A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway (written by)

Release Date:

25 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Oliver Deuce, a successful doctor, is shattered when his wife is killed in a freak car accident involving...

Plot Keywords:

Grief | Decay | Animal | Leg | Twin

Cast

Andréa Ferréol	...	Alba Bewick
Brian Deacon	...	Oswald Deuce
Eric Deacon	...	Oliver Deuce
Frances Barber	...	Venus de Milo
Joss Ackland	...	Van Hoyten
Jim Davidson	...	Joshua Plate
Agnès Brulet	...	Beta Bewick
Guusje van Tilborgh	...	Caterina Bolnes
Gerard Thoolen	...	Van Meegeren
Ken Campbell	...	Stephen Pipe
Wolf Kahler	...	Felipe Arc-en-Ciel
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Fallast
David Attenborough	...	Documentary Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Peter Greenaway

Writing credits
Peter Greenaway		(written by)

Produced by
Kees Kasander	....	producer
Peter Sainsbury	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Nyman

Cinematography by
Sacha Vierny

Film Editing by
John Wilson

Casting by
Sharon Howard-Field

Production Design by
Ben van Os
Jan Roelfs

Costume Design by
Patricia Lim

Makeup Department
Sara Meerman	....	makeup artist
Yvonne Minderman	....	hair stylist
Nicole Mora	....	makeup artist
Floris Schuller	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Denis Wigman	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marietta De Vries	....	second assistant director
Gerrit Martijn	....	first assistant director

Art Department
John Gerritsen	....	set constructor
Maarten Piersma	....	set constructor
Adriaan Van Der Heuvel	....	set building
Wilbert Van Dorp	....	set building
Constance Van Os	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Tony Anscombe	....	dubbing mixer
Dushko Indjic	....	boom operator (as Dushko Injij)
Jo Ann Kaplan	....	sound effects editor (as Joann Kaplan)
Garth Marshall	....	sound recordist
Peter Maxwell	....	sound re-recording mixer
C. Ware	....	sound editor
Matthew Whiteman	....	dialogue editor
Steve Hancock	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Tony Willis	....	effects cameraman (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Luke Cardiff	....	additional photography assistant
David Claessen	....	camera operator
Mike Coles	....	additional photographer
Agnès Godard	....	focus puller
Francoise Gonin	....	lighting assistant
Nico Komen	....	best boy
Hayo Piebenga	....	still photographer
Steve Pyke	....	still photographer
Chris Renson	....	clapper loader
Jean-Louis Sonzogni	....	apprentice camera operator
Pierre Speyer	....	grip
Pit Stenut	....	gaffer
Benoît Theunissen	....	grip
Rene van De Eijk	....	lighting assistant
Michel Verloed	....	grip
Richard Weber	....	lighting assistant

Casting Department
Emma Style	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dien van Straalen	....	wardrobe
Joke Visser	....	tailor

Editorial Department
Milfid Ellis	....	second assistant editor
Joe Frost	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Alexander Balanescu	....	musician: violin
Arno Bons	....	musician
Gerard Bouwhis	....	musician
Bas Dekker	....	musician
Pieter Gouderjaan	....	musician
Rob Hageman	....	musician
John Helstone	....	musician
Jan Jansen	....	musician
Sofia Kiss	....	musician
Henk Leether	....	musician
Sarah Leonard	....	musician: singer
Beverly Lund	....	musician
Michael Nyman	....	musician: harpsichord
Gerrit Oloeman	....	musician
Elisabeth Perry	....	musician: violin
Jelle Schouten	....	musician
Jorn Shroeder	....	musician
Peter Stan	....	musician
Win Steinman	....	musician
Leo Van Oostron	....	musician
Marien Van Staalen	....	musician
Adri Van Velson	....	musician
Peter Veenhuizen	....	musician
Lene Te Voortwis	....	musician
Frans Vreugdenhil	....	musician
Gerbrand Westveen	....	musician

Transportation Department
Ron van de Woude	....	production driver
Peter Verzendaal	....	production driver

Other crew
Hans De Graaf	....	caterer
Walter Donohue	....	story editor
Evelien Jansen	....	production assistant
Vera Langley	....	chaperone
Muicke Leewenberg	....	location manager
Ines Meeusen	....	production secretary
Johan Ommering	....	runner
Paul Oomen	....	runner
Roger Phillips	....	title designer
Els Rastelli	....	continuity
Luke Redgrave	....	production assistant
Lin Simenon	....	chaperone
Karin Spiegel	....	production coordinator
Catherine Van Beuzekom	....	caterer
Sofie Van Wel	....	assistant location manager

Production Companies

• British Film Institute (BFI)
• Allarts Enterprises
• Artificial Eye
• Film Four International
• Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep (VPRO)

Distributors

• Artificial Eye (1985) (UK) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2004) (UK) (DVD) (digital remaster version)
• Cine Saison (1987) (Japan) (theatrical) (censored)
• Dolmen Home Video (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Dolmen Home Video (2006) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Kinokuniya (2005) (Japan) (DVD) (digital remaster version)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Skouras Pictures (1990) (USA)
• Top Tape (Brazil) (video)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (video)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Zeitgeist Films (2007) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Ecco Film Catering  catering
• Survival Anglia  natural history photography
• David Speards  time-lapse photography
• Frameline Productions  titles (as Frameline)
• GSE  opticals

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

UK | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | Spain:T | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Rotterdam Zoo, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

British Film Institute (BFI)

Trivia:

References to Greek Mythology: Alba Bewick is referred to as 'Leda' (in Greek mythology, Leda gave birth to twins Castor & Pollux after being seduced by Zeus in the guise of a swan); in the film, Alba decides to name the twins she gives birth to as 'Castor & Pollydeuces' (in reference to the mythological Gemini twins Castor & Pollux).

Quotes:

Alba Bewick: In the land of the legless the one-legged woman is queen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drowning by Numbers (1988)

Soundtrack:

The Teddy Bear's Picnic

Appeals to the brain more than the gut

Peter Greenaway is arty. Painfully so. However he readily admits that this film is "self-conscious", "manufactured" and he says that all cinema is probably as "artificial" a form as you can get.

This film is beautiful to look at. Greenaway was inspired, visually, by paintings of the mid 17th century, particularly those of Vermeer. Almost every shot is composed like a painting. Many of the shots are symmetrical, walls are filmed flat so that the horizontal lines are parallel with the top and bottom of the frame. Objects are placed on tables as if subjects for a still life. Lighting is used in an alternation of light, shade,light,shade receding to the back of the picture, which is a signature of the type of 17th century, Western art that Greenaway is paying homage to.

The substance of the film follows weighty themes, all of which are explained in great detail through the director's commentary: evolution, light and twin-ship.

What is lacking is emotion. This is a cerebral film. Your emotional reaction to it will be through the imagery, be it beautiful or repulsive. You will not engage with the characters on an emotional level. You'll find them hard to relate to. The performances are stilted and amateur theatrical. It is fortunate, then, that Michael Nyman provides a fantastic score (present on almost every scene and almost outstaying its welcome) which prevents the dialogue (the script leaves a lot to be desired too) rendering everything flat.

Rent this if you enjoy visuals for their own sake, if you wear spectacles and if you like holding your chin in your hand and frowning. I qualify on all those points, so I enjoyed it a great deal.

Extra points for an extraordinarily thorough director's commentary on the DVD which serves to pull out all the hidden depths. Though one could make the point that an explanation that adds so much extra understanding leaves you feeling that the film failed adequately to convey much of what was intended.

DVD easter eggs (worth seeing): http://www.dvd.net.au/hidden.cgi?movie_id=10484