The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway (written by)

Release Date:

7 July 1983 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

A landscape of lust and cunning. [Video Australia]

Plot:

Mr. Neville, a cocksure young artist is contracted by Mrs. Herbert, the wife of a wealthy landowner...

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Contract | Drawing | Indignant | Dutch

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anthony Higgins	...	Mr. Neville
Janet Suzman	...	Mrs. Herbert
Anne-Louise Lambert	...	Mrs. Talmann
Hugh Fraser	...	Mr. Talmann
Neil Cunningham	...	Mr. Noyes
Dave Hill	...	Mr. Herbert
David Gant	...	Mr. Seymour
David Meyer	...	The Poulencs
Tony Meyer	...	The Poulencs
Nicolas Amer	...	Mr. Parkes
Suzan Crowley	...	Mrs. Pierpont
Lynda La Plante	...	Mrs. Clement (as Lynda Marchal)
Michael Feast	...	The Statue
Alastair Cummings	...	Philip
Steve Ubels	...	Mr. Van Hoyten
Ben Kirby	...	Augustus
Sylvia Rotter	...	Governess
Kate Doherty	...	Servant
David Joss Buckley	...	Mr. Porringer (as Joss Buckley)
Michael Carter	...	Mr. Clarke (as Mike Carter)
Vivienne Chandler	...	Laundress
Geoffrey Larder	...	Mr. Hammond
Harry Van Engel	...	Servant
George Miller	...	Servant

Directed by
Peter Greenaway

Writing credits
Peter Greenaway		(written by)

Produced by
David Payne	....	producer
Peter Sainsbury	....	head producer

Original Music by
Michael Nyman

Cinematography by
Curtis Clark

Film Editing by
John Wilson

Casting by
Lucy Boulting

Art Direction by
Bob Ringwood

Costume Design by
Sue Blane

Makeup Department
Christine Allsopp	....	assistant makeup artist
Lois Burwell	....	makeup artist
Lois Burwell	....	makeup department head
Peter King	....	wig maker
Peter Owen	....	wig creator

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andy Powell	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kenneth Breese	....	calligrapher
Alan Brown	....	painter
Jane Hamilton	....	design assistant
Tom Raeburn	....	property master (as Tommy Raeburn)
Peter Greenaway	....	drawings: Mr. Neville (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tony Anscombe	....	dubbing mixer
Bob Doyle	....	sound assistant
Godfrey Kirby	....	sound
Clive Osborne	....	sound assistant
Lionel Strutt	....	adr artist
Aad Wirtz	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
John Swinnerton	....	rostrum camera operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Simon Archer	....	still photographer
Steve Blake	....	gaffer
Luke Cardiff	....	assistant camera
Hugh Gordon	....	camera operator: rostrum camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Perry	....	costume design coordinator

Editorial Department
John Taylor	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Alexander Balanescu	....	musician: violin
Malcolm Bennett	....	musician: bass guitar
Tony Cousins	....	post-production music editor
David Cunningham	....	music producer
Andrew Findon	....	musician: baritone sax
Brad Grisdale	....	assistant music engineer
Barry Guy	....	musician: double bass
John Harle	....	musician: soprano, alto and tenor sax
Dave Hunt	....	assistant music engineer
Ian Mitchell	....	musician: clarinet, bass clarinet and alto sax
Michael Nyman	....	music supervisor
Michael Nyman	....	musician: harpsichord and piano
Elisabeth Perry	....	musician: violin
Henry Purcell	....	music consultant (as H. Purcell)
J. Martin Rex	....	music engineer
Christopher Royall	....	musician: Counter-tenor (as Chris Royale)
Steve Saunders	....	musician: bass trombone and euphonium
Steve Smith	....	assistant music engineer
Keith Thompson	....	musician: tenor sax

Transportation Department
Gillian Strachan	....	driver

Other crew
Peter Broughan	....	production officer
Hugh Gordon	....	title designer
Peter Greenaway	....	hand double: Anthony Higgins (uncredited)

Thanks
Johannes Jacobus	....	special thanks
Dudley Tate	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• British Film Institute (BFI)
• Channel Four Television (in association with)

Distributors

• British Film Institute (BFI) (1983) (UK) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2004) (UK) (DVD) (special edition)
• Suomen Kunnallispalvelu (1983) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United Artists Classics (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Dolmen (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Dolmen (2006) (Italy) (DVD) (box set)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Zeitgeist Films (2007) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Lee Electrics  lighting
• Studio 80  music recording
• Mayflower Recording  adr studios (as Mayflower)
• Cinelingual  sound mix
• Kay Laboratories  laboratory (as Kay Film Laboratories)

Runtime:

103 min | Finland:109 min (1983)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Groombridge Place, Groombridge, Kent, England, UK

Company:

British Film Institute (BFI)

Trivia:

Peter Greenaway's original cut ran over four hours. He has stated his intention to edit the cut footage, along with additional outtakes, into an entirely new feature entitled "The Hedgecutters".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The cooing of a collared dove is not a sound that would have fallen on Jacobean ears, as the species was unknown in Britain until 1955.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Noyes: Mr. Chandos was a man who spent more time with his gardener than his wife. They discussed plum trees - ad nauseam. He gave his family and his tennants cause to dread September, for they were regaled with plums till their guts rumbled like thunder and their backsides ached from overuse. He built the chapel at Fouvant, where the pews are made of plumwood, so the tennants still have cause to remember Chandos through their backsides - on account of the splinters.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Cock and Bull Story (2005)

Soundtrack:

Eye For Optical Theory

An eye for optical theory

In this much criticised and often misunderstood movie, Greenaway brings us a rich, allegorical riddle that luxuriates in its idyllic restoration setting. It succeeds on its own merits even if the story may confuse the viewer at first, the sheer pun and wit of the script and extravagant use of costume and visual gag see to that. We have enormous wigs, living statues that really pee, an indulgence of fruit, erotic interludes and a general celebration of pleasure. Behind this is a brilliantly constructed story that can be appreciated on a number of different levels. We have an 'Agatha Christie' style country house murder mystery, an investigation of class and religious opposition at the end of the 17th century, a philosphical study of the problem of artists' perception of the world (is what we 'see' what we actually perceive it to be?).

At root though, Greenaway knows his mythology and understands the role of the fertility rite across societies and cultures. In this allegory, Mrs Herbert persuades the Draughtsman (Mr. Neville) to draw her husband's estate, sexual favours being the lure. The drawings are merely a front for a deeper and darker motive: ensuring that the matrimonial line will produce the heir to the country estate. The line is blocked by lack of a direct heir, the infertility of Mrs. Herbert's son in law and the fact that women cannot inherit the property. Evidence of Mr Neville's indiscretion eventually emerges in the 12 drawings for all to see -discarded clothing, ladders leading up to bedrooms- all rendered faithfully by the draughtsman who tries 'never to distort, nor dissemble' what he sees through his optical device. In so doing, he seals his fate. Mrs Herbert ensures that blame for both the death of her husband and adultery of her daughter is put on Neville. By the end of the movie he (and his drawings) are redundant, since we can assume he has borne the heir.

In ancient Greece, the Gods ruled the seasons and the fertility of the land. Here, Mrs Herbert draws the link between those times and her role as the real custodian of the 'fertility' of her husband's estate. Watch for the scene near the end when she places the pomegranate on Neville's stomach. The women are in control throughout, the men mere bit players, the drones and worker bees. Watch and listen with care! This is a film that repays many viewings. 'There is much there to be surprised at, and applauded!!'.