Nightwatching (Two Disc Special Edition)
by Peter Greenaway
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emily Holmes, Eva Birthistle, Jodhi May, Martin Freeman, Toby JonesDirector: Peter Greenaway
Brand: Koch International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-15
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: E1 Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Nightwatching (Two Disc Special Edition)
Movie Review: Review of "Rembrandt's J'accuse" (Disc 2): Captivating Art History and Conspiracy Theory.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Rembrandt's J'accuse" is a companion piece to Peter Greenaway's "Nightwatching" (2007), a narrative film that dramatizes Greenaway's theory about Rembrandt van Rijn's creation in 1642 of his (currently) most famous painting, "The Night Watch". "Rembrandt's J'accuse" also presents Greenaway's theories about "The Night Watch", but this time the filmmaker does so in person, narrating an investigation into 34 different elements of the painting to make the case that Rembrandt's group portrait of the 13th Company of the Amsterdam Militia is an indictment of guilty parties in a murder conspiracy against Capt. Piers Hasselburg, who died from an "accidental" gunshot through the eye.
Greenaway speaks to us from a small window near the center of the screen, while a parade of paintings, dramatic re-enactments (borrowed from "Nightwatching"), and other visuals parade across the screen. He believes (or so he says) that Rembrandt acted as investigator, detective, and prosecutor in the death of Piers Hasselburg and painted his accusations for all the world to see. Now Greenaway acts as detective and prosecutor, even questioning witnesses from his box center screen, attempting to unearth the clues that Rembrandt supposedly planted in "The Night Watch", an act that Greenaway posits invited his persecution from the painting's angry commissioners, leading to the artist's decline from popularity and eventual destitution.
Sounds pretty far-fetched, especially considering that no one has ever put forth this conspiratorial hypothesis before. But it does invite a close reading of the images in "The Night Watch", a painting that radically departed from traditional Dutch group military portraits by depicting its 16 officers, 16 militiamen, 2 women and one dog in dynamic poses, often with faces partly obscured, something the men who commissioned the painting did not appreciate. But is there more to it? Greenaway picks apart 34 different aspects of the painting to make a case that Rembrandt is accusing the two most prominently featured men, Capt. Frans Banning Cocq and Lt. Willem van Roytenburgh, of conspiracy to murder, among other things.
The motive for murder is muddy, and many of Greenaway's clues seem specious, but I like the film a lot. The artist obviously painted everything on the canvas intentionally, even if some of it is just there to take up space or create balance. Nothing in a painting is accidental, so speculating on the purpose of every element is legitimate, even if it is sometimes imaginative. In fact, I agree that Banning Cocq and van Roytenburgh are portrayed in an unflattering light, though I doubt that a murder plot had anything to do with it. Personal animosity seems more likely. Peter Greenaway is arrogant, opinionated, and his films can be pretentious. But he's also sharp, knowledgable, and talented, and those qualities trump his odd theories in "Rembrandt's J'accuse".
Summary of Nightwatching (Two Disc Special Edition)
Peter Greenaway?s extravagant and exotic look at the mystery behind Rembrandt?s most famous work of art?While painting a group portrait of the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia, the renowned Dutch artist Rembrandt (Martin Freeman) discovers a murder plot involving its subjects. Determined to expose the conspiracy, Rembrandt builds his accusation into his painting, ?The Night Watch? ? a decision which costs him everything.
BONUS FEATURES:
Includes the bonus, feature-length documentary Rembrandt?s J?Accuse ? an investigation by Peter Greenaway, in which the acclaimed director explores the theories and conspiracies behind ?The Night Watch?
Also Includes: Interviews with Peter Greenaway, Martin Freeman, Eva Birthistle and Jodhi May
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