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Tim's Vermeer

Play trailer Poster for Tim's Vermeer PG-13 Released Jan 31, 2014 1h 20m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 118 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Inventor Tim Jenison conducts experiments to discover how 17th-century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer achieved such photographic realism in his paintings.
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Tim's Vermeer

Tim's Vermeer

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Critics Consensus

Entertaining and profound in equal measure, Tim's Vermeer uses its seemingly esoteric subject to pose fascinating questions about art and obsession.

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Critics Reviews

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh metro.co.uk As a portrait of one man's all-consuming persistence alone, it's astonishing. Rated: 3/5 Sep 6, 2017 Full Review Eddie Cockrell The Australian Perhaps the ultimate take-away from Tim's Vermeer is the unquenchable curiosity of certain people, albeit those with the money to finance that inquisitiveness, to get to the bottom of history's mysteries. In that respect, Jenison is an artist. Rated: 4/5 Jul 9, 2014 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle It's obvious in hindsight why Penn and Teller would be so drawn to this ethereally beautiful mystery: Their passion for all things seemingly magical, often mechanical, and always amazing is practically their trademark. Rated: 3/5 Mar 20, 2014 Full Review Michael Clark Epoch Times It's “The Da Vinci Code” minus all of the abject religious hyperbole and superfluous flummery, with more authentic and organic drama. It’s for people who like to get into the heads of complicated, creative people, and figure out what makes them tick. Rated: 4/5 Apr 17, 2024 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse The technical nuts and bolts of Jenison's theory are playfully presented and fascinating but the real appeal here is the personal story of the eccentric inventor's obsession and determination. Rated: 4/5 Feb 1, 2021 Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site Tim's Vermeer is, just that, Tim Jenison's "Vermeer." In fact, the movie is not about Vermeer. It is about Tim Jenison-a fascinating and unusual subject... Aug 13, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Georgan G Interesting from several perspectives: art history, Tim's obsession to do this project, and whether Vermeer used the same tools. I did get cross-eyed from watching Tim doing such tiny work. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/10/23 Full Review John H I heartily agree with the other critics. Documentaries can be difficult to digest at times. This one was a thorough pleasure. Sounds gory, but it was like picking Vermeer's brain. He's been dead a long time. Nicely put together. Like watching a beautiful, intricate puzzle come together before your very eyes. Thank you, Tim Jenison. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/22/23 Full Review Paul C The documentary is "must see" for its profound revelations and as a window into what is an extraordinary effort worthy of an important part of art history. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member The elephant in the room here is that - even after the years of experimenting and researching and months of intricate painting - it's very obvious that Tim Jenison's no artist. His photo-exact reproduction of Vermeer's The Music Room ultimately seems rather pointless, and - as I'm sure he'd admit - doesn't address the fact that Vermeer was still a great artist, with or without the use of lenses and mirrors. One can understand Penn & Teller's desire to showcase their friend's journey, but the finished film is actually pretty tedious, except when it's given over to the art experts and scientists. David Hockney is an especially welcome contributor. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Heavily flawed ideas about art. Under drawings are not always necessary, and Vermeer worked with glazes. Thus, he had an underpainting. This has been proven w/ forensics, but the facts were ignored so this documentary could posit that a master painter of the Baroque period was some kind of "cheater". Tim's version is a crap imitation and looks like somebody did a paint by number version of the Vermeer. No detail, just smudges. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member It has been a long time since someone else's obsession and infatution with something has become one of my own. Tim's Vermeer did exactly that. It not only captures one man's extreme desire to solve what seems to the rest of the art world as an unsolvable mystery. But the amount of dedication one person can have when an obsession takes over. I will be recommending this documentary to anyone interested in domcumetary format until the day I die. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Tim's Vermeer

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Movie Info

Synopsis Inventor Tim Jenison conducts experiments to discover how 17th-century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer achieved such photographic realism in his paintings.
Director
Teller
Producer
Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
Screenwriter
Teller, Penn Jillette
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
High Delft Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Some Strong Language)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 31, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 10, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.7M
Runtime
1h 20m
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