I recently penned a full-length review for a cinema annual compendium of Valentino: The Last Emperor, a negative assessment that I won’t reproduce or fully get into here, but I feel again compelled to stress what a disappointment and bore this movie was, on any and every level. This is the laziest sort of documentary filmmaking there is — pick an engaging subject that exists or operates in rarefied air, get granted “backstage” status, and then just kind of see what one can randomly capture, tossing in sit-down interview footage but never substantively following up on any issues raised.

Despite garnering mostly correspondingly positive reviews and beating fellow fashion documentary The September Issue out of the gate by opening first, this March, Valentino: The Last Emperor, a look at iconic designer Valentino Garavani as he prepares to celebrate the 45th anniversary of haute couture, grossed only $1.7 million in theaters, or about half of what the former film pulled in. The chief reason may well be that while The September Issue spent some of its time tracking a relatable workplace rivalry that felt enriched and heightened in stakes by its tony surroundings, first-time filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer scarcely discovers anything of note about any of the relationships that form the crux of his movie, personally or professionally.

In fact, the director is so clearly infatuated with his subject that even when he does capture something approaching a moment infused with drama or intrigue — at one point Garavani has a tiff and insists that he stop being filmed, in another instance his business partner of several decades, Giancarlo Giammetti, asserts that his corporate boss’ opinions “have no value” with respect to the actual direction of the company — Tyrnauer does not follow up on it. The general operating philosophy seems to be to simply point the camera to and fro, and see what it incidentally captures. This lack of intellectual rigor extends from everything from Garavani’s personal life (he and Giammetti were apparently lovers for a dozen years, but the movie never even makes mention of this, let alone inquires as to how the dissolution of a romantic relationship might have impacted their business together) to unexplored, potentially interesting theses about the designer’s professional development, since he confesses to being influenced mightily by the style of screen stars he glimpsed in films and magazines while growing up. Even a 2007 takeover of Valentino Fashion Group by British private equity firm Permira rates only cursory explanations via TV footage, information that scratches no deeper than a thumbnail. Owing to all this staggering incuriosity, there is no greater nut of meaning cracked within the movie, no matter all the rich style on display.

Presumably housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, the movie comes to DVD presented in 16×9 widescreen aspect ratio, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio mix, and optional English, French, Spanish and Italian subtitles. Supplemental bonus material consists of three featurettes. Running 30 minutes, the first takes the viewer inside Garavini’s homes around the world, revealing the unique lifestyle he’s created for himself and the amount of work it takes to maintain it. We follow Michael Kelly, the designer’s Irish majordomo, as he prepares a lavish party at the Chateau Wideville estate, outside of Paris. In the eight-minute “The Last Collection,” we see footage from Garavini’s farewell haute couture show from January 2008. Finally, there’s eight additional minutes of footage from the designer’s Rome workshop, where seamstresses work on the red dress featured in the movie, and head seamstress Antonietta De Angelis reveals some of her secrets about dressmaking and working for the legendary, Italian-born designer. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. D+ (Movie) B (Disc)