The Films of Derek Jarman
Blue
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1993 — 76 minutes, blue, aspect ratio 16:9 — Experimental
Essential Jarman. Jarman's extraordinary final feature, about his physical and spiritual struggle with life, love, art, and death. This DVD also includes Glitterbug, a collage of Jarman's private films. |
Review
Brief Introduction (Full Review Coming Soon)
DVD released June 24, 2008 but only as part of the superb five-film collection, Glitterbox: Derek Jarman x 4 (details below)
Blue was made just a year before Jarman's death in 1994 from AIDS. Treatments for the virus made him see everything through a blue haze, prolonging his life but destroying his eyesight — but never his fiery poetic vision.
Against a screen of pure cobalt, Jarman free associates around the artistic, philosophical and metaphysical meanings of blue — sky, water, flowers, a blue boy, sadness, the infinite — connecting them to his life and body of work.
He reveals his physical and spiritual struggle not only through his free-verse narration but with an interwoven sound collage of several voices, and with a ticking clock, chimes, a gong: all marking time.
This unique film is accompanied by a spare but evocative score from his lifelong collaborator/friend Simon Fisher-Turner, Momus (Nick Currie), and Brian Eno.
This DVD also includes the complete Glitterbug (1994), an extraordinary hour-long collage of Jarman's home movies, shot between 1970 and 1985. The film was posthumously assembled by his friends, with an original score from Brian Eno. It is a perfect companion piece to Blue, helping to round out Jarman's life and work.
PLEASE NOTE that Blue and Glitterbug are only available as part of the four-disc set, Glitterbox: Derek Jarman x 4.
Full review coming soon.
Crew
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Cast
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Music
Music plays an integral part in Blue, and all of Jarman's films. Here is a complete listing of the soundtrack, from Discogs.
Derek Jarman – Blue
Label: Mute Records Ltd.
Catalog#: CD STUMM 49
Format: CD, Album
Country: UK
Released: 08 Nov 1993
Genre: Electronic, Non-Music
Style: Spoken Word, Experimental, Ambient
Credits: Composed By Simon Fisher Turner
Engineer [Music Recording]: Markus Dravius
Mixed By [Re-recording]: Paul Hamblin
"Blue is by Derek Jarman, Simon Fisher Turner, Marvin Black, David Lewis, James Mackay."
Soundtrack composed by Simon Fisher Turner.
Voices: John Quentin, Nigel Terry, Derek Jarman, Tilda Swinton.
Musicians: John Balance, Gini Ball, Marvin Black, Peter Christopherson, Markus Dravius, Brian Eno, Tony Hinnigan, Danny Hyde, Jan Latham Koenig, Marden Hill & The King of Luxumbourg, Miranda Sex Garden, Momus, Vini Reilly, Kate St. John, Simon Fisher Turner, Richard Watson, Hugh Webb.
NOTE from Discogs: "Track titles are not given in the booklet."
Track Listings:
Blue (Parts 1-5) (7:23)
1a Blue Gong
1b Open Your Eyes
1c Delphinium Days
1d Roaring Water
1e Love Fades
Blue (Parts 6-12) (11:53)
2a Left Right
2b Back And Forth
2c I’m Home
2d Sweats In The Night
2e Consecrate
2f Gautamla Gongs
2g Walk Away
Blue (Parts 13-18) (7:37)
3a Triennale
Written By, Performer – Brian Eno
3b Holborn Tube
3c Waiting Room
3d Tangible Blue
3e Hell On Earth
3f Scheherazade
Performer – Jan Latham Koenig
Written By Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937) [Jim's note: an extraordinary, and gay, composer who excelled in all classical forms, from solo keyboard to symphonies, song cycles to opera]
Blue (Parts 19-24) (12:04)
4a Marco Polo
4b Scheherazade
Performer – Jan Latham Koenig
Written By Szymanowski
4c Summertime
Music By The King Of Luxembourg, Marden Hill
4d White Blue
4e St Rita
4f Hell Hounds
Blue (Parts 25-29) (9:26)
5a Blueness
5b Euthanasia
5c Blue Movie
5d Disco Hospital
Written By, Performer – Coil , Danny Hyde
5e Timeless Ocean
Blue (Parts 30-35) (12:00)
6a Kiss Me Again
6b S&M
6c Muff Diving Size Queen
Vocals – Miranda Sex Garden
6d Lesbian Man
Vocals – Momus
6e February
6f Pill Song
Blue (Parts 36-41) (13:07)
7a Taj Mahal
7b Tower Block
7c Fermina
Written By, Performer – Vini Reilly
7d 1st Gnossiennes
Composed By – Erik Satie
Performer – Jan Latham Koenig
7e Sparks Through Stubble
7f Last Of Gongs
DVD
Zeitgeist Films' DVD has exceptional image and sound quality. All of the many supplements are of genuine interest, led by the posthumous Glitterbug (described below). Like all five films in the collection Glitterbox: Derek Jarman x 4, this is a superb release of a great picture that will haunt you for a long time to come. Following is a list of special features for this release.
DVD Details
- Glitterbug (1994), 54-minute collage of Jarman's footage posthumously assembled by the filmmaker's friends and featuring original music by Brian Eno
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Only available as part of the four-disc / five-film box set, Glitterbox: Derek Jarman x 4 (The Angelic Conversation, Caravaggio, Wittgenstein, and Blue, plus the posthumous Glitterbug) — $74.99 suggested retail.
Reviewed June 24, 2008
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