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Love Is the Devil

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon

France, Japan, United Kingdom

1998

89 Min
Color
1.85:1
English
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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DIR John Maybury

EXEC Takashi Asai, Ben Gibson, Patrice Haddad, Frances-Anne Solomon

PROD Chiara Menage

SCR John Maybury

DP John Mathieson

CAST Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton, Anne Lambton, Adrian Scarborough, Karl Johnson, Annabel Brooks, Richard Newbould, Ariel de Ravenel, Tallulah, Andy Linden, David Kennedy, Gary Hume

ED Daniel Goddard

PROD DES Alan MacDonald

MUSIC Ryûichi Sakamoto

SOUND Paul Davies, Ken Lee

Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), Cannes (Un Certain Regard), Edinburgh: Best New British Film, Best British Performance, Rotterdam (Main Programme), Outfest (Strand Releasing Retrospective), Vancouver

Synopsis

A biography of British painter Francis Bacon and his relationship with his lover, a former small time crook…

Director

Original

John Maybury

John Maybury (born 25 March 1958) is an English filmmaker. In 2005 he was listed as one of the 100 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain.

Early life

John Maybury was brought up in Enfield by his mother and father, Elsie and George Maybury. He has four sisters and two brothers. John Maybury attended St. Ignatius College, Enfield before attending St. Albans College of Art & Design, North East London Polytechnic and Saint Martins College of Art.

Work

Through the 1980s he produced a number of short films and music videos including the video for Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” which was voted #35 in a Channel 4 poll of the greatest pop music videos. John received various awards for this video.

In 1998 he produced his first full length feature Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon a biopic on the life of Francis Bacon starring Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section… read more

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Jacqueline Fernández

8Apr13

I love absolutely everything on this movie! John Maybury is a surprise for me, I can't wait to see another movie of him. The point of view and the subtlety of the cruelty throughout the film is magnificent.

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MATT

6Sep12

This film was intensity gratifying. One of the most bizarre biopics of a painter that I've ever seen

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Ryan Lattanzio

12Jan12

For my money, this is the most exquisite and moving queer film out there since Jean Genet's "Un Chant d'Amor" — it's something like the best gay arthouse flick that David Lynch or Peter Greenaway never made.

xrystyna likes this

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    Sam Stander

    21May12

    Jesus, I need to watch this movie as soon as possible. I remember you telling me about it, and I keep reading intriguing things.

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ramosbarajas

8Oct11

There are several scenes that distort the characters, leaving them half out of focus and giving off a general sense of grotesqueness. These scenes recall many of Bacon's paintings, and make the film very onteresting visually. The experimentalism of the film pays off and we end with a very personal and at times tender portrayal of the characters.

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