The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022) User Reviews

Andy Warhol on a snowmobile

[ricovegas · 9/10 · 24 March 2022]

Unless you are or were a hard-core fan of Andy Warhol, you (like most of us) probably have a preconceived notion of who Warhol was. To most people, he was the weird looking guy with the bad wig who painted a bunch of Campbell soup cans. This documentary blows the lid off of any and most perceptions people had of Warhol.

I think for the most part Warhol was his own creation of who he wanted the world to think he was, i.e., eccentric, reclusive, lonely, fly-on-the-wall persona who created an almost completely new genre of modern art. He would used this self-creation to at once achieve what he most wanted (wealth and fame) while simultaneously retreating from the spotlight when it suited his purpose.

This doc peels all of the layers off of the facade. What we see is a man who was at times a social butterfly, one who craved affection just like any other person, one who fell in love and had his heart broken when the love affairs dissolved and partook in everyday activities just like the common man.

To me, two of the most startling things I found out were that Warhol was on 'The Love Boat' and he fell off of the back of a snowmobile. I was literally gob smacked.

As an added bonus, this movie is a must see for anyone who wants to know what NYC was like before, during and after the Aids epidemic. It's devastation is revisited in gut-wrenching fashion.

I highly recommend this series if you have even a passing interest in art and the life of one of the greatest modern painters of a generation.

Slow, gentle, revealing and beautiful

[oakesjascha · 8/10 · 12 March 2022]

Great portrait of Warhol and the world that surrounded him that I'll admit I'd didn't know much about. I'm very glad I got to see this. This film is free of sensation and a very respectful chronology of art and artist's relationship with people and the world.

Open mind

[karenhaum-38444 · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

I had no idea about Warhol's life except for his pop and Campbell's art. This documentary shows the human side of the artist. His weakness, fears, insecurities for which his only outlet would've been his art. Like most people in the industry, his brilliance had a price to pay. I respect his art, even though I am not a fan I watched this with an open mind and learned so much more.

No One Will Ever Know The Real Andy Warhol

[rkeilitz-19-537915 · 10/10 · 12 March 2022]

This was a binge watch for me as the 70's & 80's was my time in NYC living in an illegal loft before Soho became the in place for the BBQ crowd, I don't mean barbeque. I knew most of the people that hung out with Warhol and Basquiat and met both of them many times during the disco, drugs, drinks era. I spent most of my salary each month buying art from both of them when Basquiat was selling signed drawings on postcards for $25 and Warhol who couldn't give away his Campbell soup can paintings away at the The Odeon, which is celebrating their 42nd anniversary this year. Yes I had great insight at that time of what would be one day and now smile every time I see the prices that both of these artists command at auction. The documentary by Ryan Murphy focuses more on Warhol's lonely life as a closeted gay man looking for love and his obsession with beautiful Waspy men and death. The interviews with his inner circle that are still alive was insightful but as my title says no one will ever know the real Andy Warhol.

FANTASTIC POIGNANT PROFOUND

[stevipp · 10/10 · 23 March 2022]

Annoyed by the reviews putting this down. What planet are they all on?! 10 stars to this series. This is such a tender portrayal of his life and loves. There was much I did not know about him. The images bring his world to life and capture, with fleeting images, snippets and moments in time. A marvel of editing. I found this moving and hypnotic.

Wonderful.

Great documentary series

[kate_buckley · 10/10 · 23 March 2022]

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary series. It was interesting to get the perspective from his close friends and associates who are still alive and are interviewed in this series. Great to learn more about his art and also learn more about Basquiat. Some tragic parts in both of their stories.

Forever relevant, forever misunderstoof

[lodger1313-782-58547 · 9/10 · 12 March 2022]

This is the true treasure trove for Warhol fanatics. Much of his early life and 60's life and work is relegated to Episode one - so that we get 5 more episodes that concentrate on his private life, his love life, and his later work - elements that are often underexposed or treated as trivial. Well Warhol's post 70's work is not trivial. It is, in fact, a vibrant, complex, emotional, spiritual and still relevant. And we really get an in-depth look at it here.

This series is jam-packed with pictures, videos, film, and art that has rarely seen the light of day. It's a real treat to see actual pictures and video of what the film is describing. Yes, the storyline is somewhat culled from Warhol's Diaries - which were redacted and edited by Pat Hackett - but this is only a device to give the video, pictures, interviews and commentary here a structure. Warhol filmed and photographed and recorded constantly - and we get the feelings that there are boxes and boxes and more boxes of his work to be discovered.

But what is here is cool. And its even more cool, because we get to hear Andy's thoughts in Andy's words - but in a nothing-less-than Warholian stroke of inspiration, the words are mouth by a AI Warhol - a computerized version of his voice that sounds just enough like him to feel real - but just computerized enough to remind us that the feeling is an illusion.

Warhol's friends and family appear here and there in the film - and most of these are just wonderful to hear and see... but then there is Bob Colacello - one of the most nasty, vile, hateful and grotesque of Warhol's wannabees. Colacello wrote a book about Warhol called "Holy Terror" - but it is Colacello who is unholy - and a true garbage person. Ignore anything he says. Feel free to fast forward through his dialogue as it is trite, ignorant, mindless drivel. He belongs on the ash heap of history and all true Warhol fans will breathe a sigh of relief when he finally disappears from the planet. There will be no mourners.

The Warhol Diaries does leave a lot to be desired - but that is because the man was just a wealth of work, thought-provoking ideas, talent and inspiration. One can only hope that this is the start of something that will evolve into numerous new docu-series about the man. Warhol's 60's work, the Happenings, the Superstars and many more related topics deserve to be explored in a series of episodes that, like these, delve deeply into their existence.

And the Warhol films - Holy Moley - the films... there are almost a footnote here - but talk about a wealth of complex and unique items that deserve to be revealed more intensely and completely. One waits with baited breath. John Waters - get to work!

Yes, The Warhol Diaries explores a lot about the artist, the myth, the lover, the legend... and it leaves so much more to be returned to. We can only hope we live to see it.

Warhol will never, can never, die. His influence - not just in art - but in our daily lives - will continue for eons. He is the second half of 20th Century incarnate.

I realized I knew little of the person

[hrc-58311 · 6/10 · 14 March 2022]

Everyone knows his art so we assume that we know him but we don't.

It was slow but I found it important to signify how many generations he affected!

Could have done without the woke rheteric and judging him by today's standards - white privilege, he could have done more for the queer community, he made racist comments in his diary (although I didn't hear any specifics) and shaming him for being scared of AIDS instead of showing compassion.

The AI voice made it even more personal.

"Health is wealth."

Well Worth the Time

[ernestrx · 8/10 · 14 March 2022]

A wonderful peep behind the curtain of a genius self centered manipulator. His self marketing has never been repeated. Unser the wig was a brilliant mind. All can learn from these diaries. Was Warhol a good human being ? No.

Some serious contradictions

[koofasa · 6/10 · 2 August 2022]

In the first few episodes they talk about Andy's rise an artist and how people paid him upwards of $50,000 for a portrait using his distinct style. In episode 3 Warhol starts taking pictures of trans women and pays these unknowns $100 for the shots. They go on to say this was exploitative because the trans women were powerless. Warhol immortalized these people but today some elitist thinks he exploited these people because they only received $100 for their time. I liked this documentary until this silly issue about exploiting trans women and I also realized none of it was new. This was released on Netflix this year but none of the footage is new. If you've seen a Warhol documentary before, there is nothing new here. Also they only cover Warhol from the 1960's forward and everyone who has any appreciation of Warhol already knows this part of his life. What we've never seen is Warhol in the late 1930's, 40's or 50's. How did he become the artist we started seeing in the 1960's? Everyone knows Warhol hailed from Pittsburg and was raised in a conservative Catholic community but that is all we know. So, overall this was a disappointment. I would have rated it highly if not for the business of Warhol exploiting trans women.

Hang in there

[dklecan · 9/10 · 8 April 2022]

Didn't particularly like the first few episodes, but I enjoyed the last few ones, so hang in there. This is a wonderful, insightful, profound and entertaining biopic. Plus the majority of his friends, friends, are alive to provide insight and interpretations to his diary entries, wonderfully narrated.

Amazing how prophetic and influential his work and life are to our current era. He was the original "selfie, marketeer, and social influencer." He took fotos and video of all his events, work, social and intimate activities. In fact, it is commented what craziness he would have creative had lived he in the current social media age.

NOT a Warhol fan, here

[thejdrage · 7/10 · 19 July 2022]

I have not ever cared for Andy Warhol's work HOWEVER!! I absolutely bow down to him when it comes to painting what he wanted to paint and to making a hell of a living from it AND reinventing himself many times over.

And he did it all being scared to death of SOoooooo many things. The same things most of us are scared of but thank goodness not the the degree that he took it.

I agree with it was a bit long. 5 episodes would have been plenty. I also agree that I wanted more insight into his reasoning behind pieces. Also, more of his family life - which I forgot about as the series went on. (And I watched it in 2 days.)

This doc gave me a new insight into the man. A new respect simply because he was so terribly human - on his own level.

One of the narrators made a MASSIVE error on the pronunciation of "Rodeo" Drive in LA. How that passed the editors, I have no idea. It took me out of what I was watching, and had to rewind to make sure I actually heard him pronouncing it the way he did. Good grief! (BTW - I don't like LA either, but get things right, for pete's sake.)

Jessica Beck, who or was the assistant curator at the Andy Warhol Museum, said some things that made absolutely no sense at all. Not word salad, but whatever she was trying to say (or avoiding) was so convoluted and senseless that after another round of rewinding 3 or 5 times, I gave up. She is perfect for the museum. (IMHO.)

I still think that when it came to his art, he was the Emperor who had no clothes and fooled everyone.

While I still don't care for his art - at all - I appreciate knowing a lot more about the man and have a new found respect for him and what he went through.

Tedious

[dierregi · 1/10 · 16 March 2022]

The only point of this tedious and very long mini-series is underlining the fact that Andy Warhol was gay. In case it might have escaped your attention, Andy's friends or associates still alive and interviewed for this project swear that Andy was definitely gay.

They all refute the fact that he was "asexual" -as he liked to say- because he was gay and sexually active. He lived 12 years with a handsome guy named Jed, who dumped him when Andy got too involved with the hardcore gay scene and produced a series of very explicit images. A less handsome guy named Jon followed reluctantly on Jed's path, but he was in the closet and that's why his romance with Andy was not discovered until after Jon's death of AIDS.

As if Warhol's obsession with transvestites, his sexually explicit artworks (think Mapplethorn but in serigraphy) and his live-in boyfriends were not enough to prove the point, in each and every episode, Andy's friends repeat that he was gay but could not be openly so, because of the prudish times... which sounds like BS to me, because in the 80s lots of famous people "came out" and Andy's sexual orientation was hardly a mystery.

What is particularly tedious is this ramming on the gayness and not much being said about Andy's work or his obsession with wealthy patrons and his fear of being obsolete. There is some reference here and there, but the documentary's core is the gay part. Just in case you might have forgotten or not paid enough attention, Warhol was gay... and so on for six episodes. And no, the monotonous AI recreated voice-over of Andy does not help a bit. You get that his was gay within the first five minutes. The rest is repetition.

Did we really need another Warhol doc? Yes, and this is it.

[johnpmoseley · 9/10 · 19 March 2022]

A class act on all fronts.

First of all, from the credits on in, it looks sumptuous. The use of digital technology is far more aesthetically sophisticated than pretty much anything I'm seeing from Hollywood and shows, like only one or two other films I'm aware of (the neo Giallo 'Amer' is one) that digital at its best can make a vital, valuable contribution to movie imagery. We even get a sort of implicit origin story for all this in a couple of clips of Warhol trying early computer drawing programmes, once with instruction from Steve Jobs. The leap from that to this doc is something like that from kid's drawing to the high Renaissance. Here, the tech is used to seamlessly weave together an extraordinarily rich array of filmed source material available on Warhol with modern-day interviews and give the whole a lushness at least equal to that of film.

The digital finishing touch: with the permission of the Andy Warhol Foundation, Warhol's voice has been computer simulated to read the diaries - and just as the computerised imagery achieves warmth, the voice, the seeming summa of Warhol's stated desire to become a machine, has a surprisingly human quality, its hint of melancholy entirely right for the diaries.

This little irony of Warhol finally becoming a machine but the machine achieving feeling is almost a metaphor for the story being told here, for the likely discovery of what being a machine meant to Warhol as a man. In an almost aggressively gleeful flouting of Barthes' 'Death of the Author,' the doc is primarily about Warhol's personal life, especially his long-term love relationships with men. Excellent as Barthes' argument is in many ways, we might note at this point that he was himself a gay man in a homophobic time, who may have had his own reasons for wanting to keep the author's biography in the shadows.

This is the question being asked here: how much was Warhol's brilliantly constructed artistic persona - machinelike, detached, asexual - born of a need to hide or at least make palatable his homosexuality? As discussed here, this is not a reductive question. It more than allows for the fact that, as all art is artifice, the need to veil certain messages can actually enrich the work, and also for Warhol's work still to be read through other lenses. Nevertheless, given the way the persona played itself out in the work, I think the series makes an incredibly strong argument that this is a question, and an area of his biography, that Warhol scholarship cannot ignore, that the personal likely mattered to the work even in terms of the way it was hidden by the work.

Fortunately, for the filmmakers and the viewers, it also, by its nature, makes for a fascinating, touching human story.

Exceptional

[StevieBaby09 · 10/10 · 23 March 2022]

The naysayers will say slow, boring, tedious, they may even say it's all about his sexuality.

It's fascinating, I found the telling of his diaries and the way commentators discussed his personal life really interesting, especially around his relationships with people. There were some conflicting tales and long after his death Andy Warhol still keeps us guessing.

The doc doesn't always paint him in the best light but that adds to the curiosity. The AI was meditative and a lovely touch. The footage was brilliant, and special shout out to the curator at one of the museums who I could listen to all day long.

Brilliant documentary exposing Warhol as a human being in love

[tomperuhawaii · 10/10 · 12 March 2022]

This 6 part docu series on Andy Warhol is absolutely brilliant, as it shows the artist in a human light never seen before. Amidst the AIDS crisis and not being out as a gay man, this portrait of Warhol is devastating and beautiful at the same time. As a gay man with HIV having lived through shame and guilt myself, I am grateful but also heartbroken to have been given this private access to Warhol's life and struggles.

As a documentary lover, this is one of the best documentaries I have ever watched!

Excellent series

[ranger-85125 · 9/10 · 17 March 2022]

I enjoyed this series immensely and highly recommend it to anyone interested in Art in general and how Warhol has influenced and presaged the current world we live in.

I'm saddened and somewhat shocked by some of the vitriolic reviews here. Even after death Warhol seems to polarize. I would've thought this doc could help provide a bridge to understanding his point of view, as it did for me.

I see him as a creative genius, at least fifty years ahead of his time (or perhaps he was creating our future fifty years ago), but he was also a deeply sensitive, insecure human being, desperate for long-term love in a time and with people who could ill-provide it for him. But he wanted it on his terms and these could be extreme. A review here refers to him as not a "nice" person. I take issue with that. Was he aloof? Yes. Arrogant? At times, sure. But I see Warhol's persona mostly as a form of self-protection. A guard against further possible hurt. To me the doc depicts him as truly "nice" in encouraging so many other artists at a time when the very definition of what could be art was being upended. The fact that the mainstream art world only seemed to welcome him after his untimely death is particularly telling and hypocritical. It smelled money and came running, thus proving Andy's point.

The use of an Andy AI (and so obviously making a point of it) is a wonderful touch, as though he truly was speaking to us from some unreachable beyond, his voice recognizable, but somewhat distorted. It gives an almost spiritual quality to the piece, which I can only believe he would've appreciated.

I also feel it's important for this generation to be aware of just how devastating the AIDS crisis was in the eighties. Of just how many men died far too young and of how our leaders failed us utterly. It's a lesson we clearly haven't learned from, another predictor of the future. This series doesn't shy away from highlighting the importance of that part of history, and how it swept through this group of artists and aesthetes, decimating it and leaving the survivors shell-shocked.

Overall, I highly recommend the series for anyone who appreciates art and those who create it (and their motivations for doing so). For Warhol, creating art as a mirror of culture was what he was born to do and in the end the greatest and most lasting piece of art which he created was himself. Who nowadays does not recognize him? But like all great art, what we get out of it depends upon what we bring to it. The experience of art requires an observer. In Warhol's case, he was both the observer and the art itself.

Historically interesting some tedious parts

[jaroslaw99 · 7/10 · 22 July 2022]

Not surprised there are mostly high or low ratings. Mostly I want to say I disagree that this series was about his gayness. I think it dwelt too much on his loneliness. It seemed to me that he wrote so much about that yet refused to change. I would have liked to hear more from his family. Although I am 30 years younger I was alive for much of Andy's successful Period I enjoyed hearing from all the celebrities and art dealers, Andy's friends and the general history of the era. I think it could have been well covered in half the number of episodes.

Dark and interesting and a few small spoilers

[marlealyons · 9/10 · 21 March 2022]

I was bored and selected this series and happy I did. The really low ratings I find on here are ridiculous and uneducated. If you go into a series, movie with expectations you will be disappointed. Just sayin.

I never really liked Andy Warhol's art. It just isn't for me, although I was interested in his character. It is incredibly obvious that he suffered with PTSD after he was shot. In those days it didn't get treated. I felt sorry for this sad, morose, very troubled man. The series and direction did an excellent job portraying this fact. It is obvious that in his two serious "loving" relationships he never dropped the control or gave himself wholly. They actually depict how mean and nasty he truly was under certain circumstances.

Not being at the side of his lover as he suffered and died of aids was pretty telling. He was a very selfish person. That era of aids was frightening, misinformed, cruel and unforgiving. Men were suffering because of their sexual orientation and the single minded self righteous WASP population.

The series did very well depicting the sad, angry, manipulative side of Andy Warhol. He really wasn't a nice person at all.

Very entertaining

[stever-78045 · 9/10 · 9 September 2022]

I completely enjoyed this documentary series. If you like documentaries you'll like this. If you like Andy Warhol you'll love this. It's informative and layered. I think it's a great binge watch candidate. This series really captures the New York art scene from the late 60's and into the late 80's. It's an entertaining and thoughtful piece focusing on Warhol's rise to fame and all the interesting and artistic characters that entered and left his universe. There was much about Andy Warhol's life and history that I didn't know about and this documentary series covers all the bases. And yet I find myself asking if anyone ever really knew this complex artist. His flaws and insecurities are explored as is his somewhat conflicted love life. Several aspects of this series really resonated with me, which leads me to admit that I may be a tad biased. All who were involved with this work of art should feel proud and should also be applauded for a job well done.

Long, pretentious, pointless -- it ain't about the art

[jt-35844 · 1/10 · 15 March 2022]

"Diaries" that should have been left as private, never to be printed, let alone read in a video format -- for what is mostly revealed is an insecure, dull, and small personality. If you're hoping for insights into the art, you won't find them here and will be left thinking Warhol was nothing more than just some guy, who happened to do something different/interesting by accident, and had the luck of good timing.

The color commentators (e.g., Jerry Hall, Bob Colacello) who were interviewed to provide insight and context didn't fare much better, and came across like survivors of a time of excess drugs and sex, who are still looking to provide any sense of meaning or purpose to it all.

Cautiously entering into the 4th episode, and already reaching the "make it stop" point, the plot (?) veered into a tangent around gay culture ... so, ok enough. Another one to add to the list of Netflix bombs that could have been something, but devolved into a hot mess with no direction or point.

Didn't know what to expect and really liked it

[jim-30902 · 8/10 · 15 March 2022]

I just had a vague idea of Andy Warhol's art and knew nothing of his personality. I thought several of the people interviewed were really insightful. A few were bordering on bitchy.

Jessica Beck, Glenn Ligon, Jay Johnson, Jay Gould all very interesting.

My only criticism is the timeline wasn't accurate in some episodes. They mention Rock Hudson passing (85 or 86) then suddenly its 1983 in Central Park at a Diana Ross concert. A small complaint, I know.

I wonder why Liza, Grace Jones and Diana Ross were not interviewed. I just assume they were pals at Studio54. Speaking of which, the video clips from that club were really cool.

Lastly, for someone old enough to remember the onset of the AIDS crisis, it was portrayed very accurately (in my opinion) and it also was gut-wrenching to kind of be transported back to that time. Definitely enjoyed the show and got a sense of who he was, personally.

Revealing the Artist and the Man

[warren4326 · 10/10 · 20 March 2022]

I am glad this documentary was done while so many people that knew him are still around. Andy Warhol was an interesting person and artist. Obviously he was loved by many. There is a reason why his works are worth so much as he thought outside the box. I really enjoyed this series and what it revealed about the artist and the man.

it gives yes homeys

[leoprinceaugust · 10/10 · 12 March 2022]

Admired it, very much about Andy & the Diary, but there are some - sure - fine notes on art, very much hyped on the JMB story, they had very strong bond & it's yet the best docuseries depiction, if you are emphatic towards the artist & want to have sense what's behind the burqa, it's a fine choice to binge, study it, word.

Whats not being said

[h-maslon99 · 8/10 · 13 March 2023]

I moved to NYC in 1990, two years after Warhol died, but a lot of his entourage was still around, and most of them carried the air of exclusivity that surrounded the myth of Warhol, Yet, I found most of these people to be rather vacuous, And so too Warhols diaries. Though perhaps its a mistake to expect someone clearly a ground breaking genuis to have be able to express thier brilliance in every aspect of thier lives, I was shocked by how little he had t say in his diaries. There was not a hint of introspection -not of himself, or his close friends or of the world about him, and any attempts to wonder, in his meanderings., were brief and generic, as if he was just parroting something he had heard, and that sounded introspective. Instead they are filled with self pity, and vanities, and sometimes just incredibly mean. I agree with the art critic Robert Hughes, that his work is about scanning, not gazing ( think thats what he said), and yet I find Warhols early work mesmerizing. Perhaps part of it, other than his brilliant sense of style and boldness, was that he gave one permission to embrace and even adjulate the passive, easy narcissistic indulgences of consumer, voyeristic society and perhaps even still call yourself an artist- similiar to Trump giving permission to a repressed fundamentalist Christian culture to express their true selves,- to throw off their moral impositions-which and reveal thier teeth- and still call themselves Christians. But even way back then, long before I saw this documentry, I felt that Warhol, for all his early brilliance, infused the art world with something very dark and mean and antithetical to making art. Of course, we don't speak poorly of the dead, but it felt a little like the Emperor with no clothes.