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Art

*** “Light of the Gods.” National Gallery of Art. $29.95.

Figures--evolving over 500 years from flat silhouettes to volumetric forms in realistic proportion--emerge from a literal and symbolic dark in this 28-minute film, released in conjunction with “The Human Figure in Early Greek Art” (an exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington to June 12 and visiting the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Nov. 13 to Jan. 15). Making good use of dramatic lighting and archeological sites, director Susan Bauman brings painted and sculptural figures to life as embodiments of myth and history. Narrator Colleen Dewhurst spotlights Greek obsessions with love, death, fate and cosmic forces. Such insights dim too quickly but focus sharply on essentials. Information: (800) 323-4222.