Remember a few years back when everyone was freaking out over the artists that constructed thousands of fabric-covered "gates" in Central Park? Those artists were Christo & Jeanne-Claude, and this exhaustive 3DVD box set from Plexifilm documents the first 20 years of the married couple's career (1974-1995), featuring even more impressive exploits, all seen through the keen lens of the Maysles Brothers (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens). The pair are "environmental artists" who take on massive scale art projects (almost always involving nature and fabric) which they finance themselves and leave standing for only a short time - you've really got to see these things to get the full impact of what these people do. Disc 1 starts with Christo's 1974 draping of a massive orange curtain between two mountains in Colorado ("Christo's Valley Curtain"), as well as their 1978 effort to build a 24 mile long / 18 foot high fence of white fabric across the hills of Northern California ("Running Fence"). Disc 2 features Christo & Jeanne-Claude's 1986 attempt to surround eleven islands in Biscayne Bay with 6.5 million square feet of bright pink fabric ("Islands") as well as "Christo In Paris," where, in 1990, they wrapped the Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine in Paris. Disc 3 features "Umbrellas" - you've just gotta see that one for yourself. Not only are the couple's stunts impressive, but these films are extremely well made and Plexifilm has put a great package together here with bonus interviews, audio commentaries, a full-color slipcase and (best of all) an 82-page booklet with amazing exclusive photos, essays and project histories. Recommended.

reviewed by Larri Byrd