Mark Kermode reviews The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) | BFI Player 

Brilliant!

@Hilary Palencar It really is a fabulous film, the details, the plot, the acting, the score, all brilliant. I want to review it soon.

And you wonder why there are not more films made like this one.

Kevin Lloyd I wish it was. I hope they release it someday.

It was made for the launch of Channel 4 and I agree, they should release the original.

This version is superb - might be disappointed by the 4hour cut [if it exists] but I'd still drool to see it.

Plumpton released the 3 hours 55 minutes version on a double DVD,disc two being the original cut as well as three interviews with Peter Greenaway,Janet Suzman and Michael Nyman,a short "Making of" documentary and 40 minutes of The Michael Nyman Band performing music left out of the film.Mine is Region 0 so plays anywhere.

Thank you. Any clues about how to obtain this treasure?! An immediate online scan just came up with the standard version. @@dillongstaff5625

Me too. I adore its manneredness.

Love him too Has such an awesome speaking voice

Yes I agree, he is very talented.

@@karonstocker5084 His voice is fabulous 😊

That sounds fantastic!

You couldn't have two more opposite British directors one in the meat and Potatoes style of Alan Parker, that's not a knock but Parker wasn't about visual rather the story but he ha made some very good films. Then you have Greenaway, who visually is fantastic and in the 80's (his creative peak for me) was one of the best around. But he was the kind of the director who is slightly pretentious, a director who looks down on his audience and his work isn't the most audience pleasing. I can see why some would dislike his work.

steve cheevers Here's another quote on Greenaway, this time by Ken Russell: "The thing I can't get past with Greenaway, is his obvious loathing of the entire human race."

Yup. Russell nails it here. I can't get past that, either.

@@jonathanmelia That is interesting because he said he admired women and actually if you look at his films, specifically this, the women arguably are the successful gender.

@@jonathanmelia And that's coming from Ken Russell hahha.

It's all that, and it's also about the difficult conditions for women and how they got round that - in this case anyway, and it's probably also about the life and times and social attitudes, and the importance of property to those whose aim is to rise in society and the introduction of some 'modern' ideas for the time, and about the value of 'wit' in conversation. It's also about how we understand things when we only have a partial view of them. It's a treasure trove of things.

@@heliotropezzz333 I think it's more about the last thing you mentioned than anything else. That is the central idea. The relationship between art, reality and perception. Greenaway is not that interested in 'social attitudes' of the past.

@@lamentate07 Wow a response after 3 years! 😊😊 Greenaway may not have been that interested in social attitudes of the past but he did reflect them in the film. Several of the characters mention their prejudices or political beliefs.