A young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.A young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.A young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
Anne-Louise Lambert
- Mrs. Talmann
- (as Anne Louise Lambert)
- …
Nicholas Amer
- Mr. Parkes
- (as Nicolas Amer)
Lynda La Plante
- Mrs. Clement
- (as Lynda Marchal)
Alastair G. Cumming
- Philip
- (as Alastair Cumming)
- …
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Peter Greenaway, a former art student, created the sketches that feature in the film. In fact the close-up shots of the draughtsman drawing are of his hands.
- GoofsThe 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
Mr. Neville: You must forgive my curiosity, madam, and open your knees.
- Alternate versionsWhen Peter Greenaway screened the movie at festivals in 1982, it ran a full three hours. Included in this footage is a full and further explained rationale for the moving statue.
Featured review
Peter Greenaway's first commercially released feature film is a calling card of dazzling virtuosity.
Peter Greenaway's smart, outrageous, and utterly original historic movie is part comedy of manners and part murder mystery, as a late 17th century draughtsman (Anthony Higgins) is tasked with producing a series of drawings for the Herbert family estate by the lady of the manor (Janet Suzan) in order to please her husband, but he ends up pleasing himself with both Mrs Herbert and her daughter (Anne-Louise Herbert), before the husband is found dead in the moat and he becomes prime suspect in his murder. This was Greenaway's first conventional feature film, it shows him at his best and most playful, and is a calling card of dazzling virtuosity. The original cut ran in excess of three hours but was edited down to 103 minutes for release to make it easier to watch. It is still a puzzle box of a movie and a real strange delight though, featuring elaborate and slightly exaggerated (for eye catching effect) period costumes, a wonderful score by Michael Nyman which borrows widely from Henry Purcell, that reflects the period setting whilst managing to rock with a vengeance, and a 'living statue' that roams the garden unseen to all but children, it is a movie that you won't forget in a hurry. Incidentally, Greenaway trained as an artist before he became a filmmaker, and the hands seen drawing in the film are his own, as are the completed drawings.
helpful•30
- mwilson1976
- May 6, 2020
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Kontrakt des Zeichners
- Filming locations
- Groombridge Place, Groombridge, Kent, England, UK(country house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £320,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,256,246
- Gross worldwide
- $2,283,233
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Top Gap
By what name was The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) officially released in Canada in French?
Answer