Ever since seeing Drowning by Numbers as a student at Rutgers, I have been enthralled by the work of PETER GREENAWAY, the Welsh filmmaker (b. 1942). Over the next few months, I will be dropping new entries in a 10-VOLUME series wherein I will explore, dissect and rank his entire filmography.
For the record, the majority of the films in this video are on the DVD GREENAWAY: THE SHORTS — available from Kino Lorber (on sale!). Greenaway has made dozens of shorts throughout the years, but I decided to focus on eight made during the first decade or so of his career. Lots of these other ones are somewhat hard to find but a couple are on YouTube as well. Also, there is a great reference that I've pulled from the DVD extras as well where Greenaway talks about each short film in his very typical 90s overlay style (available here). This commentary from the director himself is seemingly at odds with the material or at least what I see as the through-line and connective tissue of this early work. Perhaps this is fitting in a way, since one big idea I've taken away from this early period is the concept of artist intent. And maybe that's too easy because what if not experimental films exist solely to question why the hell you just watched that? This is a notion Greenaway seems fully aware as well.
(honorable mention, part i)
the short films
Intervals (1969), Windows (1974), Dear Phone (1976), H is for House (1976), A Walk Through H (1978)
Water Wrackets (1978), The Sea in Their Blood (1983) & Vertical Features Remake (1978)
the short films
Intervals (1969), Windows (1974), Dear Phone (1976), H is for House (1976), A Walk Through H (1978)
Water Wrackets (1978), The Sea in Their Blood (1983) & Vertical Features Remake (1978)
VOL. II — Select TV Work & Documentaries
It's no suprise that Peter Greenaway has dabbled in the field of documentary. All of his most recent offerings (2007-present) have been concrete biopics on singular subjects, albeit with that typical Greenaway flair — or over-indulgence depending on whom you ask. In this second volume, we will be taking a look at some of this work, most of which debuted on various TV in Europe and the UK in the 80s and early 90s.
(honorable mention, part ii)
docs & tv
Four American Composers (1983)
Vol. I: John Cage, Vol. I: Philip Glass, Vol. III: Robert Ashley, Vol. IV: Meredith Monk
Fear of Drowning (1988), Death in the Seine (1989), A TV Dante (1989), Darwin (1992), Stairs 1 Geneva (1994)
docs & tv
Four American Composers (1983)
Vol. I: John Cage, Vol. I: Philip Glass, Vol. III: Robert Ashley, Vol. IV: Meredith Monk
Fear of Drowning (1988), Death in the Seine (1989), A TV Dante (1989), Darwin (1992), Stairs 1 Geneva (1994)
This will be the final video in the Greenaway series. I'm also fairly certain it is the video which led to my YouTube channel being terminated for the inclusion brief, non-blurred out clips of artsy fartsy nudity (I talked about this incident in detail on Episode 433). I will be moving forward with this series in an audio and textual fashion from this point forward. These four films are of an ilk: both in terms of their content and their quality. Once could draw a hard line in the sand and say everything from the 90s on isn't worth your time, but even in these three decades worth of "misses," I've found a multitude of fascinating stuff, and I try to cut into some of the WHY and deeper meaning in this volume.
(#14 - #11)
Prospero's Books (1991), Goltzius and the Pelican Company (2012), Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015), The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Prospero's Books (1991), Goltzius and the Pelican Company (2012), Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015), The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
The beginning of the new "audio-only" - I look at Greenaway's two mid-late 90s entries, which either partly or entirely take place in Japan. These films deal with a myriad of themes but mostly sex and pushing the limits of good taste. 1999's 8 ½ Women is probably his most offensive movie overall.
A return to form in many ways, Nightwatching (and its documentary companion piece, Rembrandt's J'Accuse, spirtually belong among the films in Vol. III of this project, but I felt it deserved its own tier as it is a cut above the movies dissected in that chapter.
For this volume, I have lumped together the entire trilogoy known as "The Tulse Luper Suitcases" into one entry in the ranking. This is a massive, sprawling multimedia project. Perhaps the most ambitious work of Greenaway's entire career
(#7)
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: the Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to Finish (2005)
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: the Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to Finish (2005)
Now we're talking. The Top 6 films in this series are either classics or borderline classics. I feel like these two are almost equals. Belly is probably the more enjoyable and rewatchable of the two so I'll slot that just a tad higher.
Every entry in the Top 4 scores a perfect 10 out of 10 from me. The Draughtsman's is Greenaway's debut narrative film effort and The Falls might be the greatest mockumentary of all time.
Zed is the first film where Greenaway put it all together.
Without a doubt, his greatest film and one of the best ever made.
That's all folks! Till the next DIRECTOR FOCUS. The final tally for RANKING PETER GREENAWAY...
14. Prospero's Books (1991)
13. Goltzius and the Pelican Company (2012)
12. Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015)
11. The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
10.The Pillow Book (1996)
9. 8 ½ Women (1999)
8. Nightwatching (2007) / Rembrandt's J'Accuse...! (2008)
7. The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Part 1 (2003), Part 2 (2004) & Part 3 (2005)
6. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
5. The Belly of an Architect (1987)
4. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
3. The Falls (1980)
2. A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)
1. Drowning by Numbers (1988)