The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 17, 2024

For modern audiences, viewing an adaptation from a play by Shakespeare or Christopher Marlowe presents special challenges to the ears and mind. Grasping and understanding the unique diction and elocution spoken centuries ago can be a difficult task. Audiences who experienced Peter Greenaway's fictional debut The Draughtsman's Contract in 1982–83 faced similar challenges of comprehension. As critics noted at the time, Greenaway's dialogue is reminiscent of such English playwrights as William Congreve (1670–1729), George Farquhar (1677–1707), and William Wycherley (1641–1716). Besides the potential obstacle of discerning the film's word patterns, audiences also had to get acclimated to the periwigs and costumes worn in late seventeenth-century England.

Greenaway sets his film in 1694 at a Wiltshire estate in Kent. According to Stephen Harvey of the New York Times, Greenaway first came up with the idea for the movie during the summers of 1976–77 while sketching architectural drawings of two coun­try homes on consecutive working holidays. He integrated this experience into Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), the title character who's commissioned to make twelve drawings of different views of the country home co-owned by Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman). Her husband, Mr. Herbert (Dave Hill), is traveling for a dozen days on business, presumably to buy another house. Mr. Neville is at first reluctant to accept the offer. They negotiate at £8 per picture, plus bed and board. The draughtsman adds that he would like Mrs. Herbert to perform a sexual favor for him after he completes each drawing. She agrees. Mrs. Talmann (Anne Louise Lambert), Mrs. Herbert's daughter, is sexually frustrated with her impotent German husband, Mr. Talmann (Hugh Fraser), so she asks Mr. Neville to enter into a contract with her. He does. Politics is intertwined in this liaison since Mrs. Talmann's potential offspring will be a legal heir to the country estate. While Mr. Neville draws in the Herberts' garden, seemingly random items begin popping up around the house: a shirt in the yard, a pair of boots, and a ladder leading up to the second floor. The perfectionist Mr. Neville tries not to let anything bother him and his work, but others around him suspect foul play, even murder. Mr. Neville is unaware that he is being ensnared in a blackmail scheme.

Drafting the contract.

The Draughtsman's Contract is like an Agatha Christie mystery and it can be easy to miss the clues that Greenaway has laid throughout the film. Going back to the 2003 BFI DVD that I watched years ago, I have seen the film at least thrice but haven't really paid close attention to possible clues since I've primarily focused on comprehending the meaning behind the dialogue. I've also become enraptured with the sumptuous period details. This is why the movie invites repeat viewings. It is apparent, regardless of how many times one sees the film, that estate manager Mr Noyes (Neil Cunningham), an ex-lover of Mrs. Herbert's, and other aristocrats don't care for Mr. Neville and may be plotting something behind his back.

Greenaway's film received raves when it was shown at the Edinburgh and Venice film festivals. It also was greeted with much acclaim at home. For example, the South Wales Echo's Dave Berry described it as "one of the most ambitious and in­genious British films to emerge in the past decade." In a similar vein, the Black Country Evening Mail's Terry Grimley deemed it "one of the most original British features for years." In addition, it was received warmly when it reached the US. Filmmaker Frederick K. Keller, who wrote a guest column for The Buffalo (NY) News while covering the New York Film Festival, observed: "Beautifully shot and acted, it contains some of the most literate dialogue I have ever heard." Ernest Leogrande of New York's Daily News also lauded its aesthetics: "And there is that photography...some of the most beautiful to be seen on screen since Barry Lyndon or Days of Heaven."

The small group of reviewers who did not like The Draughtsman's Contract had trouble understanding it and argued it had little substance. Others claimed it was not emotionally involving. I don't believe that was Greenaway's intent. To paraphrase Pauline Kael in her review of Barry Lyndon, the audience becomes trapped in a work of art and, much like Mr. Neville, it has difficulty getting out.

The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Zeitgeist Films' release of The Draughtsman's Contract is a 40th anniversary 4K-remastered Blu-ray housed on an MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. The pictures appears in its original exhibition ratio of 1.66:1. Zeitgeist didn't supply any information about the restoration in its press packet. The following information was given to me upon request by Ben Stoddart, Business and Operations Manager, BFI Video Publishing:

The Draughtsman's Contract was newly remastered in 4K from the original Super 16mm Eastmancolor negative and the 35mm magnetic track master. The remastering work was conducted in 2022 at the BFI National Archive's Conservation Centre, and at Dragon Digital and Molinare. Colour grading was carried out with reference to an original release print. Digital restoration tools were used to remove dirt and damage, maintaining the characteristics of the original footage and without altering the inherent film grain.

Stoddart also conferred with his colleagues about filmmaker participation and confirmed that "Peter Greenaway approved the final picture and sound restoration that was released in cinemas and then on Blu-ray in the UK. This was a BFI National Archive restoration and as such numerous experts worked on and oversaw every process." Zeitgeist's transfer has a very pleasing grain structure that's nicely balanced. The greenery looks gorgeous. Colors appear rich and finely detailed. Black levels are deep and crisp. There's a fog where the sun begins to creep through (see Screenshot #22). The Tallahassee Democrat's film critic John Habich summed up cinematographer Curtis Clark's lensing well in his original review: "The visual cornucopia of Curtis' photography captures landscapes in romantic gold haze and the bright sunlight to which scudding clouds lend contour." Zeitgeist has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 37495 kbps.

Ten chapters accompany the 108-minute film.

The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Zeitgeist has supplied an English DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1606 kbps, 24-bit). There is no audible hiss, pops, crackles, or dropouts on the audio track. Delivery is reproduced well here. Composer Michael Nyman's score has been appropriately described by critics as steeped in the style of British composer Henry Purcell. In the liner notes to Virgin Records' 1989 CD of the soundtrack album, Nyman writes that his unfinished dissertation was on Purcell as well as sixteenth and seventeenth century English repetitive and systems music. Nyman also says he was inspired by Purcell's ground bass surrogates and chaconnes. So he put ground basses into his score, which is performed by The Michael Nyman Band. In addition to double bass, bass clarinet, bass guitar, and bass trombone, Nyman also composed for four different saxophones, violin, and a brass instrument known as the euphonium. The composer performs on harpsichord and piano. The score is the one sound element best represented on this lossless mix. Nyman has bouncy music prepared whenever a scene transitions to the landscapes where Mr. Neville works. The score is most noticeable when it changes octaves.

The optional English subtitles are accurate and complete.

The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Zeitgeist has ported over the commentary and video intro with Greenaway that were each recorded in 2003 for the BFI DVD. While the four shorts on this disc are not included on either the BFI's DVD or Blu-rays of The Draughtsman's Contract, they appear on the BFI DVD, The Early Films of Peter Greenaway: Volume 1 (1968–1978). German label Arthaus also included them on its 2019 Blu-ray of TDC. Zeitgeist has not restored any of them.

• Audio Commentary by Peter Greenaway - this feature-length track with Greenaway covers a lot of period details for which the film is set it in. He discusses his background as a painter (as well as his knowledge of painting theory) and how Dutch painting influenced the look of the film. He also takes time to address the critics of the film. Although the track has several short gaps, it is an excellent talk by the Brit. He always has something useful to say. In English, not subtitled.

• Introduction by Peter Greenaway (9:57, 480i) - the director starts out by discussing his short films and the documentary work he did for London television programs. He goes into the genesis of The Draughtsman's Contract, the movie's formal properties and framing devices, and its main themes. Clips from Greenaway's shorts and The Draughtsman's Contract are shown in the title character's rectangular frame. Greenaway occasionally appears inset. In English, not subtitled.

• Intervals (1969) (6:27, 480i) - this early short depicts holiday-film shots on the streets of Venice. Images of passersby and shops with Coca Cola logos are musically scored in sync with the rhythms of the editing (e.g., several jump cuts).

• Windows (1974) (3:36, 480i) - my personal favorite short in this bunch. This is a documentary short about various accidental deaths and murders of people who flew out of windows. It's primarily shot with interiors. This is narrated by Greenaway. In English, not subtitled.

• Dear Phone (1976) (16:40, 480i) - this is a doc short about the red telephone booths in London, the people on the phones, and their conversations. The narration is read from a scribbled pad of the script being photographed. In English, not subtitled.

• Water Wrackets (1978) (11:19, 480i) - this is more an educational short/nature doc somewhat similar in style to PBS' Nova. It features an abundance of shots with light reflecting on rippling water. Narrated in English, not subtitled.

• Four Deleted Scenes (10:15, 480i) - the excised scenes are titled "Chair," "Watercress," "Misadventure," and "Rain." They don't add much of anything to the story so it's understandable why Greenaway took them out. They appear in raw form with various film artifacts. They're presented in 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192 kbps). In English, not subtitled.

• Behind-the-Scenes Footage and On-Set Interviews (10:27, 480i) - the first part shows B-roll footage of Greenaway conversing with his actors, DP Curtis Clark, and other crew members while filming a scene very late in the movie. We also see the makeup person and hair stylist as well as one of Greenaway's assistants. The second part is EPK interviews with Janet Suzman, Greenaway, and Anthony Higgins. In English, not subtitled.

• Interview with Composer Michael Nyman (6:40, 480i) - this excerpted interview with Nyman was part of The Guardian Interviews series at the National Film Theatre. The composer is interviewed by David Thompson, columnist for The Guardian. Nyman looks back at his brief stint as a musicologist-in-training and more successful gig as a music critics. He speaks for a short time about his collaboration with Greenaway. He doesn't really delve into his score for The Draughtsman's Contract. In English, not subtitled.

• Re-Release Trailer (1:33, 1080p) - this trailer from 2022 touts the BFI's 4K remaster of The Draughtsman's Contract. Some scenes from the restoration are shown in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen.

The Draughtsman's Contract Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Draughtsman's Contract is sort of a British Last Year at Marienbad but more accessible to a lay audience than Resnais's classic. Greenaway's film is structured in certain ways like Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966). The BFI's 4K scan looks immaculate on Zeitgeist's Blu-ray. The uncompressed monaural mix is similarly flawless. The short films included here are different than the ones the BFI have on their two-disc Blu-ray. Zeitgeist's supplements are all vintage and the BFI has more extras in its package. Still, this release comes VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.