The Illustrious Peter Greenaway

[Johann]

Born in Wales in 1942, Mr. Peter Greenaway is an artist of such immense talent that I am hesitant to attempt a synopsis of his career. I don't know if I can get across his importance with a mere posting, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

He studied painting in the sixties, this much is certain.
Story goes he landed a position with the COI in the UK (Central Office of Information) where he worked as an editor on films about Britain and it's quirks.
He started to make short films about things that interested him: Tree, Windows, Water Wrackets, Revolution, etc.

He ploughed on with even more detailed works of art on interesting subjects which no human would consider worthy:
Dear Phone, Vertical Features Remake, A Walk Through H, among others. These short films were so self-contained and so self-important that I wonder if he set a precedent. It appears so.

His first "major" work of art was The Falls. It's a description-defying film and I cannot explain it in any way. See it.
It is the most unique film I have ever seen. It deals with single classification and linear importance. Repeated viewings reveal a clinical yet heartwarming style of filmmaking that is all but ignored by everyone in the milky way galaxy.

His foray into feature filmmaking was a bold and staggering expose named The Draughtsman's Contract. Again, all I can say is SEE IT. I cannot describe Greenaway's style without sounding like an idiot. It is so painterly, so genuine, so imaginative and important.

In order to appreciate a man like Greenaway you must park your suburban mind in a spot where you won't be needing it for a while. This man looms so large over the history of cinema (while still alive!) that I feel like buying airtime on CNN and taking the piss out of Hollywood and all of the modern world for the gridiron ignorance of one of our modern geniuses. Greenaway impresses me like no other director. Words cannot do him justice. There are "the masters" of cinema and then there are Masters. Greenaway is a Master. Like Bresson is a Master, like Ozu is a Master and like Tarkovsky is a Master.

If you can grasp that then you can grasp Greenaway, an auteur artiste, one who has a canon that I barely comprehend but know is de facto progressive artwork.

[JustaFied]

I went on a search for "Drowning by Numbers" a few years ago, but I couldn't find it, anywhere. I was disappointed, having heard that it was a unique and somewhat bizarre movie. Sounds interesting, but not exactly a flick on the shelf at the local Blockbuster.

I've actually heard of a couple of his other titles; I'll start a new search to actually see one of his movies. Thanks for the interesting post.

[Johann]

Drowning By Numbers is finer than a Fellini film but just as whimsical.
If you can comprehend it on one screening you should be teaching at Yale. It is jam packed with esoteric Art.

If you wanna see the greatest acting job Brian Dennehy ever did check out The Belly of an Architect- a tribute to the Emmanuel building in Rome. Greenaway's "minuitae" as some film comment reviewer called it is endlessly fascinating to me. The possibilities are truly endless with the Welsh painter.

[oscar jubis]

I haven't seen the shorts but I've seen eight of his feature films, all worth watching, if anything, because of the original visuals. I've enjoyed some (The Pillow Book, A Zed and Two Noughts) more than others (Baby of Macon, 8 1/2 Women). I don't consider Mr. Greenaway in the same category as Bresson, Ozu or Tarkovsky. I don't think there's enough of sufficient relevance or resonance behind the eye-catching images and bizarre conceits. It's a precious but distancing experience, because our emotions are not engaged. The unpleasant stuff in some of Greenaway's films doesn't bother me but novice beware. His films are a must for art majors, and visual thrill-seekers. But not the pantheon for P.G., says me.

[Johann]

Greenaway's films are not to be enjoyed per se.
He constantly reiterates in interviews that he wants veiwers of his work to be aware that they are watching cinema.
Ozu and Bresson made you forget you were watching a film: you were watching life. Tarkovsky is more dream-like, but I stand by my statement. Is relevance and resonance absolutely required to be in the "pantheon"?

Greenaway has something else to offer: image-based cinema.

[oscar jubis]

Whenever I refer to Greenaway in conversation, it is to recommend one or two of his films to a particular type of person who'd appreciate his art. It's a rare privilege to be among individuals who know the artist better than I do. But it feels awkward to find myself saying anything critical. It's probably true that for me the greatest art needs to have a certain contemporary relevance and emotional resonance. And these need not be absent from image-based or "art" cinema. Consider something like Tarkovsky's Mirror or more recently, Sokurov's Russian Ark.

[Johann]

It is indeed extremely extremely difficult to recommend the films of Greenaway.

Let me put it this way (for the lay man):

Do you consider yourself to be someone with a high IQ?
No? Then keep watching your Indiana Jones DVD's.
Yes? Then I invite you to a self-contained cinematic universe, one where you must accept the artistic fancies of a PAINTER.
This isn't a guy who takes anything Hollywood seriously.
Do you appreciate The Seventh Seal? Good. That's a start.
Do you appreciate Last Year at Marienbad? Even better-it was shot by Greenaway's DP, Sacha Vierny. Move on to the films of Sergei Eisenstein and watch more Alain Resnais, like Hiroshima Mon Amour. Then watch films like 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore and the Brothers Quay animated films (BTW, the Quays appear in the flesh in THE FALLS (1980).

Assimilate the feelings you get from these examples and you're ready for Peter Greenaway.

[JustaFied]

I don't know why it would be difficult to recommend the films of Greenaway, particularly to anyone who's found their way onto this web site. Whether or not he's a "master" or instead just a creator of really interesting films is a matter of debate, but what's not really questionable here is that his films are unique and thought-provoking; and that's enough to at least get me interested in seeing a few of them.

Probably the reason I couldn't find "Drowning by Numbers" is that it doesn't appear to be available for rent. Where, may I ask, have you seen all these films? I see that some are available to buy on Amazon. Do you know of any way to see them without actually buying the films?

<Greenaway's films are not to be enjoyed per se.> I don't like this statement, to be blunt. Even if a film has limited emotional resonance, even if it's mainly to be viewed as a "work of art", it can still be enjoyed. This reminds me of a time when I was in school, and I asked my teacher where she went on her vacation. Egypt, she told me. When I asked if she had fun, she said no, it wasn't fun, it was an educational experience as they visited the ancient tombs and sites. Still, that could be fun, couldn't it? Would a "fun trip" be limited only to a week at the beach?

One last thing: the film knowledge of some of the people on this board is astounding. I thought I had seen a few movies, but you are in a different league.

[Johann]

Thanks for your post, JustiFied. I'm just as impressed as you are with the members here- we know what we discuss.

As for Greenaway- I DO enjoy his films.
I only say they aren't to be enjoyed for those who are seeing them for the first time. The films are unlike anything you've seen.
There's almost no cinematic comparisons- they seem sterile, distant (as oscar pointed out) and definitely lacking in emotional gifts.

In Calgary we have a video store that rocks the casbah: Casablanca Video. They specialize in hard to find, rare videos and they even have a copy copy of The Baby of Macon. All of Greenaway's features are available on vhs but only a handful are available on DVD- Cook, Thief is an import for sure on Anchor Bay.
Drowning By Numbers shouldn't be hard to find on vhs. Where do you live, J? There must be a good video store somewhere nearby?

Also, A TV Dante, 26 Bathrooms, Death in the Siene (which is an awesome Greenaway film) and The Falls are all available on vhs.

[JustaFied]

Certainly sounds like a director you've got to be prepared for. Show it at the local multiplex and you'll probably hear lots of snickering (and then snoring).

I live in Houston. As far as I know, there is only one video store here (Cactus Music and Video) that rents and sells films of the esoteric and offbeat kind. This store is where, in the past few years, I've rented every Altman movie that's available on tape. (Unfortunately they don't have some of his mid-70's films like "California Split", "Images", and "Three Women"). But even there, I had trouble locating many Greenaway films.

But, I'll keep trying. I'll even go by Borders bookstore and see if they have any for sale. They probably at least have The Cook, His Wife, etc. Always up for a different point of view.

[oscar jubis]

A Zed and Two Noughts is available on dvd and deepdiscountdvd will send it to you for $8.99 total. Drowning by Numbers is only available on dvd in Italy (Pal format), but vhs copies can be found easily on ebay. By the way, somebody is selling a dvd of The Falls there, but he wants $28 plus s/h. There has to be a video store in a city the size of Houston that carries all his features. Also, public and university libraries often carry a wide selection of art films on home formats.

[Johann]

$8.99 is a bargain for Zed. I might just order it myself.

You won't find Belly or Prospero's Books on DVD. I have Belly on vhs by MGM (under their "Avant-Garde Cinema" label and Prospero is an Alliance Atlantis release. They will be available soon I'm sure.

Greenaway actually has a large filmography. Aside from his feature films he did projects like 4 Composers (Glass, Monk, Cage), Rosa, Darwin, The Stairs, Fear of Drowning, and a 52 second Lumiere short.

[oscar jubis]

I might end up buying the Greenaway shorts available on dvd. M is for Man, Music, Mozart is available on a compilation dvd called Not Mozart that came out recently. But the one I really want was put out by the British Film Institute: The Early Shorts of Peter Greenaway. It includes his first six. It's not easy to find.

[Johann]

I just checked Facets multi-media Video website (out of Chicago- specializing in rare vids) and they have the 2 sets of shorts for sale on DVD. A little too pricy-you might wanna shop around. Peter introduces each short.
There's also a list of Greenaway films for sale you might not have seen such as Death in the Seine ond 26 Bathrooms.
There's also a killer article on Lars von Trier: "The Dogmatic Great Dane"
www.facetsvideo.com

[JustaFied]

Well, I hit the road today to go find a Greenaway film, and I came back disappointed.

I went to two Blockbuster stores in the area. One of them has a "foreign" section, but it had about 20 movies in it, none of them by Mr. Greenaway. At the other store, the guy told me that they couldn't run a search by Director, only by film. That makes no sense, but I wasn't going to argue with him. Probably a decision made by someone higher up the Blockbuster corporate ladder.

So, I rented the VHS version of "The Seventh Seal", which I've heard you guys say is amazing (and beyond). Unfortunately, it's not the DVD version, much less the Criterion DVD version, but it'll have to suffice.