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Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut

Play trailer Poster for Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut 2021 1h 54m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was among the most consequential and controversial artists of the 20th Century. "Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut," offers restored scenes depicting Mapplethorpe's childhood love of photography, his embattled relationship with his father, and his lingering, ambivalent connection to the Catholic faith. The film follows Robert's important love affair with Patti Smith and his subsequent, pivotal romance with powerhouse art collector Sam Wagstaff. We see Mapplethorpe's development of a precise, erotically-charged photographic style, along with his ultimately successful struggle to attain mainstream recognition--a status interrupted, although barely halted, by his untimely death from AIDS. "Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut," portrays a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft, along with the self-destructive impulses that threatened to undermine everything he prized.

Critics Reviews

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Matt Zoller Seitz RogerEbert.com 04/13/2021
2.5/4
The thing that makes the film stand out is the way it shows artists relating to each other and to their work. Go to Full Review David-Elijah Nahmod OUT FRONT Magazine (Denver) 05/09/2023
It offers a lot of insight into what made Robert Mapplethorpe tick even if it does omit a few important things. Go to Full Review David Reddish Queerty 03/13/2022
3.5/4
Mapplethorpe: The Directors Cut elevates the material from a mediocre biopic to a compelling and challenging vision of a man driven to near madness by his own contradictionsnot to mention everyone else around him Go to Full Review Morgan Rojas Cinemacy 04/29/2021
2/5
Seeing the 2018 film's Rotten Tomatoes score may make you hesitant to invest two hours into watching this new version, and unfortunately The Director's Cut doesn't add enough to improve that thought. Go to Full Review Jason Adams Pajiba 04/02/2021
The Director's Cut, I will say up front, is a better movie than the even-flatter 2018 version was... Still, this film has little insight into Mapplethorpe's artistic drives (save fame and sex and drugs oh my!). Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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05/19/2021 This is a beautiful film that stuck with me for days. See more 05/18/2021 Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut provided a beautiful glimpse into Robert Mapplethorpe's life. I especially enjoyed the added footage and new soundtrack. See more Read all reviews
Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut

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Cast & Crew

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Ondi Timoner

Director

Matt Smith

Robert Mapplethorpe

Marianne Rendón

Patti Smith

John Benjamin Hickey

Sam Wagstaff

Brandon Sklenar

Edward Mapplethorpe

McKinley Belcher III

Milton Moore

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Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut

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Movie Info

Synopsis Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was among the most consequential and controversial artists of the 20th Century. "Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut," offers restored scenes depicting Mapplethorpe's childhood love of photography, his embattled relationship with his father, and his lingering, ambivalent connection to the Catholic faith. The film follows Robert's important love affair with Patti Smith and his subsequent, pivotal romance with powerhouse art collector Sam Wagstaff. We see Mapplethorpe's development of a precise, erotically-charged photographic style, along with his ultimately successful struggle to attain mainstream recognition--a status interrupted, although barely halted, by his untimely death from AIDS. "Mapplethorpe, The Director's Cut," portrays a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft, along with the self-destructive impulses that threatened to undermine everything he prized.
Director
Ondi Timoner
Producer
Richard J. Bosner, Eliza Dushku, Nate Dushku, Ondi Timoner
Screenwriter
Ondi Timoner, Mikko Alanne
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 2, 2021
Runtime
1h 54m