Gaga: Five Foot Two

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Gaga: Five Foot Two
Gaga-FiveFootTwo.jpg
Directed by Chris Moukarbel [1]
Produced by
Starring Lady Gaga
CinematographyChris Moukarbel
Edited byGreg Arata
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
  • September 8, 2017 (2017-09-08)(TIFF)
  • September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22)(Worldwide)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Gaga: Five Foot Two is a 2017 documentary film about American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. It documents the events around the production and release of Gaga's fifth studio album, Joanne , and her halftime performance at Super Bowl LI. [2] The film, directed by visual artist and documentarian Chris Moukarbel, made its debut at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival before having a worldwide streaming release on Netflix on September 22, 2017. [3] [4] [5] It was also shown during the European leg of Gaga's Joanne World Tour, before each of her shows. [6]

Contents

Synopsis

According to Netflix, Gaga: Five Foot Two is of cinéma vérité style, as to give viewers "unfiltered, behind-the-scenes access" to a year in the life of Gaga, [5] during which they cover the production and release of her fifth studio album, Joanne . Many events are covered including her experiences with her entourage, her encounters with fans and her struggle with chronic pain caused by the onset of fibromyalgia. [7] [8] [9] The film also offers an extensive look at the creation and execution of her critically lauded Super Bowl LI halftime performance, in addition to a variety of other topics and events, including her home life, the filming of her guest role as the character Scáthach on American Horror Story: Roanoke , and a discussion about her feud with singer Madonna, among other things. [7] [8]

Cast

Critical reception

Gaga: Five Foot Two has received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 73%, based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Gaga: Five Foot Two offers an absorbing glimpse of its superstar subject's backstage life, albeit one weakened by inconsistent focus and a dearth of performance footage." [10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11]

Film critic Owen Gleiberman reviewed the documentary for Variety saying that "Gaga radiates a potent energy — she's intensely funny and aware", and compared it to other musical documentaries like Madonna: Truth or Dare (1990). He commended Moukarbel's direction saying that he was able to "mix things up", showcasing Gaga's meltdowns as well as her camaraderie with fans. [12] Leslie Felperin from The Hollywood Reporter complimented the scenes in the documentary like Gaga playing "Joanne" for her grandmother but found that despite all the jarring camerawork, the singer was more focused and scripted about her appearance. Felperin was positive about the technicalities of the film, saying "package is assembled with competence and style, with graceful editing by Greg Arata helping to create a strong sense of story and continuity. Moukarbel and his sound editors frequently use swelling soundtrack choices and a flurry of fast edits to suggest the frenzy of Gaga's life." [13]

Artwork

The documentary's poster and cover art, featuring rainbow waterfalls, flowers, and an extra eye streaming down Gaga’s face, was created by Berlin-based German artist Pierre Schmidt (aka Drømsjel). Drømsjel's work, characterized by a surreal combination of vintage collage and digital manipulation, attracted the attention of the film's director, Chris Moukarbel, on Instagram. According to Drømsjel, the piece was a collaborative effort between himself, Gaga and her team, Netflix, and Dutch photography duo Inez and Vinoodh, who shot the photo for the cover. [14] The pair have photographed Gaga for a variety of past projects including the singer's cover art for her 2013 single, "Applause". [15] According to Tilly Martin from website Creative Boom, the artwork fits right in with the Drømsjel's signature style which combines collage of vintage fashion imagery with digital manipulation to yield colorful surreal compositions. Along with digital artists Laura Albert, Christophe Remy, and Melissa Murillo, Drømsjel cites Salvador Dalí and Friedrich Nietzsche as major influences on his work. [16]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef(s)
Cinema Audio Society Awards February 24, 2018 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Documentary Jonathan Wales
Jason Dotts		Nominated [17]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 17, 2017 Music Documentary / Special ProgramGaga: Five Foot TwoNominated [18]
MTV Movie & TV Awards June 16, 2018 Best Music DocumentaryGaga: Five Foot TwoWon [19]
NME Awards February 13, 2018Best Music FilmGaga: Five Foot TwoWon [20]
Webby Awards May 14, 2018 Online Film & Video: Best Music – People's ChoiceGaga: Five Foot Two
Live Nation Productions 		Won [21]
Online Film & Video: Best Editing – People's ChoiceWon [22]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Gaga: Five Foot Two". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ Moniuszko, Sara M (August 24, 2017). "Lady Gaga is teasing a new Netflix documentary and it looks... intense". USA Today . Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  3. ↑ Quinn, Dace (August 24, 2017). "Lady Gaga Sobs 'I'm Alone' in Mysterious New Preview for Her Five Foot Two Documentary". People . Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  4. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (August 24, 2017). "Toronto: Lady Gaga to Perform as Netflix Doc 'Gaga: Five Foot Two' Bows". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Gaga: Five Foot Two". Netflix. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ @ladygaga (January 16, 2018). "I've decided to play the documentary made about me every night before the show. If you get there early it will be on. Tonight starts at 7pm Barcelona time!" (Tweet). Retrieved March 26, 2018– via Twitter.
  7. 1 2 Lawrence, Derek (September 6, 2017). "Lady Gaga gives peek behind the curtain in trailer for Netflix documentary". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Raymos, Dino-Ray (September 6, 2017). "'Gaga: Five Foot Two' Trailer: Lady Gaga Shops At Wal-Mart, Rocks The Super Bowl In Netflix Docu". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ @ladygaga (September 12, 2017). "In our documentary the #chronicillness #chronicpain I deal w/ is #Fibromyalgia I wish to help raise awareness & connect people who have it" (Tweet). Retrieved March 26, 2018– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Gaga: Five Foot Two Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (September 9, 2017). "Toronto Film Review: 'Gaga: Five Foot Two'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ Felperin, Leslie (September 9, 2017). "'Gaga: Five Foot Two': Film Review | TIFF 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ Pantano, Italo (September 22, 2017). "Drømsjel, the artist behind the cover art for Gaga: Five Foot Two". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  15. ↑ Cain, Spencer (September 22, 2017). "Lady Gaga Releases Cover Art for New Single "Applause"". StyleCaster. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  16. ↑ Martin, Tilly (May 28, 2015). "Surreal Nietzsche-inspired collages drip faces and flowers". Creative Boom. Retrieved November 27, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  17. ↑ Sheehan, Paul (January 10, 2018). "2018 Cinema Audio Society Awards nominations: Oscar frontrunner 'Dunkirk,' 'Star Wars,' 'Wonder Woman'". Gold Derby . Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. November 30, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ Atkinson, Katie (June 18, 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018: Complete Winners List". Billboard . Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  20. ↑ Daly, Rhian (February 14, 2018). "Here are all the winners from the VO5 NME Awards 2018". NME . Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  21. ↑ "2018 Webby Awards: Online Film & Video: Music". Webby Award . May 14, 2018. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  22. ↑ "2018 Webby Awards: Online Film & Video: Best Editing". Webby Award . May 14, 2018. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
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