Colour work with in a peter greenawat motion picture film studies essay

How does colour achieve emotional effects in the film ‘The Cook the Thief, his Wife and her Lover’ (1989) Directed by Peter Greenaway.

The strong use of colour found in ‘The Make the Thief, his wife and her Lover’ (1989) directed by Peter Greenaway includes a direct effect on the spectators feelings and emotions through the film. The links between the actions of the individuals and the content of the storyline mirror the decision of colour when we look at what numerous colours are associated with different thoughts in western culture. The bond to seventeenth century Dutch paintings is extremely dominant throughout the film and ties in with the symbolic meanings that Dutch nonetheless life painting is so intrinsically linked too along with the symbolism of colour. In this essay I’ve analysed the links between colour and seventeenth century paintings and referenced Greenaway’s experimentation and abstract utilization of colour to the early cinema movement Absolute Film and 20th century artists such as Kandinsky and his theories of colour in motion. I am hoping to show that colour is a significant part of the film that evokes feelings and emotions on the spectator with influence of symbolism and Dutch paintings, and in its right creates another persona driving the narrative onward and delivering the film along.

Looking through the annals of early cinema and the emergence of colour, it really is interesting to note the reasons for bringing colour directly into film. Silent cinema filmmakers had been intrigued by colour because they could observe its dramatic potential, rather than looking at its ability to portray a greater sense of reality. At the start of the 20th Century, modernism was arriving at the foreground; art moves such as for example cubism, expressionism and abstraction were impacting on mass tradition in everyday life. Colour used in advertisement, paintings and architecture were being inspired to have up these moves for inspiration which experimentation of colour translated into film (Yumibe, 2007 p.49). Colour featured in many of the initial films as a way of attracting viewers and enhancing aesthetic and dramatic effects of the narrative; the specific reason why we use colour in film today. Among the earliest types of using colour because of its dramatic potential is a Routeé Film ‘Le Contremaitre Incendiaire/ The Incendiary Foreman’ manufactured in 1908. In the film they jump cut from the cold colour blue to rich sizzling hot reds in the trust it could shock and charm to the spectator’s senses. In Joshua Yumibe essay, ‘Silent Cinema Color Aesthetics’ (Yumibe, 2007) He argued that the use of colour in these early on cinema films was ‘being harnessed in a coded approach to work through the senses and, by association, to have an effect on the emotions and moods of the spectators.’ (Yumibe, 2007 p. 53) For an market in the first 20th century who hadn’t seen colour being used in such a way, they found this very efficient. More recently, although film makers follow the lines of employing colour to create feelings or moods, it is now done in considerably more subtle ways to create a deeper more meaningful film portraying an authentic sense of the community. In early cinema colour was not used to create a feeling of realism; it basically represented the unrealistic fantasy worlds, whilst dark-colored and bright white film signifyed the practical world.

Fig. 1 Composition VI (1913) Kandinsky

If we look back again to the performers who were emerging at the beginning of the 20th century such as Kandinsky, Survage and Picasso, and their curiosity in color abstraction and theories on colour, especially Kandinsky, we are able to view it had some impact on early film. Searching at Kandinsky’s style of painting and his theories, for example, Kandinsky’s Composition VI and his different compositions, his main concern was to evoke a spiritual resonance with the viewer and artist. Kandinsky wanted to put the viewer in the problem of enduring his paintings in the desire it would evoke senses of desperation, confusion and urgency along with creating the perception of it being dreamlike and the painters brain towards an ‘epoch to wonderful spiritual leaders. (Kandinisky, 2004 p. 65) Regarding to Kandinsky persons who seemed and contemplated his paintings, would be able to reach a meditative status. He wanted to draw the viewer in to a meditative trance to motivate an increased state of consciousness (Kandinsky, 2004 p.65). Even the notion of colour representing the fantasy environment, can be linked to attempting to create a dreamlike globe.

Fig 2. Three stills from ‘Opus I’ (1921) Directed by Walter Ruttman

This good sense of ‘meditative trance’ and abstraction was a thing that filmmakers www.testmyprep.com and artists wished to experiment using film. One example of a film movements that took this idea from artists may be the experimental film movements of Absolute film. It had been formed in the 1920s by the German Walter Ruttmann, and his contemporaries Hans Richter, Oskar Fischinger and a Swede named Viking Eggeling, all of which were interested at searching at the abstraction in movement. Ruttman studied painting and architecture, and wished to experiment with film showing the expression and the meditative kind of paintings injecting music and action to develop an abstract movement that painting cannot achieve. To place this in practise the film motion focused on ‘Rhythm, abstract, mathematical construction, color repetition, and setting colour in motion’ (Elder2008p. 82). Ruttmann’s 1st two abstract movies were ‘Opus I’ (1921) and ‘Opus II’ (1923). ‘Opus I’ contain shapes of colour protruding the display, creating rhythm. Ruttman then simply injects different colours whilst flashes of large and small shaped colors explode across the screen, creating a sense of pleasure and anticipation. In ‘Harmony and Dissent’ (2008) by Elder, he describes of a music publisher who was interested in the movements referred to as Arnold Schönburg and wanted to collaborate with Kandinsky when filming his second opera ‘Die Glückiche Side’ (‘The Lucky Palm’). His reason for attempting to film the opera was because he wished ‘The utmost unreality’ (Schönburg n.b, cited in Elder 2008 p.82) Kandinsky’s roll was to create from Schönburg’s brief and once it was filmed, Kandinsky would paint and colour the film. This association with seeking Kandinsky to develop his unrealistic globe and coordinating how long should a college essay be? it to music shows how his work and other art actions where informing and shaping film. It illustrates that Kandinsky’s dreamlike meditative status was reaching to people’s consciousness, and wanted to create a work of art applying film. Elder argued that what Schönburg desired from film was ‘to escape from everything set, stable, and enduring… [film] could serve as hieroglyphs of the unfamiliar, to elevate the mind and disclose something of the nature of higher reality (though holding permanently in the embrace of increased mystery).’ (Elder 2008 p.82)

Unfortunately the opera was hardly ever made, but Kandinsky himself possessed proposed a stage part known as ‘Die Gelbe Klang’ (‘The Yellow Sand’) which he was also going to film according to Gabriele Munter another German Expressionist painter (Elder 2008 p. 83). However when Kandinsky has reviewed film he has stated that between one top quality to another, for example music and personality, are essentially ‘external’ from each other, it’s is only by the audience getting conditioned ‘through association’ and ‘constantly repeated actions’ (Kandinsky, 2004 pp.59, 92) that the market have the ability to relate both of these qualities together. So Kandinsky argued that in order for an artist to combine different media and forms including colour, they must ‘apprehend the spiritual real truth contained in the inner natures’ only afterward could the artist build a unity of ‘accurate integration of these varied elements’ (Elder 2008 pp.84-85) This notion of qualities unifying jointly and becoming integrated so that they are obscured into one, is definitely undeniably something that Greenaway has successfully designed in his film ‘The Cook, the Thief his Wife and her Lover’. His utilization of colour almost creates its character, combined with layers of symbolic meaning allows drive the narrative forward. Much like early cinema, Greenaway’s experimental use of colour in fact takes the realistic out and imposes a surreal environment with layer upon coating of symbolic meaning. The repetition of colour and the figurative activity of colour explore the concepts of Complete film creating a film that exceeds any boundaries of generic film making and generates something approaching a nightmare fantasy universe and integrates his private work to the reach the level of art. Moreover in addition to using color, Greenaway links 17th hundred years Dutch paintings and the intrinsic symbolic meanings carried with these paintings, and by merging color with these symbols support bring the film mutually.

Furthermore colour is a tool in film to emphasise identity, narrative, plot and designs and Greenaway’s film ‘The Cook, the Thief his Wife and her lover’ is definitely an ideal example of the many ways of using colour. He has not simply used color technically and for the purpose of making the film glimpse beautiful, but has used color through movement and symbolism producing explicit links to Dutch paintings of the 17th Century. Greenaway capitalises on associations with colour and emotions, directing our feelings through the film. Louis Cheskin mentioned that we experience ‘colour sensations’ (Cheskin 1951 p.12) but most of us don’t realize the influence of color. He noted that when people were in a blue environment it would have a calm sedative influence on some whilst on others started to be depressed if they were confronted with a strong blue. The color red would do the opposite and would make persons feel agitated and in some stronger reds feelings such as anger arose. Greenaway uses the psychology of colour to inform feelings and emotions through the entire film, specially the colour red, building a richer more interactive impression of horrid torment Albert Spica

takes control of. Nonetheless it is important to realise that our knowledge of such symbols is entirely based upon cultural awareness. This implies that colour can not be relied after to enforce a given meaning, but should be read in the context of the film, and with regards to cultural awareness and perhaps from the activities of the spectator.

Peter Greenaway is widely known as a filmmaker, however he at first studied art to become painter, later becoming considering European cinema (EGS n.d.). His early research of painting has heavily influenced his films and when analysing his films, we must take into account not only the genre’s of cinema but concepts from the annals of western painting beginning with the renaissance, best up to modern art. A lot of Peter Greenaway’s work are packed with symbols and his use of imagery is fascinating. He cleverly integrates art work imagery from art movements, mainly originating from European painting, bringing in visible and symbolic motifs which develop stimulating and emotionally billed imagery that immediately intrigues the spectator as he brings this to life on screen.

Greenaway’s film ‘The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover’ can be influenced by Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century. He usually depicts the lavish furnishings of the cafe, the diner’s costumes and the different items of foods are quickly recognisable to end up being that of still life and banqueting paintings of Dutch 17th Century paintings. Within these paintings, specifically still life, Dutch artists would have metaphors and motifs linking back again to everyday life, and often would have an omen to the material gentleman like Albert Spica. From the Dutch painting by Jan Caspar Luiken, Dutch, 1672-1708, ‘The Painter’s Craft’:

‘The Painter. What the eye sees is not the most essential.

Art shows us an illusion.

What the essence of its subject matter is

Like the fantastic painting

Of the ENTIRE noticeable world

[Having] received its shape though wisdom, displays what its origin is.’ (NGA, n.d. p.40)

This is specifically what Greenaway seems to have adopted and links from what Kandinsky believed in; it is not just what you see from earliest glance but what could be read among the lines. Peter Greenaway’s usage of imagery of the rotten meats, pigs head and bones still left in the van signifies the passage of life and loss of life and is an omen to what may happen to Albert Spica. He ignores his wife, badly treats her, so when she’s the courage and anger, Georgina takes his lifestyle. This clear link between Dutch paintings of the 17th hundred years is carried throughout the whole film and is explicitly linked with colour symbology. With both these two elements unified together helps take the metaphors and symbols, creating rhythm and activity in the film.

In the beginning scene of the film the spectator is normally confronted with the interesting make use of colour and tones; the dark nighttime lit up by the luminous green and blue of the lamps of the restaurant and combined with sickly yellow coming from inside the van filled with raw meat and seafood. The spectator instantly includes a feeling of uncertainty due to his odd selection of colours. Although it isn’t immediately noticeable as the spectator is definitely slowly launched to the this odd world, we observe that Greenaway has chosen to use a particular colour for every single place; blue for the parking lot beyond your restaurant (always at night), green for your kitchen, red for the dining room and white for the bathroom. As the characters move from space to room their costume will change colour according to what colour space they are in apart from the lover and the make whose clothing does not change color. The figurative movement of the colors helps the spectator to split up the creation of the film from that of the ordinary, but also to permit the spectator to activate with the films content material. We’re able to see time go through colour and it’s really orientation as it creates rhythm that moves us in one sequence to some other. This surreal utilization of colour and the rhythm it imposes gives the spectator a sense of routine, only later to be disillusioned by the violence and agitated by the intense red color filling the screen. This idea of rhythm, routine and repetition of colour fits in with what Total filmmakers produced, introducing simply flashes of other colours. Music in Absolute film complimented what was being animated, and when we are released to your kitchen, we are often greeted by the green germ start looking plaguing your kitchen and the song of the kitchen choir boy singing the same tune each and every time Albert Spica enters creating an eerie tension. The song of the choir boy, a sound familiar to dark gothic churches, compliments this surreal scene we are faced with and mirrors the peculiar odd feeling it offers out.

Fig. 3. Officers and Subalterns of the Saint George Civic Guard,

(1639), Frans Hals,

Fig 4. Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Safeguard Company, (1616), Frans Hals

If we seem at Greenaway’s make use of the figurative use of the color red, it’s meaning alterations as we progress in to the film. At the beginning of the film, we see the colour reddish as this abundant, grand ostentatious color and everything and everyone belongs to that room. Every identity in the room is wearing the colour red, and it feels as if each of them belong or are connected with the main persona Albert Spica in the restaurant. All apart from one man who is introduced just a little later in to the film as a quiet mysterious persona who wears a brown suit who reads literature and later turns into Georgina’s (Albert Spica’s wife) lover. All of the women wear reddish dresses or black with hints of reddish colored, whilst the men wear black matches with a red tie or bow tie, in addition to the participants of Spica’s gang who all have on crimson sashes. This links back to Dutch Paintings of a typical Schutterijen group, who put on their company’s colour sashes, portraying to the general public powerful, rich, self-possessed males (see fig 3). An extremely large Dutch 17th Hundred years painting known as the ‘Banquet of the officers of the St Geroge Civic Safeguard Organization (1616), hangs in the restaurant (fig 4). It is just a group painting of males sitting down all using the same costume, which Albert Spica features fashioned himself and his gang to gown accordingly, overlooking and viewing everyone who sits at the cafe (See fig 5). Most of the Dutch paintings of a provider of men wore red sashes since it represents richness and power which Greenaway has adopted so as to portray and give the sense of ability and control Spica and his group contain. By making the gang clothe themselves in a similar method it signifies unity and strength. Furthermore this unifying of color between the painting and Spica’s gang, strengthens the idea that everything in the room is connected with him, giving colour a much more authoritative roll creating impression and a sense of control. However although Greenaway has referenced this to 17th century Dutch painting, and has imitated this appearance with Albert, he has got exaggerated the look making Spica’s clothes even more flamboyant when as opposed to the period in which the film is set in, 1980s. Douglas Keesey states ‘the merry makers in the Hals painting seem to be to look straight down in ironic disdain at Spica’s gang gorging themselves below.'(Keesey, 2006 p.89) Even so, this all adds to the rich overpowering feeling of the restaurant, and like the Dutch males in the group painting who would often screen the painting in a public place, it is usually regarded as a metaphor for Albert’s gang, displaying their power.

Fig 5. Even now from the Film ‘The Make, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover’ (1989) Directed by Petergreenaway. Albert Spica and his gang in the cafe dining room.

Van Manders, a Flemish born Dutch painter in the 17th Hundred years, wrote a biography of performers from the Netherlands called the ‘Schilder- Boeck’ (1604). Over ten years of exploration, Van manders had written the ‘first totally argued theory of Netherlandish painting, drawing and printmaking.’ (Melion, 1992 p. xvii) In this book he discussed colour and its own symbolism for understanding objects when artists have tried them. He wrote that reddish colored ‘equates to highness, courageous and boldness.’ (Wheelock, 2005 p. 101) This hyperlink that Spica’s gang and the males in the Dutch 17th century portrait and the fact that they both wear the same crimson sash, would make this the even more rich for the reason that symbolism of that which was meant in the 17th century of highness, courageousness and bold pertains to the characters in the film specifically Georgina, who like what Douglas Keesey said about Hals men looking down on Spica and his gang, she also seems to accomplish the same, and in the end gets the courage to stand up to her husband. The colour red in western way of life associate the meaning of red as take pleasure in and passion, but may also mean threat and violence, which the spectator can connect to this film as the film unravels.

When Georgina’s clothes change colour it is a another screen of Spica’s success and power a ‘trophy wife shown as a sign of his [Albert Spica] riches and stylishness’ (Keesey, 2006 p.87). Through the entire film, Albert Spica wears a black tail-coat suit with simply the sash changing colour in line with the room, the rest of his suit remaining dark like his figure. The rotten meat being served in the restaurant, coated in a brown gloss to create it seem delectable, portrays an elaborate symbol of Albert Spica’s flamboyant clothes hiding a rotten outdated man, who is trying to hide the violence and feeling of despair in him, as Spica starts to reduce control. This link that can be made

between colour and costume and the relationship with character, illustrates the value of color and how it could create a solid film filled up with intriguing heroes which mirrors and elaborates on diverse personalities.

In addition up to now, Michael’s costume, Georgina’s lover, continues to be the same colour through the complete film. His costume, a brown match and white t-shirt which symbolises that he is different to the others in the restaurant, he is the neutral party. He’s singled out because he has been seen by both Georgina and Albert. For Georgina she’s found somebody who loves her and treats her well, and Albert notices him as a result of his knowledge of books, which Albert bluntly ignores the thought of learned book studying by throwing the books across the ground, Michael dresses to "the colour of the books that floor him in the data overlooked by the insubstantial thief." (Keesey, 2006 p.87) When Georgina notices the mysterious man in the brown fit and heads towards the toilet where he then follows her, the spectator is certainly given some relief from the overpowering red area to a white colored bath room (fig. 6). As the spectator watches Georgina walk into the bathroom her costume instead of red is currently white. This white place and the color white have an excellent significance to the film; everything in white sometimes appears nearly as good, innocent or 100 % pure. For Georgina, when she walks into the room it shows her vulnerability towards her evil husband and the man where she falls in love with. The room has a divine heavenly feel and as Greenaway explains this is because it’s "where the enthusiasts fuck for the first time." (Greenaway, cited in Keesey 2006 p.86) When her lover Michael walks into the bathroom his costume even so will not change.

Fig 6 and 7. Stills from ‘The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover’ ( 1989)Directed by Peter Greenaway, Fig 6 Bathroom scene. Fig 7 The corridor in the restaurant.

Furthermore the theme of the color white; virtue, kindness, the contrary of the red bedroom, is carried through to the type of the cook who allows Georgina and her lover, Michael, to escape and by the end of the film facilitates Georgina to revenge her partner Albert Spica. The cook’s outfit doesn’t change colour through the entire whole film, he’s definitely seen wearing the light uniform of a cook symbolising the cooks good identity and faithfulness to Georgina. When Georgina and Michael walk out of the white colored bathroom, they enter the all consuming red corridor. The sexual demand that can be felt now changes the motif of the color red, a right now overpowering all consuming romance, and also her cigarette may be the fiery red (fig. 7).

The repetition of the two main rooms, the kitchen and dining area, and the regime that looks through the week of horror in the film intensifies the anger and irritation we feel for the character Georgina. It is heighten when we start to see the lover and Georgina together in the bookshop, knowing that Albert Spica is preparing to consider his revenge and take back Georgina to his evil controlling environment. As the film progresses the intense blood red colours start to irritate and aggravate emotions that you finally feel relief when the monstrous eyesight ends.

Towards the finish of the film the colour red in the dining room turns into a deeper carnivorous red, as we see Albert Spica’s managing cruelty becoming more savage and evil. Greenaways make use of colour tones becomes a lot more such as a Dutch painting, something out from Rembrandts art work who used deep colors and solid contrasts of light and dark, portraying the dark identity of Albert and the kindness of these helping Georgina. By the end of the film, the reddish in the dining area is now almost black; it’s a very dark deep red, the color of blood. Yet right now rather than it portraying Albert’s anger, it really is today a figurative metaphor for Georgina’s anger at her spouse for killing her lover. Georgina finally gets the courage and love to endure her hubby by serving Albert Michael’s body system for his meal (fig 8). Nonetheless that Michael features been cooked, his body a brown color, demonstrates that he is nonetheless the neutral, innocent get together that is trodden on by Albert and Georgina and produces the metaphorical barrier between very good and evil. Finally as the area has now turned almost black, Georgina kills her partner. I could be argued on the other hand, that the figurative transformation of the colour is a metaphor of Georgina’s anger and bringing control. Georgina’s red love of love is now turning out to be a dangerous take action of violence creating a dark and sinister tone. That in fact this take action of revenge makes Georgina’s actions just as poor as the thief. Although she’s achieved to set out revenge and destroy her husband, there is a cruel twist; she’s used the same violence that Albert Spica employed and turned it on him. His dark black character as infiltrated her perception of humanity and like Raphael Bassan and Douglas Keesey explained ‘in the finish, the "barbarity of the girl" surpasses that of the thief.’ (Keesey 2006. P. 89)

Fig 8. Final picture. ‘The Cook, the thief his Wife and her Lover’ (1989) Directed by Greenaway. Michael is served to Albert for dinner.

Greenaway’s composition of much of the restaurant scenes as mentioned before uses Dutch 17th century paintings showing primarily Albert Spica’s greed. Greenaway follows the custom of even now life’s portraying the hollowness and gluttony of the materials man by creating a flamboyant banquet of foodstuff laid out before Spica. The meals and the way in which it is organized are visible to be styled like that of Dutch banquets but are exaggerated to help make the spectator feel uncomfortable at this over indulgence. The food shown in Dutch paintings will be meant to be mouth-watering but provides us caution to such greed by usually revealing a fly following to the meals, or the food overlooking ripe or over decorated to remind our increased moral factors (NGA, nb p. 90). The meals shown in the film, appears over garnished, the meat coated in a solid brown glaze supplying it a shiny sickly turn to it, within the rotting meat seen in the van being dished up at the table. This evidently shows Greenaway’s idea portraying what will eventually the material person, an omen to Spica. The glazing of the meat is definitely hiding the implications of what’s underneath; the van filled with meat and fish practically rots before our eye, a metaphor for Albert sacrificing control and his devilish dark acts will be rotting his insides.

Many of the 17th Century Dutch paintings had the vanitas topic of Decay, which Greenaway possesses depicted with the rotting meat and fish in the van, can be then practically juxtaposed with the Georgina and Michaels naked bodies when fleeing from Albert Spice. This literal juxtaposition between decay and individual morality as their naked bodies will be encircled by rotting carcasses can be horrifyingly striking, and it could be from the banishment of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden and so are suddenly put through the corruption of flesh. While such cautionary hints maybe missed by a greedy gentleman such as Albert Spica, Greenaway present the spectator with the previous and last metaphor, ‘we and Spica happen to be confronted with a food tableau that’s most virtually a memento mroi (remind of morality): the cooked, glazed and garnished body system of Michael.’ (Keesey 2006, p. 89) His destruction and obsession of the material things has led to Spica in the end eating death. The stunning art works wanted to us by Greenaway is merely obstructed to find that ‘the rules of intake still reign.’ (Lawrence, 1997 p. 18) For the Spectator this globe of extravagant beauty and material pleasure appears to intensify when compared to the terrifying cruelty and sorrowful desperation of Georgina, which inhabits the film throughout. Therefore the by the finish of the film the cruelty and passion that operates through this film turns into overwhelming.

From this film, Greenaway features shown that it is not only a subject of finding a color and coordinating it to a specific figurative meaning, the most interesting uses of figurative colour happen to be layering symbolic meaning and cross referencing symbolic significance to enrich the film. Looking back to what Kandinsky stated on how an artist/filmmaker should make a film that’s in a position to unify two elements together:

‘The final goal (knowledgeis attained by the human soul through finer vibr-

ations of the same. These finer vibrations, on the other hand, which are similar in their

final aim, have in themselves diverse inner motions and are hereby distin-

guished in one another.’ [Kandinsky, cited in Elder 2008 p.83]

Meaning the artist should comprehend the two elements so that you can unify them effectively to create an fundamental meaning but are in themselves nonetheless able to be identified. Greenaway has efficiently united colour and 17th century Dutch even now life paintings to create a riches of imagery and symbolic connotations, but is also able to be seen as separate factors that by themselves deliver something to the film. It really is clear that Greenaway clearly imagined through what he wanted to portray in this film and therefore required control of the thoughts and emotions he desired us to think in both the heroes and our response to the environment. The abstract usage of colour and the repetition of color creates rhythm which accumulates the tension and anger experienced towards Albert Spica. In ‘The cook,the Thief his Wife and her Lover’ Colour does take the function of another character increasing the narrative, enriching the spectators looking at, giving it a far more dynamic and provocative procedure.