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IMDbPro

Caravaggio

  • 19861986
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
6K
YOUR RATING
Dexter Fletcher in Caravaggio (1986)
A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
Play trailer1:42
1 Video
72 Photos
  • Biography
  • Drama
  • History
A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Derek Jarman
  • Writers
    • Derek Jarman(screenplay)
    • Nicholas Ward Jackson(from an original idea by)
    • Suso Cecchi D'Amico(collaboration)
  • Stars
    • Noam Almaz
    • Dexter Fletcher
    • Nigel Terry
Top credits
  • Director
    • Derek Jarman
  • Writers
    • Derek Jarman(screenplay)
    • Nicholas Ward Jackson(from an original idea by)
    • Suso Cecchi D'Amico(collaboration)
  • Stars
    • Noam Almaz
    • Dexter Fletcher
    • Nigel Terry
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 32User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:42
    Trailer

    Photos72

    Dexter Fletcher in Caravaggio (1986)
    Tilda Swinton in Caravaggio (1986)
    Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, and Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Sean Bean and Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Sean Bean and Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Caravaggio (1986)
    Dexter Fletcher in Caravaggio (1986)
    Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Spencer Leigh and Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Nigel Terry in Caravaggio (1986)
    Caravaggio (1986)
    Dexter Fletcher in Caravaggio (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Noam Almaz
    • Boy Caravaggioas Boy Caravaggio
    Dexter Fletcher
    Dexter Fletcher
    • Young Caravaggioas Young Caravaggio
    Nigel Terry
    Nigel Terry
    • Caravaggioas Caravaggio
    Sean Bean
    Sean Bean
    • Ranuccioas Ranuccio
    Garry Cooper
    Garry Cooper
    • Davideas Davide
    Spencer Leigh
    • Jerusalemeas Jerusaleme
    Tilda Swinton
    Tilda Swinton
    • Lenaas Lena
    Nigel Davenport
    Nigel Davenport
    • Giustinianias Giustiniani
    Robbie Coltrane
    Robbie Coltrane
    • Scipione Borgheseas Scipione Borghese
    Michael Gough
    Michael Gough
    • Cardinal Del Monteas Cardinal Del Monte
    Dawn Archibald
    • Pipoas Pipo
    Jack Birkett
    • The Popeas The Pope
    Una Brandon-Jones
    • Weeping Womanas Weeping Woman
    Imogen Claire
    • Lady with the Jewelsas Lady with the Jewels
    Sadie Corre
    • Princess Collonaas Princess Collona
    Lol Coxhill
    • Old Priestas Old Priest
    Vernon Dobtcheff
    Vernon Dobtcheff
    • Art Loveras Art Lover
    Terry Downes
    Terry Downes
    • Bodyguardas Bodyguard
    • Director
      • Derek Jarman
    • Writers
      • Derek Jarman(screenplay)
      • Nicholas Ward Jackson(from an original idea by)
      • Suso Cecchi D'Amico(collaboration) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Caravaggio

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Tilda Swinton's debut.
    • Goofs
      A typewriter is used, a saxophone is played, a train and steamship hooter are heard. In addition one of the characters plays with a (very advanced for the time of the movie) credit card-sized calculator with beeping buttons. These items are included deliberately as a stylistic decision of the filmmakers, not "goofs" of people unaware of the absence of these items in the 1500s and 1600s.
    • Quotes

      Caravaggio: [after being stabbed by Ranuccio Caravaggio touches the wound and blood] Blood brothers!

      [Ranucchio kisses him]

    • Crazy credits
      The end credits scroll down the screen (top-to-bottom).
    • Connections
      Featured in Arena: Derek Jarman - A Portrait (1991)
    • Soundtracks
      MISSA LUX ET ORGIO
      By kind permission of Casa Musicale Eco (Milan)

    User reviews32

    Review
    Top review
    A typically imaginative and highly idiosyncratic examination of the artist from director Derek Jarman
    Quite simply unlike any other biographical film you will ever see, Derek Jarman's acclaimed production of Caravaggio (1986) is a lovingly constructed, highly personal cross-reference of tormented sixteenth century genius, twentieth century iconography and a somewhat satire on the shallowness of the burgeoning eighties' art scene of which Jarman was very much part of. Exploring Caravaggio's life through his work, the film distinctively merges fact, fiction, legend and imagination in a bold and confident approach that will probably leave serious art enthusiasts and casual viewers outraged by the complete disregard for accurate, historical storytelling.

    Shot with a typically avant-garde approach, director/writer Jarman doesn't so much fashion a biography of the artist, but rather, creates a personal reflection of the man using intimate characteristics that appeal to his film-making sensibilities. This makes Caravaggio more of an interpretation of the filmmaker than the artist himself; somewhat self-indulgently focusing on Caravaggio's struggle with bisexuality, perfectionism and wanton obsession; perhaps even glossing over the more intricate workings of the character, for instance, his own passion for art and his battles with the various religious and creative constraints of the period.

    It's a shame some of these ideas aren't further elaborated upon, because, at its heart, Caravaggio is really an exceptional film. As I commented earlier, it's perhaps unlike any other film you will ever see; an iconoclastic vision with a cinematic imagination that knows no bounds. Caravaggio is a film in which a 16th century setting gives way to the various anachronisms of passing trains, tuxedos, motorbikes, typewriters and chic nightclub settings. It is a film in which every frame is rendered in reference to the artist's work, composed with rich, shadowy colours that bring to mind the contrast between fresh and rotting fruit, and an unrivalled interplay between sound and production design that is reminiscent in its intense savagery of two dogs angrily ripping each other to pieces.

    There is no other 'based on fact film' that has demonstrated such a wild and evocative recreation of real-life hysteria and events, with the possible exception of Peter Jackson's masterful Heavenly Creatures (1994) or even some of Jarman's subsequent projects like Edward II (1991) and Wittgenstein (1994). With a cast of now very well known faces, such as Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, Michael Gough, Dexter Fletcher and Robbie Coltrane - not to mention some of the most beautiful photography ever committed to film - Caravaggio represents an impressive and enjoyable combination of art and cinema that is now, twenty years on, ripe for rediscovery.
    helpful•13
    3
    • ThreeSadTigers
    • Mar 20, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 29, 1986 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Zeitgeist Films
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Караваджо
    • Filming locations
      • Limehouse Studios, Limehouse, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • British Film Institute (BFI)
      • Channel Four Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £450,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,774
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $532
      • Apr 21, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,478
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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