Search - A Zed & Two Noughts on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1985 DVD Release: 12/28/1999 Format: DVD - Letterbox for TV SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 55 mins Studio: Fox Lorber Members Wishing: 11 Genres: Comedy Drama, Avant-garde / Experimental, Black Comedy, Tragi-comedy, Surrealist Film See Also: A Zed and Two Noughts

This twisted black comedy is obsessed in turn with swans, twins, and decay. Alba Bewick (Andréa Ferréol) is involved in a swan-related car accident near the zoo. The accident kills two other women, the wives of two twin zoologists, Oliver and Oswald Deuce (Brian and Eric Deacon). Alba is lucky enough to escape with one leg. Eventually her doctor also removes the other "because it was dangerous for the spine." Meanwhile, the Deuce brothers, as a result of losing their wives, have become fascinated with the decay of corpses, and they start making rather gruesome time-lapse films to examine the process more thoroughly. Both brothers become involved with Alba. Needless to say, this film may not appeal to everybody. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide

Andréa Ferréol - Alba Bewick
Brian Deacon - Oswald Deuce
Eric Deacon - Oliver Deuce
Frances Barber - Venus de Milo
Joss Ackland - Van Hoyten

Director Peter Greenaway's bizarre visual masterpiece is as confounding on DVD as in the cinema. Greenaway's original images flutter and flicker with some of the most disquieting images viewers will ever find, and the light play, which invariably swooshes across both the actors and the time-lapse decompositions, is intact and overwhelming. Sacha Vierny's cinematography is duly flattered by the 1.66:1 widescreen transfer. As the film is a veritable study of "symmetry," the widescreen format is crucial in beginning to understand Greenaway's symbolism. The DVD shines brightest when Greenaway is presenting his most audacious scenes, as when he toys with the juxtaposition of the film score with striking scenes of animal decay. These twisted, disturbing moments present the mingling of horror against composer Michael Nyman's bold, minimalist, repetitive score. The audio is quite good during these scenes where the score takes over, but there is a tinny quality to some scenes of pure dialogue. It is hard to say if the fault is with the DVD mastering or with the original film. It might be intentional, as the sound is Mono, and frequent "oldie" songs add to the unusual feel of the film. "Filmographies and Production Credits" features provide the usual information. "Scene Access" is worth a look, because the nine chapters are arrestingly organized by images of the respective decaying animal therein. This is a fine DVD presentation of a unique vision. Sometimes funny and frequently unsettling, Greenaway's artistic stylings are allowed to fully attack and shock. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide