Peter Greenaway: A Documentary

Peter Greenaway: A Documentary (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
60 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1992 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Thomas W. Klinger

Written By:
Thomas W. Klinger

Actors:
Peter Greenaway

Synopsis:

Peter Greenaway has crafted a string of visually extravagant films that are experimental, erudite, and have won Greenaway an ardent cult following, shocking audiences around the world with his bold visual strokes in films such as The Draughtsman Contract through to his graphic artistry in The Baby of Macon and sexually charged mores of The Pillow Book and 8 1/2 Women.
Peter Greenaway: A Documentary (1992) - Searching for the roots of Peter Greenaway in his films, this artful documentary begins with a workshop from 1991 in which Peter Greenaway discusses his film career, from his early short Revolution (1968) to The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989).Included is a rare and exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette'A Walk Through Prospero's Library', with Greenaway discussing the inspiration for his classic film, Prospero's Books (1991). In his own words Greenaway takes a profoundly personal approach to his work, deflecting concomitant controversy and critical response to his films by famously proclaiming: 'I really simply believe that one should trust the work and not the author.'

Released in 1992 it is haphazardly put together and lacks anything like a central narrative. Despite this it is still a film that any fan of Greenaway will want to watch and is a welcome addition to the Greenaway Collection. The film begins with a masterclass to some English film students. Greenaway attempts to explain the central tenets of his work - not an easy task. For although Greenaway is fond of explaining his ideas in the simplest of terms, as though he was making episodes of Noddy, his films are anything but simple. They are dazzling and inventive, shocking and surprising but never simple. An artfully placed series of title cards just about sums up his interests: the alphabet, number counts, statistics, mathematics, language, lists, science and religion. Although Greenaway has had a modest feature film output he has made numerous short films. As the documentary chronicles these shorts there are a number of blank screens suggesting that the film has been lost forever. A pity. He began his feature career with The Draughtsmans' Contract and thereafter put out a film every two or three years. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover was undoubtedly his commercial highwater mark though fans differ on his creative peak. As surely as he had ascended to some measure of mainstream success he descended again focussing on his beloved art whilst the films became more and more obscure becoming, like The Baby of Macon, close to unwatchable. It is the artist, not the audience, who should suffer for their art! This film was shot in 1991 after The Cook and but just before Prospero's Books had unnerved the Shakespeare fans looking for a faithful interpretation of The Tempest. What they got was Sir John Gielgud speaking (just about) every line form the film and oceans of bare flesh. In fact the last 23 minutes of this film consists of a a short called A Walk Through Prospero's Library. It is the extended opening sequence from Prospero's Books, and is at once dizzying and frustrating and weird. In fact , the documentary looks at his early films and his art projects as well as an inventive TV project on the life of Charles Darwin but does not really show anything from his feature films. As said, an oddity, but worth a watch.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 25 May, 2012.

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