Product Details

• Actors: Colin Cantlie, Peter Greenaway, Jean Williams, Hannah Greenaway, Peter Westley
• Directors: Peter Greenaway
• Writers: Peter Greenaway
• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: Shocking Videos
• DVD Release Date: April 11, 2006
• Run Time: 326 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EQ5UNM
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,470 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Greenaway - Early Films" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This second DVD installment of British avant-garde director Peter Greenaway's collected Early Films journeys into Greenaway's peculiar nerdy humor, which takes absurd satisfaction in cataloguing and bureaucracy. The two films on Early Films 2: The Falls, The Falls and Vertical Feature Remake, are both exhaustively thorough visual catalogues. The Falls features 92 citizens whose surnames begin with the letters FALL, who have suffered through a fictitious event known as the VUE (Violent Unknown Event), and have consequently become obsessed with birds. At three-and-a-half hours long, certain case studies stand out, such as that of Appis Allis Fallabis, who, speaking in Pig Latin, describes how he is "nightly obliged to lubricate himself with Spanish oil" in order to eliminate the ticks, termites, lice, and tapeworms that plague his body as if he were truly avian. The ridiculousness of the characters is carefully balanced by a more serious soundtrack including the divine Brian Eno song, "Golden Hours." Vertical Features Remake, on the other hand, finds common vertical threads throughout the British landscape such as tree trunks, dandelion stalks, telephone poles, and rakes, then re-catalogues the shots into four separate shorts, as though an imaginary bureau called the IRR Records Archives is searching for a way to structure and organize this pointless information. Both films have a sci-fi quality, utilizing their own logic to make sense of invented worlds. Also on the DVD are interviews with Greenaway, in which he discusses not only how and when the movies were made, but also their concepts. Don't let the epic length dissuade you from viewing these clever dips into that giant pool of Greenaway's weird mind. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description

Before he wowed audiences with such stunning and controversial international arthouse hits such as THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, THE PILLOW BOOK and PROSPERO'S BOOKS, Peter Greenaway concocted a series of seven witty and inventive short films (A WALK THROUGH H, H IS FOR HOUSE, WINDOWS, INTERVALS, DEAR PHONE, WATER WRACKETS and VERTICAL FEATURES REMAKE), as well as his first spectacular feature magnum opus, THE FALLS. These eight cinematic gems are now available for first time in the US in a gorgeously-packaged two-disc box set. Both are packed with additional content—including hundreds of original paintings by Greenaway, original video pieces and tons of archival material. The two discs are also available separately as GREENAWAY: THE FALLS and GREENAWAY: THE SHORTS.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant brillance....Greenaway fans rejoice...., March 13, 2006

By	Grigory's Girl "Grigory's Girl" (NYC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great set, being that The Falls and a few of the shorts bleed into Greenaway's later work..., November 16, 2008

By	N. Graabe "Freelance writer/film-video editor" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lack of subtitles, August 26, 2006

By	Rodrigo - See all my reviews

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