The Belly of an Architect (1987)

The Belly of an Architect (1987)
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American architect Stourley Kracklite (Brian Dennehy) comes with his young wife Louisa (Chloe Webb) to Rome to supervise an exhibition devoted to Etienne-Louis Boullée, a French architect of the 18th century. Suffering from severe abdominal pains, Stourley doesn't pay much attention to his pregnant wife, and she finds consolation in the arms of suave Caspasian Speckler (Lambert Wilson). Built from rigidly symmetrical images, the film has quite an unusual subject: the belly -- both the sick one of the architect and the pregnant one of his wife, the rounded forms alluding to the spherical constructions designed by Boullée, the architect whose visionary projects seldom materialized. Beautifully shot on location in Rome, this ironic fable wittily examines the issues of artistic creativity. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

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Starring:
Brian DennehyChloe Webb, (more)
Director(s):
Peter Greenaway
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of The Belly of an Architect

American architect Stourley Kracklite (Brian Dennehy) comes with his young wife Louisa (Chloe Webb) to Rome to supervise an exhibition devoted to Etienne-Louis Boullée, a French architect of the 18th century. Suffering from severe abdominal pains, Stourley doesn't pay much attention to his pregnant wife, and she finds consolation in the arms of suave Caspasian Speckler (Lambert Wilson). Built from rigidly symmetrical images, the film has quite an unusual subject: the belly -- both the sick one of the architect and the pregnant one of his wife, the rounded forms alluding to the spherical constructions designed by Boullée, the architect whose visionary projects seldom materialized. Beautifully shot on location in Rome, this ironic fable wittily examines the issues of artistic creativity. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
119 mins

Complete Cast of The Belly of an Architect


Director(s):
Peter Greenaway
Writer(s):
Peter Greenaway
Producer(s):
Colin Callender
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R(Profanity, Not For Children, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Nudity)
Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

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    Tom C.

    Whether you come to this flick because you admire architecture, dig Peter Greenaway, or love Rome (all of which I do), The Belly of an ARchitect will leave a bitter taste - and not just because the architect in question is suffering from a pain in the gut that makes him spew up nasty bile every now and then. The script is a mess. What might have been an interesting conceit is tangled up in nonsense. All the Italians are corrupt, the architect's wife is a bit dim, the architect an arrogant American without the sense to ask for an audit when his precious exhibition is being ripped off. But he must be some kind of magician: he can make photo copies even when placing the original right side up on the glass ... Greenaway has managed to acquire amazing locations, and one wishes he had filled them with a compelling story; but pretty pictures don't make a movie, and this quasi-operatic tale doesn't wash. For all the talk of meat and blood, this one is as cold as cadaver.

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    Sean O.

    The previous reviewer is right on... but too generous in giving it one star.

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