Peter Greenaway est un cinéaste britannique célèbre pour son approche visuellement riche et intellectuellement provocatrice du cinéma. Ses œuvres explorent souvent les thèmes de la mémoire, de l'histoire et de la représentation, examinant la manière dont la culture archive et interprète l'information. Le style distinctif de Greenaway se caractérise par une composition élaborée, des références aux beaux-arts et à la littérature, ainsi qu'une profonde fascination pour l'architecture et l'urbanisme. Il est considéré comme une figure importante du cinéma post-classique, repoussant les limites de la narration cinématographique et de l'esthétique visuelle.
The tragic deaths of two brothers' wives in a car crash lead to profound changes in their lives. One brother spirals into obsession, documenting the decay of animal corpses, while the other honors his wife's memory by liberating various zoo animals. This juxtaposition of grief and rebellion unfolds into a surreal narrative, exploring themes of loss, acceptance, and the unexpected paths that emerge from tragedy.
The complete script of Greenaway's highly theatrical film telling the story of a miraculous baby born in a time of infertility and plague in the cathedral city of Macon.
The narrative centers on Stourley Kracklite, a dedicated American architect in Rome, who becomes consumed by his quest to honor his architectural hero. As he prepares an exhibition, his fixation on the past leads him to neglect his family and health. The story explores the consequences of obsession and the struggle between personal sacrifice and professional ambition, revealing how Kracklite's devotion ultimately threatens the very achievements he seeks to celebrate.
The book features twenty-one interviews with filmmaker Peter Greenaway, where he articulates his unique film aesthetic and critiques the mainstream Hollywood style. Greenaway argues for a visual-centric approach to cinema, contrasting it with Hollywood's linear narratives. He discusses his painterly techniques in films like The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, defends his use of nudity, and proclaims the decline of traditional literary adaptations in film. He believes that the future of creativity lies in television and the Internet rather than Hollywood.
A bizarre murder mystery by filmmaker Greenaway in which he investigates the death of a Brazilian composer who wrote music for 1950s Hollywood Westerns.
Set in the winter of 1590, the narrative revolves around the Dutch printmaker Hendrik Goltzius, who seeks funding from the Margrave of Alsace for an erotic illustrated book. To persuade the Margrave, Goltzius artfully dramatizes Old Testament tales, weaving themes of incest, adultery, and necrophilia into his storytelling. The Margrave's court becomes entranced, descending into moral chaos, ultimately leading to a desperate financial resolution that allows Goltzius to pursue his ambitious printing project.
Exploring male sexual fantasy through a surreal lens, the story follows a grieving Swiss businessman and his son, who seeks to revive his father's interest in life after the loss of his wife. Set against a backdrop of Japanese pachinko parlours and earthquakes, they establish a unique domestic bordello, leading to an unexpected conclusion. This volume, part of a series on Peter Greenaway's scripts, offers insights into his creative process, showcasing his distinctive talent for crafting images that transition into film.
The discovery of 92 gold bars in a crashed car in Bolzano on May 7, 1945, uncovers a haunting narrative of the Holocaust. Each bar represents the stolen wealth of victims from the Third Reich, including Jews, prisoners of war, and marginalized groups. The story intricately weaves together the histories behind these bars, revealing the personal and collective tragedies of those who suffered. Additionally, it includes a postscript detailing nine more bars that were expected to be part of this grim legacy, deepening the exploration of loss and remembrance.
The story of the Patriarch Abraham, who is prepared to sacrifice his son on God's command, is one of the Bible's most controversial episodes and is interpreted differently by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The film maker Peter Greenaway and the multimedia artist Saskia Boddeke approach this theme artistically by combining painting, sculpture and ritual object with film, sound installation and projection in an exhibition for the Jewish Museum Berlin. The colourful artist's book, with the accompanying volume of texts, supplements and illustrates the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael told in the exhibition of the same Name. artists: Peter Greenaway, Saskia Boddeke