No.4507
Why isn't Peter Greenaway discussed more often? I think he is one of the best filmmakers to ever live. He takes Lynchian surrealism to an extremely cerebral level.
What's your favorite film by him? What do you or don't you like about him? General discussion thread
____________________________
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4508
There are a couple of older threads on him:
>>340
>>2873
I've seen some Greenways here and there, but I have yet to watch (all of) The Cook Thief Wife Lover and Belly of an Architect. I need to see most of his earlier stuff too.
My favourite so far is Drowning by Numbers. The Rembrandt documentary was a fun diversion. It almost seemed to be his response to The Da Vinci Code.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4513
File: pg1.jpg (19.33 KB,335x440,67:88,pg1.jpg)
Like and dislike that his films are so full of details. I like that there's a lot to absorb, but dislike that I can't always comprehend his intentions.
Has anyone done a deep study of his work? It seems like it would be a fun subject to explore.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4514
I've only seen the Pillow Book and hated it. Mostly because I read the book the title was based on and while I didn't expect him to do an adaptation of it, I was still very disappointed. I just don't understand his stye. What's the point of it?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4515
>>4514
I saw a few of his films on TV (including The Pillow Book) and didn't enjoy them either…aside from the weird nude scenes I guess. But I think I just watched the wrong ones. Some of his stuff isn't very good IMO.
I'd say try something like Drowning by Numbers and see if you feel differently.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4610
he's definitely one of my favorites, his films are so full of all these rich details and fantastic imagery. that said he never seems to approach any sort of 'deep' stuff that my other favorite directors do, rather he's just an amazing storyteller
anyone seen prospero's books? that was a weird one
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4621
His films atract me visually, but I simply can't stand everything else. I hate his characters.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4804
>>4621
> I hate his characters.
They can be offputting. But eventually their cold eccentricities and dry humor became charming to me.
The Belly of an Architect is very accessible compared to his more esoteric works. And the shots of majestic Roman monuments are as remarkable as I've seen on film.
But I couldn't stop chuckling at the bizarre character name "Stourley Kracklite". I see much praise for Dennehy on IMDB but his acting reminded me a little of Shatner…
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4811
>>4513
If it's any help to you, I read once in an interior design magazine that Peter Greenaway was trained professionally as a painter.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4812
How does he get funding? Seems like Baby of macon and a lot of his stuff required huge set pieces and expensive costumes, which he gets, despite not seemingly to market well.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4813
I guess he gets funded by various European film agencies. I'd like to hear more details though.
Here's a news report from January about a dispute between Greenaway the Russian State Film Fund over gay content: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/russian-film-fund-upset-gay-761302
For those of you wanting Greenaway analysis, The Films of Peter Greenaway by Amy Lawrence is pretty interesting. It examines several films from his early career: https://books.google.com/books?id=k6ROAAAAIAAJ
Then there's Peter Greenaway's Postmodern/Poststructuralist Cinema: http://english.360elib.com/datu/N/EM316445.pdf
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4927
>>4804
>Stourley Kracklite
Really? I love the name. I think it's the strongest extension of the character's tongue-in-cheek Chicago roots besides the line he gives on his ideal death - something like 'at the steering wheel of his car parked along lakeshore drive at noon listening to the chicago stock exchange on the radio'. Too good, "Caspasian" also. Totally embodies their characters in the most undermining way… Belly of an Architect's humor reminds me a lot of Don Dellilo's.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4928
>>4812
I remember reading an interview with him where he suggested that he used to get funding by 'the country of Italy' but was seeking out some company in Japan at the time of the interview. I forgot for which films. He's got some odd old world connections.
>>4813
>>4513
He's pretty articulate about his own intentions - but does anyone actually buy into his cheeky 'no cinema yet' shit? - I'd recommend his Conversations with Filmmakers.
And his essays & interviews are hosted at his EU grad school page:
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/peter-greenaway/articles/
This overview of his work ("Peter Greenaway: Museums and Moving Images") looks real good, it's the one I'd read when I get the chance: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861890052/egs/
I pulled it from the recommended reading from his own lecture on himself, so…
But in all honesty, I think this is the one thing that will come most in handy.. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0226015130/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.4930
>>4928
Cool, I appreciate his interest in the Dutch masters.
I'd like to see more film directors from Holland but I guess the country is a bit small (…or else they get murdered). At least Greenaway is doing his part by drawing inspiration from their past art and culture. Amsterdam has become a little too Americanized IMO.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.5045
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.5939
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
if you want to see him speak, last year he gave this lecture called "The Cinema is Dead, Long Live the Cinema"
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.5954
>>4804
Stourley first pops up 3 years earlier at the beginning of ZOO
(spoiler alert)
Greenaway did a commentary track for that one which I'd recommend for anyone wishing to hear how he integrates themes into a film. There are plenty of references that people will miss but I don't think that ultimately matters much.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.5988
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.6014
Have only seen TCTTHWAHL and hated the ever-loving shit out of it. The aesthetics were nice but the story and dialogue were an absolute shitshow--and what's worse, one that seemed to be posturing as something more than that. The cast was narrowly-defined and the story so painfully direct that nothing was left in the way of characteristic relation or subtext. Cases in reference to it (Ebert's 4-star review being the prominent one in my mind--http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover-1999) which disagree with this assertion seem to be utterly without basis and are an almost true-to-life parody of fanatics creating meaning from absence to self-fellate their "critical" film interpretations.
Hands down one of the worst movies that I have ever seen.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.6018
>>6014
I can see why you'd feel that way. He's an acquired taste for sure.
I've heard him say that he doesn't think movies should be simply visualized novels. From that you see how he doesn't put a lot of emphasis on storytelling. He's not very interested in realistic characters either.
Anyway, maybe you'll change your mind if you try a different one of his films in a few years.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.6082
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t-9qxqdVm4
I like some of his films. I think The Cook, The Thief his Wife and Her Lover was an interesting work. But he seems quite awkward and high functioning at best, fact which immediatelly leads me to inquire the intellectual side of his work. His rant about how cinema is dead is disappointing and cringeworthy, because while his reasons are rather valid the formulation of his argument is simply awful. In this piece of interview he often sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Again I like his films but I wouldn't put that much weight over them.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.6084
>>6082
I think his philosophies are interesting (as I'm curious to know what drives his film-making) but I can's say I buy into what he's talking about there either. If a remote control kills cinema, there must be some technological convenience that kills literature?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.6342
I see The Falls mentioned in other threads but not here. I think it's mad brilliance, one of those unique cinema experiences that sticks in your mind forever.
It took me a few days to get through the 3+ hours of absurd names, obsessive passions, mysterious happenings, birds, water, circular travel, references to Greenaway's later films, and hypnotic musical stings by Michael Nyman. It was soothing to watch parts of The Falls at the end of the day when I was barely lucid.
By the way, has anyone ever asked Greenaway how he feels about Wes Anderson doing a cutesy hipster version of his films?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.9757
May 4 2017 interview with Peter Greenaway (AKA "Famous Director")
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/modern-movies-are-appalling-says-famous-director-ahead-of-plymouth-talk/story-30311888-detail/story.html
[H]e is less than enamoured with the state of modern cinema.
"I think it's appalling" he said. "We've ended up with a cinema which is just bedtime stories for adults.
"The films are anodyne and repetitive – we've seen it all before.
"I hardly ever go to the cinema, I find it so boring."
Mr Greenaway said he had been a big fan of directors such as David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome) and David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet), but felt their best work was behind them.
"Lynch has disappeared and Cronenberg is wasting his time illustrating novels," Mr Greenaway said.
He now prefers to look back to the work of earlier auteurs such as Sergei Eisenstein, Alain Resnais, whose 1961 movie Last Year at Marienbad he described as "the best film of the past 60 years", and his Italian "heroes" including Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini.
"But the Italians have now thrown it all away," he said. "I certainly respect Antonioni and Fellini, people with a visual sense, who tell stories in a visual way."
He said modern film-makers had not even taken full advantage of the "exciting digital revolution", still making movies in the same format at directors did in the 1950s and 1960s.
He said art should provide "the shock of the unfamiliar".
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.9758
>>9757
I like his quote "bedtime stories for adults" but I disagree with his claim that there's NOTHING good being made right now. It doesn't sound like he's digging very deep.
Has anyone seen The Tulse Luper Suitcases and is it worth a look?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.9812
>>9757
>it's a Greenaway says cinema is dead episode
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.12805
🇬 is for great big ideas
🇷 is for raw meat
🇪 is for exquisite sets
🇪 is for excruciating acting
...
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
