Rating: 
Summary: 5x5
Review: This falls half-way between the gentle melancholia of 'Drowning by Numbers' and the sheer madness of 'A Zed and Two Noughts', this is shorter and, for me, less interesting than the later stuff. It's still very Nym-ish - bouncy rhythms, unorthodox instrumentation (electric bass guitar and saxaphone feature), and cyclic melodies that loop over and over, like techno but acoustic, are all present.It's also available in a boxed set with the following three albums (the above, and 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover'), with which it forms an odd union.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly British
Review: This film could have come only from England, and only from director Peter Greenaway. I wasn't sure what this film would be like, but I'd enjoyed all the other Greenaway films I'd seen: THE COOK..., BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT, DROWNING BY NUMBERS, THE PILLOW BOOK, and 81/2 WOMEN. Still, this one seemed different from all of those. I was sure it'd be at the very least interesting, but like I said I had no idea what to expect when I put the brand new DVD into the player. Right away, I liked the film, as I saw a group of powder-faced aristocrats relate some "Tales of Ribaldry". Immediately, I was reminded of Ken Russell. But as this most unusual film unfolded, I realized that this was the first time I could actually call a film a "moving painting" and not feel totally pretentious; THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT is nothing if not an animated landscape painting of the 17th century. Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins) is our "hero"; he isn't a very likeable sort, supercilious and overeducated, and unabashedly lustful. But even as he causes trouble among the men and women of the Herbert household, beginning an affair with Mrs. Herbert as part of his payment for the 12 drawings of the estate he has been commissioned to produce, he is a fascinating character, played to the T by Higgins. But something strange is going on: as she peruses his drawings, Mrs. Herbert's daughter, Mrs. Talmann (whose husband dislikes Mr. Neville very strongly) believes she sees evidence of "misadventure" (in 20th-century parlance, "murder") in the pictures. So she now blackmails him for favors similar to those which Mr. Neville gets from her mother. Complicated? It gets worse... but if you're really into it that won't matter. Plot isn't important here. Greenaway is making a statement about art which, in spite of the epoch in which it is set, is timeless. No matter how hard an artist (presumably in any medium) tries, it is impossible not to "distort or dissemble". There's more to it than that, but if you're interested you'll have to work to get to it like I did. Don't worry, it's probably more interesting and entertaining than the way I've described it; Greenaway's dialogue is DELICIOUS and the photography (this was before Sacha Vierny became his cinematographer) is excellent, making brilliant use of light and shadow, evoking some of the nuances of painting at that time. Each frame of Greenaway's film is literally a painting in and of itself, and instead of an easy, comprehensive story with likeable characters that anyone could identify with, Greenaway gives us a narrative that resembles that of a painting (witness the scene in which Mr. Neville and a haggard Mrs. Herbert examine a painting, trying to ascertain the story it tells). For those tired of films with characters and situations that supposedly "anyone could relate to", Greenaway's crisp, challenging, funny, and fascinating THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT may be just what you're looking for. See it!
Rating:
Summary: A convoluted enigma of a picture, but a must see one.
Review: This is an enigma of a film from Peter Greenaway. A intriguing and complex puzzle that is difficult to decipher. It will have you watching it many times to try and discover who the culprit is. It is set in 1694 England. A draughtsman is asked by a lady to make twelve drawings of her house. In return, the man asks for money, and to use the lady for his intimate needs. It's all going along as normal, then strange things start to happen. Stone statues start to walk around, objects in the drawings start to move, then the lady's husband is found murdered. The search is then on to find the culprit. The DVD is Ok. The picture in widescreen 1.66:1 is clear, and the sound in mono is alright. The extras are just filmographies and awards, and production credits. It deserves a few more extras. The film is still a great piece of puzzling cinema. The cast all wear beautiful costumes, and speak in a statement-like manner. Buy it!
Rating: 
Summary: It looks attractive... but that's all
Review: This is probably the worst film I have seen, narrowly beating George Of The Jungle. The design is beautiful, with the sets and costumes serving a dull dull story, bereft of plot, characters, and interesting dialogue. Why Greenaway tried to write this himself, instead of employing a writer is beyond me. Michael Nyman makes a good stab at the music, but it is too dominant in the sound mix, and not subtle enough to complement the occasionally good photography. Add to the mix unnecessary music, actors who barely move when speaking their lines, many characters who look alike due to identical make-up or masks, and a pretentious pseudo-restoration English, and the result is an unintelligible mess.
Rating:
Summary: Imagination , talent , corrosion and brilliantness.
Review: This is the best meeting card to refer one of those weird and artistic films . This is the second work of Greenaway , conspicious and polifacetic as his own movie.
Summer XVII . In a community of a recent rich family in the english village , a dare painter accepts to make some drawnings of the elegant mansion of Mr. Herbert . Since the husband is absent there is a condition in the contract ,in which the lady must satisfy the sexual apetites of the painter .
But this will be just the sparkling point for a complex web in which the two main ladies of the house are involved ; an evil and perverse plan thought with the meticulous and mathematical perfection of a chess player . This will become in th beginning of the end for the artist . The figure of the bufon servant is employed for Greenway as the ancient shakesperian device (King Lear, for instance) , he is mude witeness who will have his painted latin pineapple.
The great triumph of Peter Greenaway consists in mixing levels of interpretation or estetic facets (pictoric , musical). He shows an unusual artistic ingenius , merciless and wild .
This film is important because it will work out as a reference for later works . Greenaway has added to the cinema art , new expression possibilities , in the best tradition of Visconti, Jarman and the visual magnetism of Nicholas Roeg . His films are loaded with eccentric cynicism and sometimes overtone black humor as you know . The multiple , sinister and macabre behavior of most of his characters are practically a constant in every work with the notable exception of The belly of an architect , for instance .
Recommendable for you if you like this mood .
Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: This is the only movie I've seen more than five times. The plot is always fascinating because every explanation I come up with has some flaw, although there seem to be clues everywhere. The arch dialog is delicious, and delivered by the actors with obvious relish. This is the only movie I find myself quoting lines from, simply for the fun of it. The cast is perfect. The music is wonderfully atmospheric. The scenery is luscious. It may require a decadent taste to enjoy this movie, but if you have that, it is the ideal entertainment. I haven't found anything else of Peter Greenaway's watchable. But The Draughtsman's Contract is a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Detached & Aloof.
Review: This tale of a 17th Century draughtsman who takes a commission to do drawings of a wealthy Englishman's estate only if he can "do" the Lady of the estate at the same time, is an intriguing piece for those unhurried and with a taste for something different. Meticulously recreating the era, with the best candlelit scenes since Barry Lyndon, we realize that a stately sort of mystery is unfolding as we watch the arrogant artist have his way with first the mistress of the house and then her daughter, all the while insulting and denigrating everyone around him. The Draughtsman is arrogant, self-confident, and sure that he is superior to the aristocratic twits he serves with his art. That he believes he is smarter than everyone around him will come around to be his undoing. Being used while he thinks he is doing the using, the Draughtsman finds out too late that he has been nothing more than a pawn in a game he never understood. Not for everyone, I found the film fascinating but as detached and aloof as its protagonist. This cold detachment becomes the wry amusement in the story, but also separates us from any emotional connection to the characters. There are also the typical Greenaway non sequiturs, in this case a naked fool, painted, posing as statues etc. At any rate, worth a look for those wanting something different.
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