The September Issue

Sycophantic, glossy puff piece on an industry whose extravagances could at least use a bit of skepticism (if not outright criticism). Anna Wintour remains inscrutable, but at least Grace Coddington has a new fan.

Anna is an amazing bitch.

There was a whole ton of potential here, but the potential was choked off by the fact that everyone is so self-aware and not-themselves in front of the camera. Especially Anna. Nothing was more laughable than the fat guy pretending like he actually plays tennis. Grace gives it a go; she's the only human being in the movie.

Too tied up in its own world to create sufficient interest for an outsider. Also, the score attempts to create drama in frivolities.

I've slowly come to realize two things about documentaries. One, they're just like all other films in that their mission is simply to tell a story. Secondly for it to be interesting and informative / thought provoking it must be holistic. Fortunately this documentary is that and so much more. Besides being wonderfully entertaining, it gets quite personal into the mind of an intriguing icon and what it's like to work with and around such a commanding and controlling figure. Simply Fabulous!

Anna Wintour is not that interesting at all.

Cutler's documentary version of The Devil Wears Prada. The bleeding and sweating, the fighting and dying, over the tiniest details will retain a degree of fascination no matter how trivial the details. (E.g., cover girl Sienna Miller's teeth, hair, etc. How does she dare show her face in public?) From a certain angle, the more trivial, the more fascinating.

The Devil Wears Prada...but for real.

Some interesting, if mostly loathsome, people on display: there's Wintour. who maintains a completely unmerited demeanor that had presumably disappeared w/ the divine right of kings. Then there's a gay black editor who has the temerity 2 cry about lack of beauty in the industry when he himself is fat enough2 b a close cousin of Jabba the Hutt.Wintour's necessary counterpoint however is an extremely creative, forever put-upon foto designer who manages 2 b 1 of the only admirable people on screen

Even-handed but I found a lot of what could be drawn from this film is more in what people aren't saying. As a basic documentary on running a fashion magazine, ignoring the personal drama/Anna Wintour, it was still pretty interesting too!

The most polarizing scene in 'The September Issue' also happens to be it's first. Anna Wintor plays "us or them" stating the only people who aren't into fashion are those who are upset that they can't be a part of it. You either agree or disagree with that point, but it paints the rest of the film differently. If you're on my end, her daughter is a much needed breath of fresh air. What does rise above the bootlicking over Wintor and her empire is the dedication and heart of her lackey, Grace.

Guess whether you like this movie depends in large part as to whether you like Anna Wintour. Personally, I am loathe to the fashion industry but always intrigued by the process (and the graphics) of magazine production, which the movie does reveal at least in part (obviously we are not let in on all the secrets). Vogue's ability to cower designers and retailers is pretty amazing. Coddington's love-hate relationship with her unique position at Vogue is the best part of the film.

"For the past year or so, Wintour's been on the media warpath to win back her image, and Cutler seems happy to oblige." - Paul Schrodt

An interesting peek at the making of a Fashion magazine. Nothing more, nothing less. Surprisingly Wintour is not the demon depicted in various films, but rather just an ambitious, slightly narcissistic older woman with a lot of power.

grace, i understand your pov, but please stop whining.

Its a good surface level documentary but it doesn't even begin to get underneath the skin of the industry

Basically no insight into Anna Wintour, though her creative guru Grace Coddington seems fascinating. The process of developing an issue of Vogue is interesting, but this offers little new.