Le Mystère Picasso

Picasso was famously reluctant to be filmed at work. But when persuaded in 1955 to sketch before the camera of Henri-Georges Clouzot, master (and miserabilist) film director, he evidently took to it with relish. Stripped to a pair of shorts, parading his square torso, the 75-year-old Pablo plays up to the camera, even turning out a sketch to a five-minute deadline. Because he was asked to work on transparent screens, allowing the camera fully to frame the emerging picture instead of having to peep over the artist's shoulder, we get to see the work develop, with Picasso's different styles accompanied by a soundtrack that moves from bebop to flamenco.