It is insane!.. and far too many of the available DVDs are poor quality. The Drowning by Numbers release is indeed pretty bad. Will the Baby of Macon ever see a release?!
The recent issues of A Zed and Two Noughts and A Draughtman’s Contract are worth getting, in addition to the Early Years set.
We need some Criterion releases :)
Rent or buy VHS copies is my only sad suggestion. That’s how I watched the majority of them in the late 90s and early aughts. I have the Australian DVD of “Drowning by Numbers” and its audio does indeed suck, but this is my favorite, so better than nothing. The films that are available in North America are his early short works, which incidentally were really difficult to find when I was mowing through Greenaway years ago, and I have yet to see them. I think a studio took a chance and released a bunch of Greenaway on VHS, trying to mainstream it, and got nowhere. So the availability eventually dried up, which is a shame. And Ralph Fiennes cock in a picture that skewers organized religion ensures “Baby of Macon” will always remain difficult to procure on these shores. I rented it in Japan, and it really wasn’t worth the effort it takes to find it. Best probably to look for “The Cook the Thief…” and “Prospero’s Books” on VHS, then if that comes to nothing, torrent them, or buy them from a gray market seller. Don’t pay $200 for a weak, old DVD copy at this point. It will be like Salo all over again without the Criterion treatment.
Check the library – there’s a few around here that have the OOP “The Cook The Thief..”
I actually thought The Baby of Macon was well worth seeking out, crap quality aside.
I’m pretty sure that criterion is coming out with a release of The Cook, The Theif, His Wife and Her Lover at some point. I read it somewhere in a criterion blog
It is shocking that a director of Greenaway versatility and great visual imagination is not recognized by the DVD community with distribution of his films. I have seen most of his works up to Prospero`s Books at the cinema and have recorded a few that were shown on TV. He definitely needs to be released by Criterion or someone, depending on the rights issue, asap. I did see his early works some time ago in a rented vhs copy, and they are also worthwhile. I think he is one of the few living directors who is taking cinema in a new direction visually. He, with Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay, is one of the most original artists now working in film.
THE FALLS and a variety of shorts are out on Zeitgeist in an EARLY FILMS collection. Also, Z+OO and DRAUGHTSMAN’S CONTRACT.
Why has nobody mentioned “The Pillow Book”? I completely love this film! It’s available right now on Amazon, brand new, for $22.49.
Thank you, everyone, for replying. I think I may just have to break down and get the Australian dvd of ‘Drowning by Numbers’, as I am dying to see the film. I guess, until the others are given decent releases, I will just have to content myself with his films that are available.
Mr. King: It’s good to see that someone thinks ‘The Baby of Macon’ is worth seeing. I have been interested in it, so it’s good to know that it has more going for it than Ralph Fiennes’ penis (though I’m sure that certainly doesn’t detract from the film).
“Drowning by Numbers” was on VHS, and can probably still be had rather cheaply. The audio may be better there. I remember watching the VHS in high school and having no trouble understanding the quippy dialogue. I have trouble puzzling it out in some scenes on the Australian DVD.
That’s too bad about the sound quality of the VHS compared to the DVD, as I don’t have a VHS player. :(
Shelley, not to be funny…but you can probably find a VCR for cheaper than the VHS cassette these days.
@Cineaste: Pillow Book probably isn’t a favorite of many people who love Greenaway’s work. I personally saw it in the theater on release, and it was thoroughly disappointing. In the case of that particular film, I see PG evincing some dilettantism you don’t see anywhere else in his work.
PG’s “Four American Composers” doc series is available for viewing, by the way, @ ubu.com.
The BFI has made some really nice discs, so far; but, damn, there seems to be no chance for a series of Region 1 discs. Certainly it doesn’t appear from the outside that PG is actively working for such a thing. We should have seen the release of a Tulse Luper set years ago, now…PG is torn in different directions, is always working on site-specific installations, and has been lecturing a fair amount; and you feel as if he’s not as concerned about the wider fate of his films…
Belly of an Architect and 8 1/2 Women are both readily available also.
It’d be nice to see Nightwatching released stateside as well.
There are some interesting compilations released as well…from Japan (R2) there is ‘Greenaway and Nyman’ and UK (R2) Cinema 16: British Shorts. The complete Tulse Luper is on AU (R4). I wish at this point he would self produce his transfers, the wait for studios is excruciatingly painful in their decision-making process and he needs a thoughtful and definitive box series. If Artificial Eye | Pathe | BFI have chomped at the bit yet, it’s apparently out of their scope sadly.
It’s clear at this point that Greenaway has abdicated the matter of home video transfers of the films for the other, non-cinematic activities on his dance card: he’s still VJ’ing with material from Tulse Luper’s Suitcases; still doing site-specific installations; doing theater with Saskia Boddeke…
Not sure if legit, but found something interesting while looking around online… A graphic artist by the name of Aericka Helf has listed on her website, work commissioned for Criterion Collection DVD covers for THREE Peter Greenaway films! Box set coming? Films include A Zed And Two Noughts, Belly Of An Architect, and last but not least, The Cook The Thief His Wife And Her Lover. Her website is: http://www.ahelfdesigns.com/ . Click on the second to the last icon with the zebra. Details from back cover hard to read on all of them but look to be: All new high-def transfers approved by Peter Greenaway, New interviews, Deleted scenes, etc. As I said, not sure if these are the finals..I sure hope so.
Watching ’Prospero’s Books’ on Dvd….my god, that film was MADE for the medium
it sucks there hard to come by, officially anyway
I think Greenaway’s films have gotten lost in the shuffle. In the US, they had theatrical and home video distribution when they were released by companies that have gone through mergers or buyouts. It would take a third party like Criterion to sort it out and get a release of the films here again.
For me, “Baby of Macon” is one of his better, if more grim, works and well worth seeking out.
I did managed to get a copy of “Tulse Luper Suitcases” and found it rather irritating – his current obsession with digital editing tricks gets in the way of learning about the story and characters.
Tulse Luper complete is available from Australia.
Just wrote a review of new Greenaway film/Q & A I attended:
http://www.last.fm/user/robarnott/journal/2010/03/29/3ivq6e_nightwatching_%252B_peter_greenaway_q_%2526_a
Doesn’t seem like much is happening with older film releases, he didn’t seem very clued up about it anyway.
Not that I’ve ever bothered with his films…not that I really knew anything about him until last year, but Greenaway visited Australia last year, Shelley. He was in Melbourne, not certain where in Australia you are located. Apparently it was a big deal, although hardly anybody in Australia would recognise him (and from what I’ve read from him quote-wise, he sounds horribly pompous and pretentious).
Criterion really needs to release some of the older greenaway films. there are so many that i have yet to see, but have heard good things about.. especially Drowning by Numbers and Baby of Macon
I met Peter Greenaway when he was in Melbourne. He is a nice guy. Spoke to him for a couple of minutes and told him that ‘8 1/2 Women’ was a complete riot and unfairly dismissed, among other things, and he laughed and said he agreed in that typically pompous yet sly way you’d expect from him ;-)
Would love to see his films on Criterion.
8 1/2 Women and Nightwatching are on Netflix Instant
Though The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover isn’t even in their DVD stock as of now.
Peter Greenaway’s otherwise unreleased (at least to my knowledge) Darwin has been uploaded to youtube:
Charulata
I am interested in seeing more of Greenaway’s films, but most of them (at least those considered to be his greatest) are not readily available here in America. The only DVD of ‘Drowning by Numbers’ I know of is one from Australia that is, supposedly, of pretty low quality, and I think I would be able to purchase ‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover’ and ’Prospero’s Books’ from Amazon UK. Does anyone what the situation is with the rights to these films and whether there are plans for them to be released or re-released in America? It seems insane that the work of someone who is considered one of the greatest living filmmakers is nearly impossible to find here.