NIGHTWATCHING - DVD review

Where you see a painting, Peter Greenaway sees a conspiracy and whether you believe him or not, he makes a hell of a case for it in his two new films: "Nightwatching" and "Rembrandt's J'Accuse."

According to Greenaway, Rembrandt's painting "Night Watch," completed in 1642, is not merely a depiction of a company of Dutch militia but an encoded indictment of a murder plot. The details, in brief: Captain Piers Hasselburg was "accidentally" shot to death shortly before the painting was composed, but if Greenaway is right, Rembrandt is pointing the finger (J'accuse!) right at two of the painting's most prominent subjects: Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, the two men bathed in light at the center of the portrait.

Greenaway's argument is so rigorously detailed that he felt the need to produce both a feature film ("Nightwatching") and a documentary ("Rembrandt's J'accuse") on the subject. The two work intimately with each other with the documentary revealing the subtle details in the feature much as Greenaway teases apart the details from the painting while arguing his point.

It's Peter Greenaway so you probably don't need me to tell you that "Nightwatching" is an unorthodox approach to a historical film. Martin Freeman portrays the great artist as a working class man, the son of a miller, who has lifted himself by his bootstraps (and his paintbrush) to associate with more wealthy and powerful members of society. We don't get the stilted, proper dialogue normally associated with "art" films: "Fuck this painting! Fuck it! Fuck! Fuck! Bloody hell!." Another favorite exchange (this one paraphrased):

"You'll look like a catamite in a kardomah!"
"What does that mean?"
"The first one is a bum boy. I don't know what the other one is. I heard it somewhere."

Greenaway uses frontal staging and a roaming camera that gives the effect of first presenting the surface of a painting and then traveling into it. The film sticks mostly to the period in Rembrandt's life when he was painting "Night Watch" (which didn't receive that name until 1712) though the film also takes time to linger on his sexual escapades. This is not the lighthearted "Rembrandt" (1936) of Alexander Korda and Charles Laughton.

It's not until you watch the documentary "Rembrandt's J'accuse," however, that you'll understand or even notice many of the references the film makes to the alleged conspiracy. Greenaway's documentary is built out of "33+1" discrete units which corresponds to the 34 figures (including the dog) depicted in the painting. Greenaway appears in a small box in the middle of the screen as he walks us through the painting brushstroke by brushstroke.

I'm not qualified to judge the accuracy of Greenaway's art history. But his approach to the material is fascinating even if he's completely blowing smoke. Greenaway, much like the great Peter Watkins, emphasizes context and discusses topics as varied as candle technology and the subgenre of 17th century Militia paintings while stating his case. More fundamentally, Greenaway's point is that most people are "visually illiterate" which also explains why we have such an "impoverished cinema."

The feature is engaging and beautiful to look at, but the documentary is the real highlight of these paired films. Harkening back to one of his early films "A Walk Through H: The Reincarnation of an Ornithologist" (1978), Greenaway guides the viewer through an exhaustive study of an image, doing his part to combat "visual illiteracy." Even if you remain unconvinced, it's a heady experience.

VIDEO

"Nighwatching" is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The image looks pretty soft throughout which becomes particularly evident when trying to get a screen capture with good detail. It also looks a little dark, even darker than the moody "Rembrandt-esque" lighting requires. Overall, it's an acceptable transfer but we might hope for more from a film about a painting. It might be a PAL transfer.

"Rembrandt's J'accuse" is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The image is a bit brighter though still rather soft.

AUDIO

The DVDs are presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1. Optional SDH English subtitles support the English audio.

EXTRAS

Disc One contains the film "Nightwatching" as well as interviews with Peter Greenaway and cast members Martin Freeman, Eva Birthistle, and Jodhi May (59 min. total among all four). They can be played as a single feature or individually.

Disc Two only contains the documentary "Rembrandt's J'accuse."

FILM VALUE

I've always felt that Greenaway was much more comfortable dealing with ideas than with people. His earlier structural films (such as "A Walk Through H" and "The Falls" (1980)) remain his strongest works. It's not surprising then that the documentary is the stronger of the two films, but "Nightwatching" is still an enjoyable film in no small part because of a great performance by Martin Freeman. "Rembrandt's J'accuse," however, is the real gem here and I think it's Greenaway's best film in quite some time. I definitely recommend this 2-disc edition over the only slightly cheaper single disc edition which only contains "Nightwatching."