When you think of Ed Hardy these days you tend to think of seeing tons of shirts with his images on them on a sale rack at Macys that are still overpriced. But before his designs where available so any jerk could buy them off the rack, he helped shape the modern world of tattoos and this documentary gives some great insight into the artist.
Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World consists mostly of interviews with Ed Hardy, but his wife and other tattoo artists also talk about him and their experiences with him. Starting from his childhood in the 1950s, when he discovered the world of tattoos, Hardy and others tell the story of how he went from being a surfer in San Diego to an art student in San Francisco; from a young tattoo artist whose first shop fails, to one of the most popular and well known tattoo artists on the planet.
Director Emiko Omori, who can be seen in the film getting a tattoo herself, shows her love for Hardy and the world of tattoos with this documentary. She does a fantastic job of balancing the interview footage with vintage photos and footage and tons of examples of Hardy’s beautiful art (warning to parents or prudish people: these segments of the film show some full frontal nudity).
Hardy himself comes off as a very down to earth and humble man. He has wonderful ideas about the history of art and it’s fascinating to see where all his inspirations came from that shaped his easily recognizable style. He shows his passion for art of all styles and respect for the tattoo artists that came before him.
This is a fascinating documentary that gives some great insight into a talented artist and the wonderful world of tattoos. Another warning: watching this film will most likely make you want to go out and get yourself a tattoo.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital Stereo. This is a great looking documentary the film quality is very high and it sounds fine too.
Extras include Additional footage: (77 min.): You get almost a whole second film’s worth of footage from interviews to more art work. Most of it is pretty good, too.
Going into this I was very much over Ed Hardy, being sick of seeing jerks and soccer moms wearing his clothes all over creation. But this documentary reminded me there is way more to Hardy than that. If you have even a remote interest in the word of tattoos you’re sure to enjoy this.
Docuramafilms presents Ed Hard: Tattoo the world. Written and Directed by: Emiko Omori. Starring: Ed Hardy. Running time: 75 min. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: September 29, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.
