Considered a fine example of gay and lesbian cinema, Derek Jarman’s take on Christopher Marlowe’s late 16th century play The Troublesome Reign of Edward II offers an intriguing blend of the production’s original language and modern colloquialisms and settings that transcend time to tell the story of the British King who openly rejected his wife and took on a male lover.
About the film
Details
- Running time
- 1 hr. 27 min.
- Country, year
- United Kingdom, 1991
- Genre
- Drama
- Language
- English
- Subtitles
- Lithuanian
- Age rating
- N/A
Credits
- Director
- Derek Jarman
- Screenplay
- Derek Jarman, Stephen McBride, Ken Butler
- Cinematography
- Ian Wilson
- Cast
- Steven Waddington, Andrew Tiernan, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry
- More information
- www.imdb.com
Festivals and awards
- FIPRESCI Prize in Forum of New Cinema, Teddy for Best Feature Film
- in competition, Volpi Cup prize for Best Actress
- unknown - 1
- Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for Costume Design.
Director
Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman was born in 1942 in England. He was an accomplished painter, acclaimed set designer for theatre and film, also fierce activist for gay rights. He shared news of his HIV infection and incorporated his subsequent battles with AIDS into his work. In 1976 he presented his first feature film Sebastiane about life and death of the martyr Saint Sebastian. In his second film, Jubilee (1978), Queen Elizabeth I travels through late 70s punk Britain. Films Caravaggio (1986), Edward II (1991) and Wittgenstein (1993) are loosely based on lives of these famous historical figures. In 1989 the powerful War Requiem was presented. His final film Blue (1993) was arguably the most remarkable and personal film. He died in 1994 from AIDS related causes.
