The Draughtsman's Contract

Peter Greenaway became a director of international renown with this witty, stylized, erotic country-house murder mystery. In an apparently idyllic 17th-century Wiltshire, an ambitious draughtsman is commissioned by an aristocrat's wife to produce twelve drawings of her husband's estate, in return for which he will receive payment, board and bed -- hers. Extravagant costumes, a twisted plot, elegantly barbed dialogue and a score by frequent Greenaway collaborator Michael Nyman make the film a treat for ear, eye and mind.