Greenaway Shorts

[rwaits]

Just found this on the Beaver:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQ ... 6049?n=130

Has anyone seen any of these shorts, and can comment? If this had been released 2 years ago, I would have been extremely excited. I was a HUGE fan of Greenaway's first few films, but really lost interest once I got up to around his mid-nineties stuff. I fould Pillow Book to be one of the most disgusting/unnecessary films I've seen.

I'd love to hear how these early shorts compare to Draughtman's Contract/Zed/etc.

[The Digital McGuffin]

I've not seen the R1 set, but have Volumes 1 & 2 of The Early Films of Peter Greenway from the BFI and rate them as some of my favorite discs that I own. The R1 set looks like a port of Volume 1.

I've only ever seen A Draughtman's Contract and A Zed and Two Noughts from his later feature films so far, but they are quite different from those. They're not driven by a conventional narrative or on-screen character dialogue, but instead Greenaway evokes his scenes and characters purely through a voiceover over and the collection of images he's edited together. They're delightfully bizarre and have a real oddball sense of humour to them.

I'd definitely recommend them, particularly The Falls if you can get hold of it. It's on the Volume 2 BFI disc. Perhaps giving the shorts on the R1 a go first might be best before deciding if you want to take on the 3+ hours of The Falls.

[rwaits]

Cool! Thanks McGuffin.

The main reason I love those 2 early Greenaway films is the gorgeous cinematography...do these earlier films compare in any way?

[richast2]

the falls is coming out on a separate disc with vertical features remake:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQ5TP6/

however, both discs are available in one set as "greenaway--early films":
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQ5UNM/

[zedz]

I rank Greenaway's early shorts higher than almost any of his features: really fresh and original, from before he started believing his own press releases. A Walk through H is by far my favourite: a Borgesian ramble that is one of the most original films I've come across, and like several of those shorts, it's also a handy distillation of the director's (writer's, illustrator's) preoccupations.

The Falls, on the other hand, is more like an encyclopedia of those preoccupations. It can be exhausting, but it's also has the advantage of being exhaustive, pre-empting a lot of his later work, but with a good deal more wit and imagination (and all done on the smell of an oily rag).

[The Digital McGuffin]

Cool! Thanks McGuffin.

The main reason I love those 2 early Greenaway films is the gorgeous cinematography...do these earlier films compare in any way?

In their own way they do and are quite beautiful but in a rougher way. They lack the vividness and visual polish of the later films, but the Water Wrackets for example photographs rivers and lakes quite beautifully.

It's a little hard for me to judge because my views on the cinematography are already tainted by the love I already have of the subject matter. I grew up surrounded by the English countryside, so am quite familiar with some of the sorts of landscapes and subjects he's photographing and they provoke my own mental images and memories as i watch them.

[leo goldsmith]

I rank Greenaway's early shorts higher than almost any of his features

I agree: along with 26 Bathrooms, these are my favorite Greenaway films. They show the influence of the American avant-garde (most especially Hollis Frampton) more than the later films. The new dvd's are quite good (though I'm sure more discerning eyes than mine will see technical faults) with lots of very candid information from Greenaway on the ideas behind the films.

[kazantzakis]

I like the shorts too, perhaps because a lot of what I find appealing in Greenaway comes in short spans, that is, it doesnt require 3hours to come across. But I cinsider The Falls and Z&OO to be his masterpieces. The former because of its Protean, multifaceted quasi-narrative which cleverly and humourously adapts the narrative of the tower of Babel to a futuristic catastrophic scenario. The only drawback is the length of it, which on the other hand is part of its purpose. Z&OO is quite different but equally rich in words, color schemes, themes, compositions, patterns etc. Both are fascinating parables.

I dont remember the titles of the individual shorts but they are certainly worth watching as a whole. I haven't seen the R1 discs either.

[J Wilson]

The R1 set is pretty much an exact port of the R2 discs; the films haven't been corrected for PAL speed-up; they run the same time as the UK/French editions, with the exception of THE FALLS, which runs 194 minutes, compared to 186 on the R2. THE FALLS also is missing the European chaptering option of selecting VUE "victims" by their associative qualities; on the R1, you can select from the master list of 92 and that's it. Otherwise, the extras are all the same.

[antnield]

Otherwise, the extras are all the same.

Including Easter Eggs - the press books and whatnot?

[J Wilson]

The BFI press books are there, but as regular menu items.

[rwaits]

Well I was hoping that wouldn't be the case regarding PAL-NTSC transfer. Is anyone planning on purchasing this set?

[Oedipax]

Well I was hoping that wouldn't be the case regarding PAL-NTSC transfer. Is anyone planning on purchasing this set?

I won't be purchasing this as I own the bfi discs, but I wanted to come in here and just encourage everyone to check these shorts (and The Falls) out, even if you're not necessarily a huge Greenaway fan. It really is some of his finest work, and because he's working in a different medium (shorts, more openly experimental and freeform in structure, often no cast whatsoever outside of voiceover, etc.) the films are quite different from his narrative work, and might work for someone who isn't usually a fan. In particular I have to sing the praises of Vertical Features Remake, my favorite Greenaway ever!

[rwaits]

I'm definitely checking them out--I've been waiting of a region 1 release forever. I got SO into Greenaway when I first discoved him with Draughtsman's Contract but, to me anyways, his work really goes downhill from the 90s forward.

I'm really looking forward to this set, but unfortunately cannot afford it at the moment. Can someone who is picking this up please post a review once they get it?

[Barmy]

Can anyone recommend this Japanese set?

http://www.xploitedcinema.com/dvds/dvds.asp?title=7642

[Oedipax]

Can anyone recommend this Japanese set?

http://www.xploitedcinema.com/dvds/dvds.asp?title=7642

Oh wow, I figured that one was out of print... I've been trying to track it down for a while. I've seen 26 Bathrooms which is very good, and the Nyman music is wonderful, and Fear of Drowning which is quite interesting but not what I would call one of Greenaway's best. From what I understand, the transfers are all pretty good. The price is fairly steep for what are basically 3 short films, but as a fan I'm tempted.

[rwaits]

Did anyone pick up this zeitgeist release? If so, I'd love to hear a review on transfers, packaging, etc.

[sevenarts]

i got the new 2-disc set recently, have watched most of the shorts so far, and it's been very enjoyable so far. i'm far from a stickler for transfer quality or anything like that, but the image certainly looks nice to me. the films are shot on fairly rough stock to begin with, so a bit of graininess is to be expected. the colors are nice, maybe a bit muted but i suspect that's an intentional effect.

my first exposure to greenaway, and so far really liking it. the films are pretty puzzling & ambiguous on first watch, i'm looking forward to revisiting them to see if i can dig a little deeper. i've been working through the set chronologically, seemed the best way to build up to the massive 3 hours of the falls.

[rwaits]

How is it packaged? Is it in a double digipack, or several cases in a slip-case? Are there any notes included?

[leo goldsmith]

The films are on two discs in separate cases in a slipcase, handsomely designed. Also there's extensive notation and commentary by PG. It's definitely recommended, unless you already own the films in other formats.

[tavernier]

How is it packaged? Is it in a double digipack, or several cases in a slip-case? Are there any notes included?

Buy it already!

[What A Disgrace]

I'm definitely going to buy the shorts disc from Zeitgeist. The Zeitgeist disc containing The Falls and Vertical Features Remake, though...is it a flipper? As there's some four+ hours worth of material on one side of the disc if it isn't...

I'll snatch the whole box up if flipper's the case. I badly want all of these films.

[tavernier]

I'm definitely going to buy the shorts disc from Zeitgeist. The Zeitgeist disc containing The Falls and Vertical Features Remake, though...is it a flipper? As there's some four+ hours worth of material on one side of the disc if it isn't...

I'll snatch the whole box up if flipper's the case. I badly want all of these films.

No, it's not a flipper. And the BFI disc isn't either....

[yoshimori]

r2uk of Greenaway's Rosa available 9/24.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Damn, I was hoping for the opera.