The September Issue
The September Issue is a 2009 American documentary film about the behind-the-scenes drama that follows editor-in-head Anna Wintour and her staff during the production of the September 2007 issue of American Vogue magazine. The film is directed by R.J. Cutler and produced by Eliza Hindmarch and Sadia Shepard.
| The September Issue | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for The September Issue | |
| Directed by | R.J. Cutler |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Distributed by | Roadside Attractions |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $6,325,313[1] |
It was released in Australia on August 20, 2009 after being screened at numerous film festivals including Sundance, Zurich, Silverdocs and Sheffield Doc/Fest. The movie was released in American theaters on August 28, 2009.
Plot
The film revolves around the making of the Vogue September 2007 issue. (The September Vogue is traditionally the biggest, most important issue of the year.) It depicts the effort that goes into making the magazine, and the passion that Grace Coddington, a former model turned creative director and the only person who dares to stand up to Anna Wintour, has for the highly regarded fashion magazine. In the film, Coddington is often portrayed as the leading victim to Wintour's aggressive personality. The relationship between Wintour and Coddington reveals itself to be symbiotic, as Wintour recognizes Coddington's expertise and keen eye for design. In the end, Wintour approves most of Coddington's ideas and they appear in the final version of the September issue.
Notable fashion icons
The film features appearances by many well-known and influential people in the fashion industry, from top editorial models to noted fashion photographers and designers.
Designers
Models
Photographers
Critical response
The film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 83% based on reviews from 114 critics, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "This doc about the making of Vogue's biggest issue and its frosty editor-in-chief is fascinating eye candy and light-on-its-feet fun."[2] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 69/100 based on reviews from 33 critics.[3]
Demand for namesake
Due to the popularity of the film, the September 2007 issue of Vogue that was documented in the film has peaked to prices between $80 and $115 on eBay, making it one of the most sought after issues ever. Although the 840-page issue is massive, it is not the biggest Vogue issue ever, as the September 2012 issue beats it by 96 pages (916).
References
- "The September Issue (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- "The September Issue". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "The September Issue". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 May 2010.