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The Draughtsman's Contract
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The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) More at IMDbPro »

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The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   3,258 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Peter Greenaway (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Draughtsman's Contract on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 July 1983 (Australia) more
Genre:
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... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Sally Potter: 'There was no such thing as an easy ride'
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 4 December 2009, 1:56 AM, PST)

The Secret History
 (From IFC. 15 September 2009, 10:20 AM, PDT)

User Reviews:
Master's Smile more (31 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
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
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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 CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Runtime:
103 min | Finland:109 min (1983)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The movie was originally inspired by Peter Greenaway's attempts to draw a house he'd rented for a vacation and finding that the sun rising/falling changed the shadows and appearance too rapidly for a drawing to be completed in one sitting. He thus spent a specific period each day drawing the house from a specific angle (like the draughtsman in the movie). more
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. more
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.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Cock and Bull Story (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Bravura In The Face Of Grief more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 18 people found the following review useful.
Master's Smile, 20 January 2005
9/10
Author: Galina from Virginia, USA

The first Peter Greenaway's feature "The Draughtsman's Contract" (1982) - is absolutely delightful, devilishly clever (just imagine the best Agatha Christy's mystery with all sorts of clues and suspects but without Poirot or Ms. Maple to explain in the end whodunit and why. You are on your own to try to figure out - everything you need to know is right there), and funny (Yes, Greenaway can be funny!) art film - the perfect example of an art film. It combines the elements of social satire with murder mystery, meditates on the power of art and role of an artist, studies family drama and mothers – daughters love and understanding, perfectly wraps it in sensual pleasure - and what the pleasure it is. I know I will watch it again because it is a feast for eyes (I've seen big budget movies that looked plain comparing to this one shot on the limited funds), ears (Michael Nyman wrote one of the best score ever for this film) and for brain - there are mysteries and puzzles in every frame and in every dialog.

There is couple of Greenaway's thoughts on his first film and on the films that influenced him from the interview that was published in L'Avant-Scene Cinema", No 333, October 1984:

"Majority of my films may be viewed on several levels. Thus, in "The Draughtsman's Contract" there was the desire to open the symbolism of plants and fruits, to study the connections between the aristocrats and the common people, the conflicts between the worlds of gentlemen and of servants. With my films, I hope to generate interest, to stimulate imagination, to wake feelings...

I consider that 90% of my films one way or another refers to paintings. "Contract" quite openly refers to Caravaggio, Georges de la Tour and other French and Italian artists...

Before the work on the film began, I did not explain to film crew what I wanted, but I showed them five European films: "Fellini's Casanova", "The Last Tango in Paris" by Bertolucci, "The Marquise of O" by Eric Rohmer, "Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach" by Jean-Marie Straub and, most importantly, "Last Year at Marienbad" by Alain Resnais which has been the most influential film for me."

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