This six and a half hour documentary mini-series succeeds in humanizing the mysterious media force of nature known as Andy Warhol, covering his shooting in 1968 until his early death in 1987. I didn't know much about Warhol before I started watching this documentary. I was eighteen years old when he died, and I was more familiar with his film work and the Factory days of the 1960's than his bizarre career in the 1980's.
Director Rossi divides the six episodes by the major relationships Warhol was having after his near-death at the hands of Valerie Solanas: interior decorator Jed Johnson, film executive Jon Gould, and wunderkind artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, plus Warhol's reaction to the AIDS panic of the 1980's. Bill Irwin provides narration via an AI program to make him sound more like Warhol, and the recreations enhance the tons of actual footage that the producers had access to. The story centers around the book The Andy Warhol Diaries, which was edited by Pat Hackett. Warhol would call Hackett every morning and tell her what he had done during that period, and Hackett would transcribe the phone calls.
I also appreciated that this is not a glowing celebration of the artist. Warhol is presented, warts and all. His possible racism is excused away, though, which completely flies in the face of today's presentism, and his reaction to the AIDS crisis seems over-the-top until we consider the planet's reaction to the Covid pandemic. Both Johnson and Gould were part of two sets of identical twins, so seeing their brothers and how they may have looked today is very emotional. The film makers ask the interview subjects some uncomfortable questions, and someone says it best: you can write a million books or make a million movies, but no one will ever "know" Andy Warhol. Even people who knew him his entire life have different interpretations of his artwork, or were unaware of his romantic relationships or religious beliefs. After Nancy Reagan was featured on the cover of Warhol's Interview magazine to much protest, someone brings up that "even Republicans buy artwork." Warhol seems to have been torn between his carefully crafted public persona and his private life. His reactions to some of the lowpoints of his career are insightful, when he was wronged or slighted, he usually told Hackett about it. I've seen his episode of "The Love Boat," and his performance is only beat out in its awfulness by Halston's guest turn.
This is a strong documentary, I spaced the six episodes over a few nights once the kiddies went to bed. I don't usually do this, but I would recommend the following films if you want to learn more about Warhol's Factory years: "Beautiful Darling,"
"Superstar in a Housedress," "A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory," "Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story," plus the myriad of films that were done by Warhol and others in that period. Also check out "Basquiat" and "I Shot Andy Warhol."
"The Andy Warhol Diaries" delves deeper into the artist's life more than any other documentary I have seen. It would serve as a good introduction, or a strong review of his life.
