National Gallery
Zipporah Films | Release Date: November 5, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
89
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Little White LiesMark AschFeb 14, 2022
Wiseman shows us the “how” of art appreciation, from politics to philosophy, in a film vast in scope, and richly suggestive in insight. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernNov 24, 2014
The knowledge that Rembrandt recycled his own paintings doesn't minimize the scene in Frederick Wiseman's documentary where we see an X-ray of one of the Dutch master's portraits — and go, ''Wow!'' Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 21, 2014
Frederick Wiseman’s documentary National Gallery is for art lovers, movie lovers – basically for anybody. Ostensibly a film about London’s famous museum, it’s really about the experience of art in all its manifestations. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 20, 2014
National Gallery isn’t just about a museum full of famous pictures. It’s about the nature of art, and art’s acolytes; about the mystery of what may lie beneath a particular painting’s visible surface; about the business of art at a time when money can be scarce and attention spans can be short. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyNov 7, 2014
Like the Maysles brothers, like Shirley Clarke, like D.A. Pennebaker at his heights, Wiseman has created a body of work that proves him a great filmmaker, period. His latest picture, National Gallery, is a typically lucid, graceful and unobtrusively multi-tiered work. Read full review
100
Time OutKeith UhlichNov 4, 2014
The popular view of art is that it belongs to the masses. Wiseman casts a more skeptical eye, questioning such egalitarianism with cold, hard historical context. Yet he simultaneously acknowledges that these works live on far beyond their original purpose, even if, as the film’s bold, brilliant climax suggests, they may eventually play to an audience of none. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisNov 4, 2014
Like most of Mr. Wiseman’s work, the movie is at once specific and general, fascinating in its pinpoint detail and transporting in its cosmic reach. Read full review
100
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 26, 2014
It’s beautifully organised, and there’s no way you could possibly watch it without learning all kinds of stuff. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyNov 20, 2014
In a time when so many documentary filmmakers take on advocacy roles, National Gallery represents the heart of what Wiseman does best — step back and let the place and its people lead the story. Read full review
90
Village VoiceNick SchagerNov 4, 2014
Like so much of his celebrated work, documentarian Frederick Wiseman's National Gallery is long, leisurely paced, wide-ranging, meticulously crafted, intellectually intricate, and touched with profundity. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyNov 13, 2014
In a sense, there can be nothing ordinary about such an extraordinary place. Furthermore, Wiseman’s special gift as a filmmaker has been to show how searching attention reveals that there really is no such thing as ordinariness. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineJames LattimerNov 2, 2014
In the style of an ambling, yet entirely focused visitor, the film continually circles back to pictures, protagonists, and situations to furnish them with new meanings, alter their perception, or even directly challenge their previous presentation. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 5, 2014
It's hard to say what's more fascinating: The engaging explication of various paintings by the remarkably articulate docents, the behind-the-scenes looks at the preservation and restoration processes, or the boardroom discussions about the appropriateness of marketing efforts. Actually, that third one probably isn't the most fascinating, but I still wanted more of it. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloNov 4, 2014
Unlike Wiseman’s greatest films, National Gallery never quite finds an overarching theme. There’s a fair amount of material regarding the art/commerce divide, but many scenes have no bearing whatsoever on that subject, and the film generally lacks urgency. Read full review
83
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonMay 26, 2014
Wiseman's film is the most nourishing example of cinematic brain food you'll have all year. Read full review
80
The DissolveDavid EhrlichNov 3, 2014
The ultimate value of the famed filmmaker’s latest documentary—a subject National Gallery turns into a reflexive concern—is not that Wiseman makes it possible for a broader audience to see these priceless works of art, but that the scope of his project invites all audiences to look at them through an illuminating new lens. Read full review
80
CineVueEd FranklMay 26, 2014
In his signature style, without talking heads, narration or explanatory context, Wiseman takes us straight into the London gallery itself and the inhabitants inside - both human and paint-form. Read full review
80
VarietyJay WeissbergMay 26, 2014
The effect of National Gallery is to reinforce the notion that paintings are objects to know and understand. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryNov 13, 2014
National Gallery could have used a few more edits; its long run time may limit its appeal. But the film is remarkably engaging and, with close looks at so many important pieces of art, bursting with beauty. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNov 5, 2014
Less tiring than a three-hour tramp through the halls, and considerably less expensive than a plane ticket, National Gallery gives the feeling of having seen everything there is to see. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 26, 2014
National Gallery feels closer to a pure aesthetic investigation than an organizational exposé, and in that respect is reminiscent of recent Paris-set films like Crazy Horse or La Danse, mostly allowing the art to speak for itself. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisDec 18, 2014
For art lovers, though, there is plenty to savor. Read full review
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