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VHS : The Draughtsman's Contract [1982]starring: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne-Louise Lambert, Hugh Fraser, Neil Cunningham directed by: Peter Greenaway
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Editorial Review: Amazon.co.uk Review: "I try very hard never to distort or dissemble," says Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), a draughtsman of considerable talent contracted by a certain Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman) to make 12 drawings for her absent husband of their English estate. Part of that contract involves Mr Neville taking his pleasure with Mrs Herbert. While Mr Neville aims for fidelity in his drawings, infidelity in private is quite another matter. The film becomes a cerebral puzzle when objects start appearing mysteriously in the subjects of Mr Neville's various drawings: a ladder that wasn't there before, a pair of boots standing in a field. Mr Neville's penchant for realism is stymied by these clues, which may or may not suggest the murder of Mr Herbert. Peter Greenaway seems to have directed this, his first art-house success, with the aim of exploring the failings of perspective in art and casting his doubtful eye on the possibility of "faithful" drawings such as those by which Mr. Neville makes his living. Greenaway was, after all, an art student, and must have known that drawing machines like the one Mr Neville uses in the film (which is set in 1694) led not only to the invention of photography, and therefore of film itself, but also to the renouncing of perspective that informs so much of 20th-century painting. In the film, Greenaway overlays the story's mysterious elements with highly mannered tableaux, shooting each scene like a realistic, though sumptuous, painting, while his actors spout witty and complicated sentences, suggesting the falseness of surfaces. Mr Neville's faith in surface is his downfall, and Greenaway's triumph is in his distortions and dissemblings, the narrative lie that gets closer to the truth than any architectural drawing could. --Jim Gay, Amazon.com Average Rating:
 Rating:  - "Your significance, Mr. Neville, is attributable to both innocence and arrogance in equal parts." He understands this too lateWe're in post Restoration England in 1694, and at a country estate filled with condescending, witty, superficial creatures dressed in heavy satins and lace, with chalk dusted cheeks, painted cupid lips and beauty spots, and wearing magnificent high wigs with cascading curls down to the waist...and that's just the men. In their midst is Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), a talented, successful and arrogant artist whose father, we learn later, was a tenant farmer. He is engaged by the lady ... Read More Rating: - The drawings and the music are worth the film on their ownA visual fantasy? A murder mistery? An erotic film? All and none at the same time... splendid images and a controversial film... a feast for the senses... perhaps... There are still some items I do not understand after repeated viewing... the guy playing "statue" for example... what represents?... and who cares really... a visual fascinating experiment with an excellent soundtrack... a pity the script is NOT a bit more intelligible... (Oh yes, I am an arquitect by profession ... Read More Rating:  - rental reviewdisjointed film on rental copy I received frrom you. Scenes jumped and film seemed badly cut for no rymn or reason Rating: - Baroque 'n' RollHere we have 7 highly infectious pieces of baroque flavoured music from the Michael Nyman Band. I can confidently say that there is not a single duff moment amongst these frankly joyous pieces! Every note is vibrant and full of colour. Melodies unfurl, building and building until the listener is entranced by the deceptively simple chord sequences. Clarinets snake around saxophones and trumpets while repetetive string riffs chug along in the background. This is almost like rock music played by people ... Read More Rating:  - not goodIt has been suggested by other reviewers that this film 'requires work'. That it does, but not an enjoyable sort of work. To work at this film, the viewer must become complicit in the smug kind of self-referential encoding which Greenaway (presumably) delights in. The problem is that the ponderous gathering-up of Greenaway's wink-wink hints and half allusions is presumed to be a sufficient end in itself - the best a viewer can hope for is to enjoy the act of unravelling itself, for the unravelled message ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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