well. However, Galileo's "trial" was in 1633, decades after Cosimo's death, so the link is not as strong as that between the Medici Pope and Martin Luther in the previous episode.
So, on the one hand I certainly learned more about the Medici then I knew before. Certainly I have a better sense of the key generations in the family's history to go along with their resumes for patronage. But on the other hand I also have the feeling that there is so much more to learn about this family. Each generation gets its own episode, but there is a varying degree to which the focus stays on each of those generations. The makers of the documentary seem much more comfortable talking about the building of the Duomo, the magnificent dome built by Filippo Brunelleschi for the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, than about the machinations of Lorenzo and the other Medici. To find out more, we will just have to look elsewhere.
Description of Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
From a small italian community in 15th century florence the medici family would rise to rule europe in many ways. An epic drama played out in the courts cathedrals and palaces of europe this series is both the tale of one familys powerful ambition and of europes tortured struggle. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 04/05/2005 Run time: 240 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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