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The September Issue

PG-13 Released Aug 28, 2009 1h 30m Documentary List
83% Tomatometer 114 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Each August, fashion mavens look forward to getting their hands on a copy of Vogue magazine's autumn issue. Filmmaker R.J. Cutler gains unprecedented access to the inner workings of this fashion bible, as legendary Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and her staff carry out the massive preparations necessary to produce the issue.
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The September Issue

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Critics Consensus

This doc about the making of Vogue's biggest issue and its frosty editor-in-chief is fascinating eye candy and light-on-its-feet fun.

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Critics Reviews

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Brad Newsome Sydney Morning Herald The frosty Winter is renowned for being something of a human steamroller, but the documentary shows the more interesting character to be her right-hand woman and creative director, Grace Coddington...One for the fashionistas. Apr 25, 2019 Full Review Nathan Lee Film Comment Magazine The September Issue is a misshapen, mix-and-match affair, an ill-fitting ensemble of individually compelling pieces. Oct 20, 2014 Full Review Keith Uhlich Time Out Give [Anna Wintour] a knife and a temper-raising goose and she wouldn't be out of place chasing a screeching Karen Black around her apartment. Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Debbie Baldwin Ladue News If you are interested in fashion, it's a fascinating look behind the scenes. Rated: 7/10 Dec 11, 2018 Full Review Amy Taubin Artforum Insubstantial though it is, The September Issue has its pleasures and even revelations. Jun 1, 2015 Full Review Joshua Starnes ComingSoon.net The September Issue is like the world's most perfect accessory; pointless, but difficult not to look at. And look at it long enough, you might actually find you like it. Rated: 7.5/10 Apr 1, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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TK Y A classic. A definitive look at the iconic Anna Wintour and her unsung stylist Grace Coddington at work. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/06/23 Full Review Audience Member - In fashion, it's all about The September Issue - I've got a complicated relationship with fashion. I tend to eschew trends for collecting odds and ends of clothing as hand-me-downs or in second-hand shops. Yet watching "Project Runway" and "America's Next Top Model" with my sister are some of my fondest and most fascinating television memories. I recently viewed (and became appropriately enraged by) The True Cost, a heartbreaking exposé on the way the fast-fashion is damaging so many spheres of our world. But growing up, I also endlessly watched Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, in which a lowly housekeeper (Angela Lansbury) travels to Paris to fulfil her lifelong dream of owning a Christian Dior gown. I find myself somewhere between the spectrums, trying to balance a love of and fascination for beauty and whimsy with a general disdain for materialism, waste, and abuse of resources. What's the big deal about fashion? it's easy to wonder. But oh... those Dior gowns! Now that I've seen them, I'm not sure I want to live in a world without them. In the documentary The September Issue, R.J. Cutler (If I Stay) gives us a glimpse into the complicated world of fashion deep in the offices at Vogue in NYC as the editors prepare for their largest and most iconic publication of the year. Anna Wintour, American Vogue's editor-in-chief, is the sun around which this solar system revolves. A soft-spoken, sophisticated woman, she's stoic enough to strike fear into the hearts of interns and brutal enough to (probably) be a major inspiration for Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. When she speaks into the camera, Wintour is unashamed of fashion and of Vogue; there's even a glint of fight in her eyes. She dares us to tell her that what she does is frivolous. While Wintour is the Pope of the fashion world, Vogue's creative director Grace Coddington is the rising tide that isn't afraid to crash against Wintour. Their saga underscores the film, and helps us understand the different forces at work behind every publication. Wintour is the Ice Queen -- hidden behind a precise bob and dark shades, ready to slash a collection at a moment's notice. But Coddington, with her mane of fluffy red hair, admits that she's a romantic, ready to battle for beautiful shots when other editors are quick to dismiss. Their clashes and disagreements are fascinating to watch, especially as I've been a strong-willed artist who has played both roles on different creative teams over the years. Sometimes you have to cut. Sometimes you have to look deeper and bring out the beauty. Despite the tension, it's satisfying to watch each woman praise the other behind her back, once the cameras cut away from their quarrel to introspective private interview times. They know the other is brilliant. They need each other. So much is illuminating about this documentary, especially since I don't keep up with the industry normally. It's been nearly ten years since it was filmed, but a quick internet search shows that these colossal figures at Vogue are still going strong, still standing as unshakeable foundations in this bittersweet fairyworld we call fashion. There's a lot to say about Anna Wintour. She brought back fur as a fashion staple in the 90's. She foresaw the current mania of celebrity worship, and started putting stars on Vogue covers long before it became the norm. She runs an office where people discuss photoshopping a model into a Frankenstein version of the original image as casually as lunch. And yet, like me, like the fashion industry itself, she's complicated. To her, in the 60's, fashion was interconnected with everything: women's emancipation, shattered class systems, the Pill. Now she has a daughter who vows she will never work in the fashion world. Wintour's siblings are advocates and writers with solemn job titles. They are "amused" by her work, she admits slowly, with measured words. She gives into moments of stillness and pause when she tries to find the right way to speak the phrase. "You can't stay behind. You have to go charging ahead." The last moment of the film features a cut between the run-through of the October clothes, and Wintour giving the camera a coy glance. "So, what else?" she queries lightly. September is gone, just as it leaves every year. She doesn't dwell there, even if it has been immortalized in film. She's got big plans for next month. ---------- This review was first published on Narrative Muse, http://www.narrativemuse.co/movies/the-september-issue, and was written Debbie Holloway. Narrative Muse curates the best books and movies by and about women and non-binary folk on our website http://narrativemuse.co and our social media channels. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Glad Grace Coddington kinda stole the show from her curator, the Wintour. I can't take people who treat others like shit seriously and, sorry, but I do like to wear black. When you treat your Asian assistant like a dog giving the rudest possible tone to your 'excuse me' and demand a coffee from your black servant like this isn't a new millennium your talents as an editor and your visionary trendsetting ways don't look like success much to me. Thank you R.J. Cutler for kindly trying to let us know just who tells the devil to wear Prada, especially when it is so hard to get through what really hides behind those sunglasses. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member An intriguing, funny and even educational fly-on-the-wall look at icy Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of VOGUE, and her army of fashionistas at work as they scramble to put together the titular issue, or what some call the yearly Bible in fashion. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Great journey seeing creativity coming to commerce Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Documentary on the production process of Vogue is exciting. The documentary also projects image of Chief Editor of Vogue, Ana Wintour. She is called 'Nuclear Winter' or 'Ice Queen' as she is said to be aloof and demanding. People who know her very well imply that influence of Vogue over the fashion industry is supported by her sensibility and effective top-down management. The Vogue success story is comfortable to one's eyes but it may not enough to portray Ana Wintour who reigns the dizzyingly changing fashion industry for a quarter century as, I guess, it requires extraordinary strength as an editor and management. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The September Issue

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Movie Info

Synopsis Each August, fashion mavens look forward to getting their hands on a copy of Vogue magazine's autumn issue. Filmmaker R.J. Cutler gains unprecedented access to the inner workings of this fashion bible, as legendary Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and her staff carry out the massive preparations necessary to produce the issue.
Director
R.J. Cutler
Producer
Eliza Hindmarch, R.J. Cutler, Sadia Shepard
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
Production Co
A&E IndieFilms, Actual Reality Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 28, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.8M
Runtime
1h 30m
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