The Belly of an Architect | |
---|---|
Directed by | Peter Greenaway |
Written by | Peter Greenaway |
Produced by | Colin Callender Walter Donohue |
Starring | Brian Dennehy Chloe Webb Lambert Wilson |
Cinematography | Sacha Vierny |
Edited by | John Wilson |
Music by | Wim Mertens |
Distributed by | Hemdale Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 120 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom / Italy |
Language | English |
Budget | £1.8 million [1] |
The Belly of an Architect is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, featuring original music by Glenn Branca and Wim Mertens. Starring Brian Dennehy and Chloe Webb, it was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. [2] [3]
American architect Stourley Kracklite has been commissioned to construct an exhibition in Rome dedicated to the architecture of the 18th-century French architect, Étienne-Louis Boullée, who until the 20th century remained little known. Kracklite's Italian colleagues express doubts about whether Boullée really belongs in the architectural pantheon; they note that few of his buildings were ever constructed and observe that Boullée was an inspiration for Adolf Hitler's architect Albert Speer.
As he works on the exhibition, Kracklite's marriage and health deteriorate. He becomes obsessed with Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, after hearing that Augustus's wife, Livia, supposedly poisoned him. Suffering from recurrent stomach pains, he suspects his much younger wife, Louisa, of trying to do the same. Louisa reveals that she is pregnant with Kracklite's child, conceived at the precise moment their train crossed the Italian border. Meanwhile, she has become sexually involved with Caspasian Speckler, the younger co-organiser of the exhibition. We learn that Caspasian has also been siphoning off funds from the exhibition, even as he and his Italian associates undermine Kracklite's authority and confidence. Kracklite himself is seduced by Caspasian's sister Flavia, a photographer in her apartment across from the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The two are discovered in flagrante by Caspasian, who threatens to tell Louisa.
Louisa leaves Kracklite, who is diagnosed with stomach cancer and given only months to live. The film ends at the exhibition's opening ceremony, nine months after their arrival in Italy. Kracklite, now replaced as director by Caspasian, watches from a high vantage point as Louisa cuts the tape. As she suddenly goes into labor, Kracklite jumps to his death.
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports 85% approval of The Belly of an Architect based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. [4]
Étienne-Louis Boullée was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects.
Jungle Fever is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. Starring Lee, Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, Tim Robbins, Brad Dourif, Giancarlo Esposito, Debi Mazar, Michael Imperioli, Anthony Quinn, and Halle Berry and Queen Latifah in their film debuts, Jungle Fever explores the beginning and end of an extramarital interracial relationship against the urban backdrop of the streets of New York City in the early 1990s. The film received positive reviews, with particular praise for Samuel L. Jackson's performance, and was also commercially successful.
Dark Eyes is a 1987 Italian and Soviet romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. Set in Italy and Russia in the years before the First World War, it tells the story of a married Italian man who falls in love with a married Russian woman. Starring Marcello Mastroianni and Yelena Safonova, it received positive reviews from critics. The title of the film refers to a popular Russian song of the same name written by Yevhen Hrebinka in 1843.
Chloe Webb is an American actress, best known for her roles in the films Sid and Nancy (1986), The Belly of an Architect (1987), Twins (1988), and Heart Condition (1990). She also was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Laurette Barber in the ABC drama series China Beach, and had a recurring role as Monica Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless.
One-Eyed Jacks is a 1961 American Western film directed by and starring Marlon Brando, his only directorial credit. Brando portrays the lead character Rio, and Karl Malden plays his partner, "Dad" Longworth. The supporting cast features Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Brian Manion Dennehy was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in over 180 films and in many television and stage productions. His film roles included First Blood (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Cocoon (1985), F/X (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), Tommy Boy (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Ratatouille (2007), and Knight of Cups (2015). Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000). Dennehy's final film was Driveways (2019), in which he plays a veteran of the Korean War, living alone, who befriends a young, shy boy who has come with his mother to clean out his deceased aunt's hoarded home.
Prospero's Books is a 1991 British avant-garde film adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Sir John Gielgud plays Prospero, the protagonist who provides the off-screen narration and the voices to the other story characters. As noted by Peter Conrad in The New York Times on 17 November 1991, Greenaway intended the film “as an homage to the actor and to his 'mastery of illusion.' In the film, Prospero is Shakespeare, and having rehearsed the action inside his head, speaking the lines of all the other characters, he concludes the film by sitting down to write The Tempest.”
Hiroshima mon amour, is a 1959 romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 crime drama art film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in the title roles. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and France, the film's graphic violence and nude scenes, as well as its lavish cinematography and formalism, were noted at the time of its release.
She's So Lovely is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first posthumous film to feature previously unreleased material from John Cassavetes. The film stars Sean Penn and John Travolta as two men who bid for the affection of Maureen Murphy Quinn. Harry Dean Stanton co-stars as a friend of Penn's character, and James Gandolfini plays the abusive neighbor.
10th & Wolf is a 2006 film about the Philadelphia crime family directed by Robert Moresco. It is based on a true story of a mob war in South Philadelphia. The film stars James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi and Brad Renfro and features appearances by Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Piper Perabo, Lesley Ann Warren, Tommy Lee, 1980s Italian comedian, singer, actor and director Francesco Salvi and Brian Dennehy.
Heart Condition is a 1990 American comedy film starring Bob Hoskins, Denzel Washington and Chloe Webb. Denzel Washington stars as Napoleon Stone, a lawyer, and Bob Hoskins stars as Jack Moony, a police officer. The two rivals compete in the same work force area in their community to help bring down drug rate. Their goal would be to find the mysterious men that shot and killed Napoleon Stone.
Miles from Home is a 1988 American action thriller film starring Richard Gere and Kevin Anderson. It is about two brothers who, after being forced off their farm in the debt stricken Midwestern United States, become folk heroes when they begin robbing the banks that have been foreclosing on farmers. The movie was directed by Gary Sinise and written by Chris Gerolmo. The film uses many members of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company of which Sinise is a co-founder.
The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, or in everyday speech as the Colosseo Quadrato, is a building in the EUR district in Rome. It was designed in 1938 by three Italian architects: Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto La Padula, and Mario Romano. The building is an example of Italian Rationalism and fascist architecture with neoclassical design, representing romanità, a philosophy which encompasses the past, present, and future all in one. The enormity of the structure is meant to reflect the fascist regime's new course in Italian history. The design of the building draws inspiration from the Colosseum with rows of arches. According to legend, the structure's six vertical and nine horizontal arches are correlated to the number of letters in the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's name.
Louisa Anne Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford was a British Pre-Raphaelite watercolourist and philanthropist.
The Wonders is a 2014 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Alice Rohrwacher. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix.
Chronic is a 2015 drama film written and directed by Michel Franco. The film stars Tim Roth, alongside a supporting cast featuring Bitsie Tulloch, David Dastmalchian, Tate Ellington, Nailea Norvind, Claire van der Boom, Maribeth Monroe, Robin Bartlett, and Sarah Sutherland.
L'Amant double is a 2017 erotic thriller drama film written and directed by François Ozon, based on the 1987 novel Lives of the Twins by Joyce Carol Oates. It stars Marine Vacth as a young woman named Chloé who discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.
A Ciambra is a 2017 Italian drama film directed by Jonas Carpignano. It is the second in the director's trilogy set in a Calabrian town, following Mediterranea (2015) and followed by A Chiara (2021).
Port Authority is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Danielle Lessovitz. It stars Fionn Whitehead, Leyna Bloom, McCaul Lombardi and Louisa Krause. Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer under his Sikelia Productions banner. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section on May 18, 2019. It was released in France on September 25, 2019, by ARP Selection, and was released in the United States on May 28, 2021, by Momentum Pictures.