The Angelic conversation

As fourteen of Shakespeare’s sonnets are being read we watch a young man isolated in a landscape of fierce physical terror. It is his confrontation with another man - at first antagonistic, then hesitant, and finally sexual - which liberates the man and his environment: rocks turn to water, physical struggle turns to creativity. This beautifully shot experimental film is a love poem dedicated to the artist’s muse; this time the love celebrated is between men and the artist’s liberation is defiantly homoerotic. The sonnets are read by Judi Dench. The atmospheric music score is by the avant-garde British group Coil.

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Credits

production company

BFI

producer

James MacKay

director

Derek Jarman

Duration

01:20:00:00

Production places

United Kingdom

Production dates

1985

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

303644

Language

English

Audience classification

PG

Subject categories

Adaptations

Experimental

Experimental → Experimental films - Great Britain

Feature films

Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain

Literature → Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 - Film and video adaptations

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/82490--the-angelic-conversation/ |title=The Angelic conversation |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=22 May 2022 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

United Kingdom, 1985