Death in the Seine (1989)

Historical drownings in the Seine are catalogued, dissected and elaborated, with multilayered visuals and 'documentary' asides.

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway

Stars:

Alan Franco, Jean-Michel Dagory, Jim van der Woude

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Franco	...	Narrator (voice)
Jean-Michel Dagory	...	Bouille
Jim van der Woude	...	Daude
Hans Verbrugge	...	Jacques Chevreuil
Denis Verkroese	...	André Ribrot
Roos Peters	...	Jeanne Geneviève Valiton
Arie Van Vliet	...	Pierre François Denis
Michelle Guerts	...	Louise Emilie Charlotte Harmand
Jan Remkes	...	Pierre Jean Le Roy
Micke Mink	...	Marie Topinard
Gerard van Lavieren	...	Nicolas Julien Doguet
Lars Crama	...	Guillaume Rene Guerin
Leonie Beverloo	...	Monique Constance Manin
Winsred Zotsch	...	Jean Pierre Pascal Dauzet
Adrian van der Elzen	...	Jean Baptiste Langlasse

Storyline

Historical drownings in the Seine are catalogued, dissected and elaborated, with multilayered visuals and 'documentary' asides.

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Plot Keywords:

boy frontal nudity | historical | drowning | examination | morgue | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Did You Know?

Goofs

Director Peter Greenaway has stated that although he didn't set out to have the actors playing the corpses move about, he didn't mind when they did, because on one level the film is about people only pretending to be dead, and that the movements just helped reinforce that.

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Connections

Referenced in Peter Greenaway in Indianapolis (1997)

User Reviews

incredible visual layering

how sad that this little masterwork appears to have not even gained distribution. Because of this, I unfortunately had to seek it out online as it seemed quite interesting... I've not seen a short project so worthy of easier availability.

What incredible layering of imagery! ... visuals blending and merging into and out of one another totally seamlessly. I will not even attempt to surmise the amount of time that must've been put into this editing. A comment should be made toward the lighting as well. Very nicely done.

one minor criticism might be that while I do acknowledge Greenaway's explanation for the body's explicit movements I still think it would've been better for them to have convincingly emulated dead bodies.

10/10 nonetheless

Details

Country:

France Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Death in the Seine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Erato Films, Allarts TV Productions, Mikros Image

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Color:

Black and White Color