Customer Reviews

Greenaway - Early Films

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the 2 disc set that includes Peter Greenaway's legendary first film (probably legendary because so few have seen it) The Falls, plus 7 short films he made prior to this one. The Falls is the main feature here. I saw The Falls way back in 1989 at The Film Center of the Art Institute in Chicago. There was only one showing of it (for the whole month...a one day event), and the theater was packed. The film runs 3 hours, and after the intermission, half those people left. After the film was finished, half of those remaining had gone. I watched the whole thing and loved every frame. The "plot" is about 92 case studies resulting from a Violent Unknown Event (or VUE). The film goes over all 92. I saw Peter Greenaway at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2004, and he explained his fascination with the number 92. It's the atomic weight of uranium, and he said this had a profound impact on his generation, the "atomic" generation who lived in fear of the bomb. He was a very articulate, civilized man, and he signed my copy of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (which was very nice of him). This film is probably not for non-Greenaway fans, or for beginners. But then all his films are in the same vein, so maybe you should just jump into it. You won't forget this film, ever.

If you are interested in Greenway's work or have seen his later films, I would grab this set rather than just The Falls or The Shorts. First, you will save money. Two, the subject of both The Falls and some of the shorts bleed into later works like the Tulse Luper Suitcases. I happened upon this at the right time, watching it and the first Tulse movie, which luckily played on Sundance, since a region one DVD is nowhere to be found (region one box set of all three Luper Suitcase movies...PLEASE!!!!!!). There is a lot in common with all three. The Falls is awesome, it is becoming a favorite of mine, right after Zed and Two Naughts, which is also featured in the first Tulse Luper film. Awesome.

The set is everything I could want. The picture is good, good extras, perfect sound. Just how a Greenway experience should be.

The whole re-edition of the BFI material is great. The only thing missing on this dvd are the subtitles...