"Derek Jarman Collection"
Revisiting Jarman
Amos Lassen
There is no question of the tremendous contributions that Derek Jarman made to the field of gay film and film in general. We have been very lucky lately in that we can visit Jarman’s work in two wonderful boxed sets, “Glitterbox” and “Derek Jarman Collection”.
“Derek Jarman Collection” is made up of four discs---three Jarman films and a documentary by Isaac Julian, “Derek”.
On disc one is “Sebastiane” which was Jarman’s first full length film about the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (reviewed else at Amazon.com). This is filled with a great deal of latent homoeroticism and it deals with the nature of desire and religion. The film itself is regarded as a milestone in queer cinema as it is a psycho-sexual look at one of the most controversial historical characters.
“The Tempest”, Jarman’s interpretation of the Shakespearean work and is told as a comedy of revenge and magic that becomes a spectacle for the senses and includes gothic horror and high camp. This is disc two of the set.
Disc three is “War Requiem” which stars Tilda Swinton and interprets Benjamin Britten’s 1961 masterpiece. It is Sir Laurence Olivier’s last screen appearance. The combination of music and spectacle stuns the eye.
“Derek”, the documentary, is disc four. Tilda Swinton gives us a look at the life of Derek Jarman and speaks of his contributions to the world of cinema. The documentary also includes clips of Jarman’s seventeen films.
The beauty of Jarman was his ability to interpret in his own way and bring new ideas to the screen, especially those dealing with the gay community.