THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT - BLU-RAY

The Draughtsman’s Contract (Blu-ray)
Directed by Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway became a director of international status with this witty, stylised and erotic English country house murder mystery. In an apparently idyllic 17th-century Wiltshire, an ambitious draughtsman is commissioned by the wife of an aristocrat to produce 12 drawings depicting her husband’s estate, in return for which he will receive payment, board and bed – hers. Extravagant costumes, a twisting plot, elegantly barbed dialogue and a score by Michael Nyman make the film a treat for ear, eye and mind.

Special features/extras

• Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive and presented in High Definition
• Audio commentary by Peter Greenaway (2003)
• Introduction by Peter Greenaway (2003, 10 mins): the director discusses the genesis of The Draughtsman’s Contract, his creative choices and the film’s central themes
• Visions: A Film Comment by Angela Carter (1982, 21 mins): the novelist’s contemporary TV review of The Draughtsman’s Contract
• The Guardian Interview: Michael Nyman(2002, audio only, 7 mins): the composer discusses his work on The Draughtsman’s Contract
• The Greenaway Alphabet (2017, 60 mins): Saskia Boddeke’s deeply personal portrait of her husband Peter Greenaway, his art and his relationship with his daughter
• H is For House (1976, 9 mins): an early short film by Peter Greenaway
• A Walk Through H (1978, 42 mins): Greenaway’s short depicting the symbolic journey of an ornithologist through a mysterious bird-filled country
• Insight: Zandra Rhode (1981, 15 mins): Greenaway’s profile of the fashion designer
• Interviews with Janet Suzman, Peter Greenaway and Anthony Higgins (1981, 5 mins)
• Behind the scenes footage (1981, 5 mins)
• Deleted scenes and outtakes (1981, 11 mins total)
• Original theatrical trailer
• Restoration trailer (2022)
• Image gallery

 

 

Review

'...a tantalising puzzle, wrapped in eroticism and presented with the upmost elegance...a crossword puzzle for the senses' --Roger Ebert

'features the score that established Michael Nyman's international reputation as one of the finest composers for the screen' --The Observer