Famed for its fabulously evocative recreation of the light/shade luminosity of Caravaggio's oil paintings, Caravaggio is nevertheless something of a victim of its times....But despite that, it is a wonderfully bold work, simply irresistible to look at
Caravaggio (1986)
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Reviews Counted: 9
Fresh: 7
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Derek Jarman's CARAVAGGIO is a biography of painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the enfant terrible of the Italian Renaissance. Told in flashback as the dying artist recalls his short life, the story follows Caravaggio (Nigel... Derek Jarman's CARAVAGGIO is a biography of painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the enfant terrible of the Italian Renaissance. Told in flashback as the dying artist recalls his short life, the story follows Caravaggio (Nigel Terry) through his childhood, his initial artistic failures, his later successes as he attracts the attention of a sympathetic cardinal, and his destructive relationship with a handsome gambler. Perhaps Jarman's most comprehensive work, CARAVAGGIO stylistically renders the life story of the painter, displaying the contradictions between his religious beliefs and his sexual identity. Beautifully shot in striking painterly tableaus that recall the sensibilities of Caravaggio himself, the film is soaked in rich red and blue tones while bathing the actors in darkness and illuminating them with single beams of candlelight, creating a haunting chiaroscuro-like effect. As Jarman reveals, Caravaggio's passion for his art--as well as his models--leads to his ultimate downfall in this sumptuous and challenging biography of the legendary painter. [More]
Starring: Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, Michael Gough
Starring: Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, Michael Gough, Robbie Coltrane
Director: Derek Jarman
Director: Derek Jarman
Get This Movie
Release:
Jun 24, 2008
DVD Features:
- Region (Unspecified)
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
- (Unspecified) - English
- Subtitles - English (SDH) - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - Gabriel Beristain - Cinematographer
- Interview - 1. Dereck Jarman - Director
- 2. Tilda Swinton - Actress
- 3. Nigel Tarry - Actor
- 4. Christopher Hobbs - Production Designer
Text/Photogalleries:
- Galleries - 1. Production Photo and Design Sketch Galleries
- 2. Notebook
- 3. Storyboard
Reviews for Caravaggio
Remarkably true to Caravaggio's visual aesthetic while expanding Jarman's own repertoire of tones and ideas.
Marrying a painterly aesthetic with a defiantly homosexual sensibility, this ironic biopic is probably the most accessible film of avant-garde British director Derek Jarman.
It is very sensually done, emphasizing the artist's gargantuan appetites for bisexual and, especially, homosexual affairs with his models.
I may be a dull fellow, but from the very beginning of Caravaggio, I hadn't the slightest idea as to what Jarman was up to.
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