Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse

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Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse

Released Feb 21

1h 38m

Documentary

Biography

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14 Reviews

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100+ Ratings

Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus is a landmark in reckoning with the Holocaust and breakthrough in serious comic art -- but his full achievements are more remarkable and eclectic. ART SPIEGELMAN: DISASTER IS MY MUSE tracks his beginnings in the 1960s as co-creator of the Wacky Packages trading cards; his co-founding of the underground comics magazines Arcade (with Bill Griffith) and Raw (with wife Françoise Mouly); In the Shadow of No Towers, his reaction to 9/11, inspired by witnessing the attacks from his home in lower Manhattan; his controversial covers for The New Yorker (1993-2003) that prompted the NYPD to picket the magazine's office; and his public response to Maus's recent ban by a Tennessee school board. Spiegelman proves an eloquent guide through his provocative work, along with contemporaries (Robert Crumb, Gary Panter) and younger cartoonists (Joe Sacco, Jerry Craft, Molly Crabapple) inspired by Spiegelman's unflinching confrontation of personally traumatic themes.

Bob Strauss

San Francisco Chronicle

“Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse,” the latest installment of the venerable PBS “American Masters” series, does a thorough job of laying out and appreciating all of the cartoonist’s significant, consistently subversive works.

Rated: 4/4

Apr 14, 2025

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John Anderson

Wall Street Journal

“Disaster Is My Muse” differs from other American Masters programs by having a subject who is alive, well, loves his wife, Françoise (who appears frequently and to great effect).

Apr 11, 2025

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Glenn Kenny

RogerEbert.com

A remarkably cogent and compelling presentation not just of Spiegelman’s life story but also his personality and art.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 27, 2025

Full Review

Joonatan Itkonen

Toisto.net

[This] is such a gentle and compelling portrait that I felt nourished just having seen it. Filmed over the course of multiple years, Disaster Is My Muse feels like a visit from an old friend.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 28, 2025

Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson

ill LYTeracy (Substack)

Spiegelman says early on that he never wanted to be the Elie Wiesel of comics, and the movie feels like a worthy attempt to dispel aspects of the myth while showing why maybe only he could have done what he did.

Mar 18, 2025

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

A sturdy appreciation one wishes weren’t quite so timely, as the subject keeps saying all-too-resonant things like “My father was a collaborator on this book, but then so was Hitler.”

Mar 1, 2025

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Alfia N

This is gonna be epic! Maus was a transformatif work of my young adult life. It deserves every accolade

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

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NUR R

Great documentary movie

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

Full Review

M Ihsan M

Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse" is an informative and inspiring documentary, offering deep insights into an artist who has transformed the world's perception of comics and graphic novels. It is a worthwhile watch for those interested in art, history, and freedom of expression.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/24/25

Full Review

No N

the history about presentation spiegelmen as well as the movie. u must see!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

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Andriyanto O

Spiegelman nice person

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

Lemon C

nailed it with his biography. 10/10

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

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Molly Bernstein

Director

Philip Dolin

Director

Françoise Mouly

Self

Art Spiegelman

Self

Dash Spiegelman

Self

Robert Crumb

Self

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Synopsis

Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus is a landmark in reckoning with the Holocaust and breakthrough in serious comic art -- but his full achievements are more remarkable and eclectic. ART SPIEGELMAN: DISASTER IS MY MUSE tracks his beginnings in the 1960s as co-creator of the Wacky Packages trading cards; his co-founding of the underground comics magazines Arcade (with Bill Griffith) and Raw (with wife Françoise Mouly); In the Shadow of No Towers, his reaction to 9/11, inspired by witnessing the attacks from his home in lower Manhattan; his controversial covers for The New Yorker (1993-2003) that prompted the NYPD to picket the magazine's office; and his public response to Maus's recent ban by a Tennessee school board. Spiegelman proves an eloquent guide through his provocative work, along with contemporaries (Robert Crumb, Gary Panter) and younger cartoonists (Joe Sacco, Jerry Craft, Molly Crabapple) inspired by Spiegelman's unflinching confrontation of personally traumatic themes.

Director: Molly Bernstein, Philip Dolin
Producer: Alicia Sams, Sam Jinishian
Distributor: Cargo Film & Releasing
Production Co: Claims Conference, Particle Productions, American Masters, Jewish Story Partners, Foothill Productions, Pollyanna
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 21, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 38m