Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film, The Draughtsman’s Contract, is now available on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber.
The film concerns a landscape artist, the suave and pretentious Mr. Neville (a wickedly charming Anthony Higgins) who is commissioned by a woman named Virginia Herbert (a fabulous Janet Suzman) to produce twelve drawings of her estate as a gift for her husband. In return, Neville asks for sexual favors from Mrs. Herbert – a situation that soon becomes both humorous and deadly when it spirals out of everyone’s control and Mrs. Herbert’s sex-starved daughter gets involved.
Conceived and executed with Peter Greenaway’s signature style, this playfully experimental provocation from a master auteur is a singular experience. It is wholly unpredictable with a shocking denouement that is intentionally polarizing – in other words, a film that only Greenaway could get away with.
The Blu-ray is struck from a new 4K restoration, and it looks absolutely incredible!
The special features are worth the price alone, and include:
Peter Greenaway commentary and video introduction (10 minutes)
Four deleted scenes (10 minutes)
Behind-the-scenes footage and on-set interviews (10 minutes)
Interview with composer Michael Nyman (7 minutes)
Greenaway Short Films: Intervals (1969, 6 minutes), Windows (1974, 4 minutes), Dear Phone (1976, 17 minutes), Water Wrackets (1978, 11 minutes)
Re-release trailer
The Draughtsman’s Contract is now available for purchase from Kino Lorber.
ReelRenkovish 