| Wittgenstein | |
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.jpg) UK theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Derek Jarman |
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| Produced by | Tariq Ali |
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| Cinematography | James Welland |
| Edited by | Budge Tremlett |
| Music by | Jan Latham-Koenig[1] |
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Running time | 72 minutes[2] |
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| Budget | £300,000 ($450,000)[1] |
| Box office | $40,029[3] |
Wittgenstein is a 1993experimentalcomedy-drama film co-written and directed byDerek Jarman, and produced byTariq Ali. Aninternational co-production of the United Kingdom and Japan, the film is loosely based on the life story, as well as the philosophical thinking of philosopherLudwig Wittgenstein. The adult Wittgenstein is played byKarl Johnson.
The original screenplay by literary criticTerry Eagleton was heavily rewritten during pre-production and shooting by Jarman, radically altering the style and structure, although retaining much of Eagleton's dialogue. The story is not played out in a traditional setting, but rather against a black backdrop within which the actors and key props are placed, as if in a theatre setting.
The film was originally part of a series of 12 films on the life and ideas of philosophers, produced by Ali on behalf ofChannel Four. Only four of the scripts got commissioned:Socrates byHoward Brenton,Spinoza by Ali,Locke byDavid Edgar andWittgenstein by Eagleton.Spinoza was filmed and directed by Chris Spencer asSpinoza : The Apostle of Reason.Citizen Locke was filmed and directed byAgnieszka Piotrowska. These were broadcast in 1994 as 52-minutetelevision films.[4]
The film, in a series of sketches, depicts Wittgenstein's life from boyhood, through the first World War period to his Cambridge professorship and association withBertrand Russell andJohn Maynard Keynes. The emphasis is on the exposition of his ideas and depicts his characteristics as ahomosexual, an intuitive, moody, proud, andperfectionistic thinker, and a genius.
Critical reception for the film has been generally positive and the movie holds a rating of 83% onRotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews.[7]Derek Elley ofVariety described it as an "immaculately lensed, intellectual joke" with a "gay subtext".[1]
It opened theLondon Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and grossed a house record £7,210 in its first 3 days at theICA in London.[8]
