VHS : Drowning By Numbers [1988]

Rating: - Pleasingly weird
Greenaway's films are always watchable for the cinematography, but in this one you can actually follow the story too. The plot is fairly simple but is padded out with descriptions of peculiar games that Madgett, the Suffolk coroner, and his strange son Smut invent to pass the time. Smut also celebrates any violent death (whether roadkill or drowned husbands) by painting a number at the scene and letting off fireworks. Yellow paint for Tuesdays, red paint for Saturdays (Tuesday is winning, being the best day for violent deaths). You can also try to count the ascending numbers from 1-100 that are placed in each scene. I only saw about half of them - some are well hidden.

There isn't a DVD version of the film available in the UK at the moment, but the Australian DVD (with UK FilmFour logo!) is region 0, so will play on any DVD player, and is probably the best bet for picture quality.

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Rating: - Shocking Reproduction Quality
I would urge you to save your money until they re master this film and put it out on DVD. The quality of this VHS reproduction is appalling. It looks like a 5th, 6th generation copy. It doesn't simply negate the rich cinematography that is so common to Greenaway's work, it spoils viewing completely. Bide your time with the excellent DVD copy of Cook Thief or Draughtsman's Contract

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Rating: - Unforgettable
Very few films have the vision and originality of Drowning by Numbers. Apart from being beautifully filmed and containing a fantastic collection of old English childrens' games, this film is erotic, heartbreaking and funny. Trevor Cooper's outstanding performance is remarkable for its portrayal of a man building his own downfall. Juliet Stevenson is excellent as are all the acast. I defy anyone to predict what happens from scene to scene. This is film making for thinking people. I saw it first on TV by accident and had to get the video. A DVD release would be fantastic.

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Rating: - I just wish it would come out on DVD!
Now, this is really worth a proper DVD release - if only they would do it. It is the best film of my life (not over yet, but it would be hard to beat it). I don't know why - perhaps it is the atmosphere of an English country side that you don't normally see (ie by the beach), or the obsurd and weird practices of the country folk (ie skipping & counting stars, numbering dead things...). Maybe it's the beautifully crafted music adapted from Mozart (whom I can't stand, but this I love). Or perhaps it's the characters, particularly Smut, who was a kid I would have loved to have as a school friend. Bizarre, weird and totally off the wall - he's my kind of friend.
I just feel right at home, which maybe you shouldn't watching a movie about murdering people, but I do feel that. It is so... so.... brilliant!

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Rating: - Masterpiece or mess?
You either love Peter Greenaway's films or hate them. They take much more effort than the usual Hollywood fare, and many folk can't stand films they can't grasp instantly.

Drowning by Numbers is a mixture of metaphor, allegory and narrative shot with immense style in elaborately constructed and richly-coloured sets. The biggest plot thread is the murder of their partners by three generations of women. This isn't crass US TV real-life drama. This is funny, startling and utterly absorbing cinema.

Woven into this is an array of cryptic sub-plots with some unsettling themes and a couple of horrifying denouments.

If you like your plots on a plate, you won't like this film. But if you like to sit back, absorb, and wait for the realisations to come to you slowly (maybe weeks later), this is a very satisfying and absorbing film indeed.

The cinematography, the ambience, the careful pace and direction - not to mention the soundtrack - are really rather extraordinary.