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List Price: $26.95 | | Label: MONTEREY VIDEO
Salesrank: 11621
Released: September 8, 2009 |
| Our Price: $14.53 |
| Used Price: $4.98 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
Closed-captioned Color Dolby DVD NTSC | |
Editorial Review:
Inspired by a True Story
A renowned artist looks back with loving memories on the summer of his defining year, 1974, when he befriended an elderly, alcoholic yet genius painter who has turned his back not only on art, but on life.
As a student he wants to learn all the secrets the master has locked away inside his head and heart. But time has not been kind to the old master and his life and work have lost their meaning. Over the course of the summer the students enthusiasm and innocence rekindles the masters artistic passion -a tenuous relationship forms between student and master. Together, they give one another a priceless gift. The student learns to see the world through the eyes of an artist, while the master remembers how to see past the ugliness in life and once again embrace the beauty.
One Master. One Student. One Summer to Dream.
Local Color Reviews:
cartoon characters in drivelly story 
2009-12-09 - this was a truly awful movie. i was embarressed to be a painter. ugh. might have been interesting if it had been edited down to 10 minutes.
colorful artist 
2009-12-04 - I was looking forward to this film which was unavailable in my area, so Amazon provided it,
and I was not disappointed. It arrived promptly in good condition and I found the story engaging.
It's of special interest to an artist (which I am).
Local Color
2009-11-04 - This is a must see video for anyone who loves and appreciates art. I found this movie to be one of the best I've seen. I'm against the profanity, but if you ignore it this is a very good movie.
A Beautiful Notion Partially Paralyzed by an Shaky Script 
2009-10-11 - LOCAL COLOR is one of those films that move sensitive audience members despite its flaws. The story by George Gallo (also responsible for the script) is based on a true event - the coming together of a young student artist with a crusty alcoholic master painter and how one summer of cohabitation in the beauty of Pennsylvania's countryside sets the stage for the transformation of each. The idea is excellent and the story does indeed provide information about the importance of representational art in a world preferring the jolt of 'progressive art' for both the novice art appreciator and art students - among other values - but the dialogue at times is so repetitive and predictable that the mood frequently changes inappropriately.
Armin Mueller-Stahl lends his usual credibility to the tortured soul of Nicoli Seroff, a Russian landscape artist of advanced years who came to America after the Stalin purges murdered his family and his wife Anya and who now paints very little because of his disillusionment with the contemporary art scene and the tenor of the times. Down the street (the film begins in Port Chester, New York - the year is 1974) lives a lad named John Talia, Jr (Trevor Morgan) who is at odds with his inner need to create art and the world of 'normal boys' as viewed by his father (Ray Liotta). Through a series of instances John discovers Nicoli and after frustrated attempts to study art with the master, Nicoli begrudgingly invites John to his summer studio in the wilds of Pennsylvania. There the two grow into each other's worlds, in part due to the external influences of art critic Curtis Sunday (Ron Perlman) and the lonely Carla (Samantha Mathis) - a young girl whose only child is now dead and who lives for the closeness of caring for Nicoli. How the boy and the master mend fences and learn form each other is the story of a summer of enlightenment.
The acting is very fine, the photography matches the mood of the landscapes each of the two characters approach, and the story line is touching. Gallo somehow finds it necessary to pepper his dialogue with two expletives that grow boring and seem like laziness on the part of the script writing. But once over this bothersome hurdle the result of this film is a touching tribute to the concept of inspiration and the camaraderie of master and pupil. Especially fine for art students who are faced with the dilemma of representational versus non-representational expression in art. Grady Harp, October 09
Inspired by a true story
2009-09-29 - Inspired by a true story, Local Color is the award-winning movie of a young student who, in 1974, befriended an alcoholic yet brilliant master painter. The student longs to learn the master's wisdom, while the master struggles to find any meaning in his life or his work. Together, they learn from each other - the student comes to see the world as an artist sees it, while the master takes inspiration from the innocence and yen for life in his student. An enthralling saga about learning to recognize and remember the beauty in life, Local Color is highly recommended. 107 minutes, rated R.
