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From: tas@ariel.UUCP (T.SKROBALA)
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: The Draughtsmans Contract
Message-ID: <390@ariel.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Jul-83 06:24:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: ariel.390
Posted: Mon Jul 18 06:24:36 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Jul-83 10:59:23 EDT
Organization: ABI - ED&D, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 19

The Draughtsman's Contract is a murder mystery of sorts set in 17th
century England.  An artist, in exchange for monetary and sexual
remuneration, is commissioned to sketch a country estate, which he
proceeds to do with extraordinary meticulousness.  It is eventually
discovered that his drawings include some details which may be construed
as evidence of some kind of foul play going on at the estate.

This movie is to be seen more for its texture than for its plot.  It
happens in the days when real men wore powdered wigs (and others hired
themselves out as living statues), and when the King's English was a
language spoken by cultivated mouths.  As a matter of fact, much of the
fun to be had is in listening to the verbal interplay and sentence
construction.  Also to be enjoyed are many of the visual images, including
views of the estate and intimate closeups of vain popinjays.  Finally,
there's a certain bawdiness to it, though not as much as in, say,
Tom Jones.  In short, I recommend The Draughtsman's Contract, though
with the caveat that one must be alert in order to fully appreciate it.

Tom Skrobala houxe!ariel!tas