A Zed & Two Noughts
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Movie Reviews of A Zed & Two Noughts
Movie Review: Gorgeously filmed and elaborately constructed conceptual tour-de-force
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very excited that Zeitgeist is putting out this new dvd transfer of this exceptional film. This is Peter Greenaway at his finest, his obsession with ordering lives and things and with the discovery of symmetries between the obsessions that drive both science and sexuality is perfectly meshed by the story of two twin zoologists who grieve the passing of their wives in a bizarre car accident by simultaneously embarking upon a quixotic research project into the nature of decomposition and an affair with the amputee who had been driving the car. Thrown into the mix are a storytelling prostitute and aspiring writer named Venus de Milo, a murderer of black and white animals, a man who lost his legs for loving horses a little too much, a surgeon who is overly fond of amputation and obsessed by Vermeer. The best cinematic comparison is probably Alain Resnais' My American Uncle -- both films raise questions about the pretense that we are above the animals, that we are rational creatures and are not driven by instinct and drive. This film argues, I think, that we are unique and interesting animals and at our most unique and distinctive when we show our obsession with and drive to establish our distinction from the other animals. The music throughout is perfect and matches the style and tone of the film superbly; the story, while utterly unique is nevertheless comprehensible and never less than fascinating. It is the kind of film that rewards repeated viewings, and is a must-see film for those who delight in the possibilities of cinema, and are willing to suspend their expectations and be caught up by the delightful imagination and insight of one of the most distinctive and compelling filmmakers.Movie Review: Satisfying Film Making is Not a Simple Affair
Summary: 5 Stars
Perhaps the title of this review adequately describes the film's content and emotional import. This brilliant and disturbing piece of cinematographic work by Peter Greenaway ranks among the very best attempts to open the human psyche to its own unfathomable depths.
Harry Hughes, author of The Bait Shack
Movie Review: A Beautiful REGION 1 Edition
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazon's listing is totally incorrect! This is the AMERICAN REGION 1 edition!!!
This is Peter Greenaway's wonderfully twisted black comedy that's obsessed with swans, death, decay and, of all things, twins. It's great pretzel logic fun on an incredible DVD to boot.
Movie Review: Odd, erratic, erotic...a black comedy which features stop motion decay
Summary: 4 Stars
How does one define oddness? I'd suggest by starting with two words: Peter Greenaway. You can also use those two words to define "Unique cinema visions," "total control," "beautiful views" and "don't mess with me." Greenaway is his own world, and you're either eager for a visit or you'll insist on staying off the space ship. I'd suggest you prepare for your visit by packing away any compulsion you might have to explain things...such as his meaning, his importance...all those categories, lists and twos of things...and your own squeamishness. "I don't make pictures that have a sell-by date," Greenaway once said. That's especially true of A Zed and Two Noughts, where a good many of the things we'll see have long passed their sell-by date.
We start the movie with a double death in a car crash by a zoo...death by swan on a lane called Swan's Way. The wives of our two zoologists may be gone, but their husbands, twins and formerly joined twins Oswald and Oliver Deuce, will lead us on an exploration of grief and decay, illustrated by their stop motion movies. We will meet a beautiful amputee, soon to have her remaining leg off by a mad surgeon, probably for issues of symmetry. In addition to wet decay, we'll enjoy vomiting, frontal nudity, Vermeer, Greenaway's magnificent color palette, black and white animals, a white mare named Hortense, several interesting fetishes, plus the movie's unique chapter headings: Mercury, Apple, Prawn, Fish, Crocodile, Swan, Dog, Zebra and Escargot. Black comedy, indeed.
I'll admit I don't think I understood a thing about A Zed and Two Noughts. I started to read what some critics and fans have offered by way of analysis and found much of what they had to say, from my point of view, largely incomprehensible, too detailed or too dull. Greenaway is chilly, controlling and all about style layered heavily on top of substance. He can make Stanley Kubrick look loosey-goosey. I found a Zed and Two Noughts, in a perverse kind of way, enjoyable. I suspect that's because Greenaway comes up with such odd, intriguing and often disturbing visions. They can almost make you forget what the devil he's getting at. For me, Prospero's Books is a perfect blend of style and story; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is an almost perfect match of style and story; The Draughtsman's Contract is an amusing overlay of manners, murder, style and story. But A Zed and Two Noughts? Well, I found it chilly, sometimes uninvolving and often amusing. I enjoyed it, more or less, most of the time. (I occasionally used the fast-forward button). If ten people can tell me what the movie means, beyond the old standbys of death, grief and snails, I'll bet I'll read ten wildly different opinions. That's no particular criticism of either Greenaway or the film.
The Zeitgeist DVD release is anamorphic, with several extras including an introduction and a commentary by Greenaway.
Movie Review: Pass the sawdust please
Summary: 1 Stars
Greenaway is one of the most intellectually tedious filmmakers I've ever encountered and one of the most pretentious. But I think he's outdone himself with this insular muddle of a film. A Zed And Two Noughts is perhaps his most self-reflexive, self-contained and self-absorbed work with nary a character (or anything else for that matter) capable of eliciting a response from me, emotional or otherwise despite the constant visual references to the paintings of Vermeer. The air of emotional detachment is palpable in large part because this movie hermetically exists in its own bubble, in love with its own artifice, and relative to little else but itself. Its also one of the most bloodless (ironically enough considering its concern with death and decay), and least engaging films I've ever seen. I can only compare watching it to the joy of eating dry white toast while studying integrated circuit diagrams.