Edward II / All Over Me / Twelfth Night (2-DVD)

Director: Derek Jarman; Alex Sichel & Trevor Nunn  Rated:

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - English

Product Description:

EDWARD II: Director Derek Jarman revisits Christopher Marlowe's play of bloodletting and royal intrigue, bringing the homosexual theme to the forefront. Steven Waddington stars as Prince Edward II, who upsets England's noblemen by sharing his throne with his commoner lover, Gaveston (Andrew Tiernan). Tilda Swinton costars as Edward's scorned wife, Queen Isabella, whose seething jealousy and hatred lead her into the arms of Mortimer (Nigel Terry), a power-hungry nobleman who seeks to topple Edward's reign. Jarman focuses on the passionate romance between Edward and Gaveston in this tragic tale of desire and persecution. Jarman's sparsely designed film combines period and modern costumes to evoke a timeless quality--Isabella is dressed like a 20th-century upper-crust socialite, while Edward and Gaveston wear simple period attire. A series of mazelike stone corridors and open rooms theatrically convey the castle where the royals fight for the throne. Jarman cuts between the Edwardian castle and more modern images of gay-rights marches, creating a subversive commentary on the ever-present struggle for acceptance and equality. The film also features vocalist Annie Lennox singing Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye."

ALL OVER ME is an intense, naturalistic portrait of a changing friendship between two teenage girls, set in New York's gritty Hell's Kitchen. The symbiotic, loving relationship between riot-grrrl teens Ellen and Claude degrades after Ellen begins dating a rough-hewn, mean-spirited older boy, and Claude tries on a lesbian identity with the help of a new gay male friend. The movie is suffused with alternative music-scene bit parts and cameos, including Leisha Hailey (of the Murmurs) and Mary Timony (of Helium).

TWELFTH NIGHT: Trevor Nunn's version of William Shakespeare's classic comedy revolves around Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man to work as a page in the court of Count Orsino. Orsino is hopelessly in love with a woman named Olivia, and soon Viola finds herself hopelessly in love with Orsino. But Orsino thinks she's a man, and her predicament worsens when she realizes that Olivia has fallen in love with her. Nunn's film sets the play in the 19th century and brings out both the ebullient and the melancholy aspects of Shakespeare's story.

Plot Keywords:

Comedy | Death | Drugs | Historical | Love Affairs | New York City

Cast and Crew: