The Films Of Peter Greenaway

An in-depth study of Peter Greenaway's films.

An in-depth study of Peter Greenaway's films.

Since the 1960s, British multi-media artist Peter Greenaway has shocked and intrigued audiences with his avant-garde approach to filmmaking and other artistic ventures. From early experimental films to provocative features, Greenaway has deployed strategies associated with structuralist cinema, only to challenge or critique the very limits of that cinema and of film in general. In this collection of essays, scholars from a variety of disciplines explore various postmodern and poststructuralist aspects of Greenaway's films, starting with his early shorts and delving into his feature-length works, including The Draughtman's Contract, The Belly of an Architect, A Zed and Two Noughts, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Baby of M%con, and The Pillow Book. Other artistic productions, including his paintings and installations are also discussed. These essays examine the filmmaker's position within British and avant-garde cinema and his interest in constructing and deconstructing representational systems. In the years since the first edition of this book, Greenaway has enjoyed continued success in creating hybridized media projects for the stage and screen, as evidenced by additional essays for this revised edition. A new chapter addresses how Dutch political events and Dutch art have been crucial in shaping Greenaway's aesthetic, focusing on The Draughtsman's Contract, the 1991 opera Writing to Vermeer, and Nightwatching, the audio-visual installation and 2007 film of the same name, which were inspired by Rembrandt's Night Watch. Also new to this collection is an essay that examines Greenaway's most ambitious endeavor to date, The Tulse Luper Suitcases, which exists as four feature films, multiple websites, an online game, several books and installations, and a number of theatrical events. Peter Greenaway's Postmodern/Poststructuralist Cinema, Revised Edition explores the cultural, historical, and philosophical implications of this hybrid artist whose paintings, drawings, exhibitions, installations, and operatic productions are an intrinsic part of his work in film. This collection of diverse essays, which includes two texts by Greenaway, two interviews with the director, and a revised filmography, will interest students, teachers, critics and lovers of both postmodern art and cinema.

Script of Greenaway's 1995 film, The pillow book, which was made as an homage to the 10th century story by Sei Shōnagon entitled Makura no sōshi, on which it is loosely based.

British filmmaker Peter Greenaway says life offers only two subjects: “One is sex and the other is death.” Greenaway uses both and romanticizes neither; indeed, his goal is the antithesis of the sanitary and sentimental portrayal of humanity. Although his films have met with outrage from some viewers, cult audiences praise them for insightful messages: that people are detached from violence because they fail to see others’ bodies as identical to their own; that predatory capitalism has caused humans to lose sight of our shared physicality and mortality; and that taboos are simply a system allowing people to exercise power over others. This book examines nine of Greenaway’s feature films, dedicating a chapter to each: The Draughtsman’s Contract; A Zed and Two Noughts; The Belly of an Architect; Drowning by Numbers; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; Prospero’s Books; The Baby of Mâcon; The Pillow Book; and 8 1⁄2 Women. The author examines the characters and plot, studies the structure and elements of the story, explores Greenaway’s motives and reactions, and reveals audience reactions, including comments from viewers. A filmography lists films written and directed by Peter Greenaway from 1962 to 2004.

The script for Peter Greenaway's highly anticipated 2022 film starring Morgan Freeman British director Peter Greenaway (born 1942) teams up with the great actor Morgan Freeman for Lucca Mortis, a new film releasing in 2022, set in Lucca, Italy, and New York City. Lucca Mortis tells the story of an aging man living in Little Italy who feels compelled to reconnect with his roots and travels to Lucca, Italy, to do so. Known for his elaborate mise-en-scènes inspired by Italian and Dutch paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries, Greenaway has made such acclaimed films as The Draughtsman's Contract, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover and Drowning by Numbers. Lucca Mortis is his 15th movie. As with previous Greenaway books, this compact and affordable companion volume contains the film's script and stills, as well as Greenaway's drawings.

Peter Greenaway has an international reputation as one of the most innovative, stylish and intelligent of contemporary film-makers. His eight feature films, from The Draughtsman's Contract to The Pillow Book, have variously, and sometimes simultaneously, prompted controversy, infamy, acclaim and delight. However, Greenaway is an artist whose work also includes painting; collage; experimental TV; the novel/opera Rosa; and numerous exhibitions/installations, including The Stairs, a continuing series of ten projects in ten cities exploring the basic components of cinema. Being Naked Playing Dead explores the complete oeuvre, but centres firmly on Greenaway's insistence that his is 'a cinema of ideas not plots'. Each film is discussed within a thematic analysis of the full range of Greenaway's output and the wider contexts within which it is conceived. In conclusion there are two extended interviews, making this book essential reading for all Greenaway enthusiasts.