The Falls
Tags: psychedelic

Plot synopsis:
The world has been struck by a mysterious incident called the "Violent Unknown Event" or VUE, which has killed many people and left a great many survivors suffering from a common set of symptoms: mysterious ailments (some appearing to be mutations of evolving into a bird-like form), dreaming of water (categorised by form, such as Category 1, Flight, or Category 3, Waves) and becoming obsessed with birds and flight. Many of the survivors have been gifted with new languages. They have also stopped aging, making them immortal (barring disease or injury).
A directory of these survivors has been compiled, and The Falls is presented as a film version of an excerpt from that directory, corresponding to the 92 entries for persons whose surnames begin with the letters FALL-. Not all of the 92 entries correspond to a person – some correspond to deleted entries, cross references and other oddities of the administrative process that has produced the directory. One biography concerns two people – the twin brothers Ipson and Pulat Fallari, who are played (in still photographs) by the Brothers Quay.
In addition to the common VUE symptoms mentioned above, a number of themes run through the film. Among these are references to a number of bureaucratic organisations including the VUE Commission and the Bird Facilities Industries (a parody of the British Film Institute which produced the film), the history of manned flight from Daedalus with the suggestion that birds may be responsible for the VUE (and that the film may thus be seen as a sequel to Hitchcock's The Birds), complex debates over the location of the epicentre of the VUE, and repeated references to Tulse Luper. Luper is a recurring off-stage character in Greenaway's early films, and would eventually appear on film in the epic series The Tulse Luper Suitcases (2003 onwards), which is itself named in The Falls.
The Falls includes clips of a number of Greenaway's early shorts. It also anticipates some of his later films: the subject of biography 27, Propine Fallax, is a pseudonym for Cissie Colpitts, the central figure of Drowning by Numbers (1988), while the car accident in biography 28 prefigures that in A Zed and Two Noughts (1985).
The largely formal and deadpan manner of the narration contrasts with the absurdity of the content.

Review: Here is an early work that is rich in ways that in later works seem submerged.The concept: A 'Violent Unexplained Event' occurs at 11:41 PM GMT, 14 June, People experience physical changes, often transitioning to birds.
This film is from the catalogued biographies from the primary society, of those whose names start with `fall.' There are 92 of them.Some elements are familiar to later Greenaway viewers.
All the attention is on the narrative, with many narrators, all filmed doing their work.This film is self-referential in all the ordinary ways, plus the idea that the creator of the film is responsible for the radical change in reality.
Does Greenaway come up to this measure or is he like everyone else, a mere spectator?
Spectating here, but we do see something that retrospectively alters my recent experience with `Drowning by Numbers.'  Biography 27 is of the three Cissy Colpitts, who live in Goole and establish an experimental film repository in the watertower.
The biographies of 92 victims of the "VUE" ("Violent Unexplained Event") whose surnames begin with the letters f-a-l-l, Greenaway's film is a mixture of the encyclopedic, the sinister, the silly and the plain mad.
At 3h30, mad as Monty Python and as rambling as Laurence Sterne, shot and narrated in public television documentary-style, "The Falls" is designed to be exhaustive and wear you out; Greenaway himself has on occasion stated that nothing forces you to sit through, and that the film might actually work better if you just dip into it at random - "browse" was the word he used.When I saw it, there were only myself and two other friends still in the cinema by the time the lights came up.
Words like "mesmeric", "entrancing" and "fascinating" were used to discuss it afterwards, as well as "plain daft" (meant as a compliment, of course.)Not sure if you'll enjoy "The Falls."  It depends on what you want from your filmed entertainment, I guess.
One final note - whoever thought of recommending "Titanic" to fans of "The Falls" is obviously on some really heavy drug I've never heard about.
Welcome to the highly personal paramount of Greenaway's work.
The film chronicles the biographies of 92 selected victims of the Violent Unknown Event, or VUE for short - a strange occurrence that has left people speaking strange languages and experiencing bird-related symptoms.
All of the victims' surnames' begin with the word FALL.
Some of the bios reminded me of Monty Python sketches, with the similar zest of absurd English humour.
In a way it's a shame that he got drawn into narrative cinema after this because The Falls seems a much more original and appropriate vehicle for his talents.As with his earlier short films, various bits of disparate footage, old photos and other assorted nonsense are woven together with an elaborate cover story, in this case the Violent Unknown Event, which among other things is a metaphor for nuclear calamity (92 is the atomic number of uranium, "Fall" can refer to the fall of man).Along the way we find a cornucopia of references to Greenaway films past and still to be made - principally A Zed and Two Noughts and Drowning by Numbers - running gags, in-jokes, academic pastiche, whimsical storytelling, different film techniques and ways of constructing reality.
Where the average video artwork concentrates on form and style, Greenaway gives us an overdose of content.It's worth noting that the 92 biographies in the film represent only those victims of the VUE whose names begin with the letters FALL.
You get the feeling he really, really wanted to show all 19 million.Greenaway's new project "The Tulse Luper Suitcase" is apparently a remake or extension of "The Falls" using more modern technology.
I saw this movie at a Greenaway festival, at the Neptune in Seattle WA a few years back.
I don't think that I have been to any movie where I have seen so many people walk out.
Not for the weak, but for those that fall into it, a work of pure genius..
This is the pinnacle (some might think nadir) of Greenaway's obsession with lists and catalogues (at least so far).
An obsessive film about obsession.The film comprises ninety-two mini-documentaries of a random sample of people who have suffered as a result of the mysterious (and unexplained) "Violent Unknown Event" (or "VUE" for short).
Though the VUE produces varying results, there are some common themes, such as bowel problems, skin conditions, and an obsession with birds.
Some of the VUE victims even seem to be turning into birds.
Though we never find out, it seems clear that "the responsibility of birds" was a key factor in the VUE.I love this bizarre film.
Greenaway uses the space to indulge in some wonderful running gags (especially the tendency of the VUE sufferers to go around in circles), and to make interesting points about the absurdity of statistics and the way in which science dehumanises its subjects by "categorising" them.
This last point is subverted by the odd biographical details which Greenaway supplies us with, helping us to see the victims as individuals.Greenaway has said that one way of viewing the film is as ninety-two different ways to make a documentary.
The theme he wrote for the opening credits, "The Boulder Orchard", is fabulous.All the old Greenaway obsessions are here: sex, death, sex and death, water, birds, calligraphy, etc.
The Falls is a catalogue of Peter Greenaway as much as anything else..
only one word comes to mind after watching The Falls.
DIFFERENT.then again, Peter Greenaway has never ceased to surprise us (even those of us expecting the surprise).
The entwining of some of the victims stories gives one a feeling of "now-that-makes-sense", the feeling we get when watching real documentaries.the musical score left me speechless.
the way it progresses from one victim to the next is fascinating.i thought that i would struggle to remember individual cases.
i think that goes to show that the magical moviemaking techniques in this movie left a good imprint on my memory.
like the games in Drowning By Numbers, it was amusing to keep up with the humour.after seeing several Greenaway movies, this one has left the biggest imprint.
one is of shock, the other is of brilliance.I am not holding a drink in my hand at the moment, but if i were, i would be toasting Peter Greenaway in thanks for 3 hours of pure excellence..
I'm a big fan of Greenaway's works and I jumped at the chance to check out this early work by the director on video.I can't add to what others have said here except to say that it's an excrutiating experience that doesn't have enough humor to keep your interest for the full running time.At its best, "The Falls" is an interesting and sometimes funny curiosity that points to themes Greenaway would return to again and again in his later work; at its worst, "The Falls" is a tedious experiment..
Repetitive, strange, fascinating, irritating, boring AND highly amusing, there is nothing quite like 'The Falls'!.
I must admit I find most of Peter Greenaway's movies to be too much hard work.
However I was pleasantly surprised with 'The Falls', his little seen feature length debut.
This is one mighty strange movie, even by Greenaway's standards!
A mockumentary concerning the mysterious and unexplained "Violent Unknown Event", or V.U.E. Approximately 92 short biographies of V.U.E. victims are presented, the people being selected in alphabetical order, surnames beginning with "Fall", hence the title.
We never quite know what the V.U.E. is other than it tends to make people exposed to it mutate, speak previously unknown languages, and become obsessed with birds, flying and/or water.
The film goes for over three hours and very few viewers will be able to watch it in one sitting without being driven slightly bonkers.
You really have to watch this profoundly eccentric movie to understand why it's not the kind of conventional narrative that demands your complete and utter attention.
At times I was bored almost to tears, at other points almost angry at the pointlessness of it all, but then on the other hand at certain sections you almost get into a Zen-like state and the whole thing becomes fascinating.
Finishing 'The Falls', even with breaks, was a pretty exhausting experience, and not one I'm in a hurry to repeat, but it's a movie I'm glad I watched, and I recommend it to anyone looking for something (completely) different..
I reckon that The Falls has to go down as the best thing that director Peter Greenaway has ever did.
It marks the end of his early years when his work mainly took the format of short films.
In a way The Falls takes this form too, in that it is essentially made up of a multitude of self-contained short films, albeit ones with an overall theme and connection.
Set in the near future, it centres on the fallout of an unexplained occurrence known as the Violent Unknown Event, in which a large number of people experience certain changes, including physical mutations and the ability to speak a variety of new hitherto unknown languages.
The film is made up of a selection of 92 mini biographies of victims taken from an official catalogue, detailing only individuals whose names begin with the letters F-A-L-L.The first thing that is apparent about this one is that it is considerably more light-hearted that Greenaway's later feature films.
It really has more in common with his earlier shorts that his later feature films.
For one thing, it feels more like an underground movie with much less of a budget.
The later films had the cinematography of Sacha Vierney to make them look visually immaculate, yet the more lo-fi approach here kind of feels somewhat more interesting for me.
The format overall makes much better use of Greenaway's talents in that it allows for him to try many different things.
Each mini-bio allows for a different approach and for a highly experimental film-maker such as Greenaway this lets him flex his avant-garde muscles quite freely.
There are many moments of visual invention of various kinds; Greenaway is able to dabble in differing types of avant-garde film-making.
Helping matters considerably at times is the score from Michael Nyman, which is often very good; in particular the title theme 'Bird List' is especially wonderful.Many of Greenaway's peculiarities can be seen here such as the creation of an almost fantasy world of sorts, replete with characters with names so bizarre as to have no connection with our world.
There are also characters and events that both refer back to his earlier shorts and which will be used later in his subsequent features.
It very much feels like this, along with many of his other films exist within their own little fantasy universe.
And of course, his obsessions with list making, numerology, fine art and birds - amongst other things – are consistently adhered to.
It is admittedly of an epic length but Greenaway himself has actively encouraged people to watch it in stages or in any order they wish.
For me, while it is challenging in many ways, it is the most interesting and enjoyable film he has ever directed and remains one of the best avant-garde films out there..
Instead it is just excruciatingly long, boring and repetitive, telling an absurd number of supposedly linked vignettes about victims of some undefined apocalyptic event.
The victims profiled, most of whom have developed some sort of bizarre physical or psychological handicap as a result, have nothing in common other than that the first four letters of their last name are "F-A-L-L," hence the title.
When the theater brought up the lights for an intermission, halfway through the 185 minute film, at least two-thirds of the audience got up and walked out.
10 minutes into the film, I had to check to make sure this was the right movie.
20 minutes into it, I had to make sure it was indeed Peter Greenaway, and not his evil afterbirth, who directed this.
40 minutes into it, I had to check my pulse for signs of life.I am not too familiar with the work of Peter Greenaway (_The Cook_ being the only film of his I've seen), but based on this experimental rambling, I don't think I want to.If you loved _The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover_ for its visual brilliance, compelling story and vivid acting, I ASSURE YOU, YOU SHALL RUE THE DAY YOU EVER POPPED _THE FALLS_ INTO YOUR TV SET.
This film is little more than a Monty Python skit dragged out for 2 hours.
Exhausting and brilliant, Greenaway's first feature may come as a surprise to those familiar with his more famous concoctions, such as THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT or DROWNING BY NUMBERS.
What is very Greenaway is the numerology, the formalism, the very literary script, the arch jokes, the word-games, the nonsense-as-high-theory.
I consider myself a fan of Peter Greenaway, and maybe since I only sat through 20 minutes of this movie, I shouldn't be giving it such a harsh review.
I can't believe people actually liked this movie.
I went to a screening of this movie with my sister at the Harvard Film Archive a few months ago.
After ten minutes of sitting through unintelligible dialogue and grainy photography, I thought to myself, "I have to sit through 3 hours of this?!" To my relief, my sister shared my feelings about the movie and we left the screening after another generous ten minutes.I hope I am not offending any ardent Greenaway fans out there.
I like his movies too!
I even met him 3 years ago at the Boston premiere of "The Pillow Book." I consider myself an intelligent person, and I like to see plenty of experimental movies.
After reading the above comments on "The Falls" however, I am amazed that other people understood what it was about....and actually sat through it!.
A third of the way through (about 90 minutes into the film), the lights came up for an intermission -- and virtually everyone in the theater left.
I would recommend "The Falls" for the MST3K treatment itself, save that the show doesn't produce two-part episodes, which is what this behemoth would require..
This just might be Greenaway at the top of his game: unbelievably funny and witty, a film that is a structurally magnificent testament to the wonderful madness of Joyce, or Perec, who not only wanted to distill the world but somehow managed to create a microcosm of their own in their work.This is certainly the cinematic answer to a work like "Life: A User's Manual".
Really, this is so laugh-out-loud funny it's not even funny, considering Greenaway's work for the past 25 years has been rather serious?
What Greenaway manages to do is this: he is able to create a profound film that looks deep in the mirror and sees the world unfold upon itself in an endless swirl; then he's able to present it to us in a structurally coherent way, by means of documentary filmmaking; then he's able to poke fun mostly at those means and the film itself, and still turn that gentle and witty parody on its head.
In short, this is wondrous filmmaking, something quite unparalleled in my books.I wish there were more films like this that make you laugh and not feel bad about it.And to think that Greenaway, who is such an aesthete and wonderful crafter of shockingly beautiful images, mostly uses stock footage and images that are very much of the ordinary sort.
By the way, we have Stephen and Timothy Quay, of all people, pop up in the film!.
This really isn't what most people would call a "movie".
It uses the film _media_ in a totally different method than what we are accustomed to.
Of course I'm probably repeating something I've read elsewhere but this is really a "Visual Encyclopedia" or something like that anyway.
Just because something was filmed on a visual media doesn't mean it's a "movie".
Greenaway's first feature length film after years of short, conceptual experimentation is a rich tapestry of absurd fabrication dressed up as fact.
His prior experiments had developed this mock-documentary format with films like Dear Phone (1977) and A Walk Through H: The Reincarnation of an Ornithologist (1978), in which facts that couldn't possibly have any believable anchorage to reality, were presented to the viewer with the straight-faced, stiff-upper-lipped austerity usually reserved for the news at ten.
Here, Greenaway's goal is to create a visual essay based around word games, numbering, bizarre family lineages and a random outburst of 'Violent-Unknown-Events'.
With this in mind The Falls (1980) could be seen as not only the director's first stab at feature-length storytelling but also something of an introduction to a number of subsequent Greenaway trademarks, characteristics and idiosyncrasies that would become more apparent in the later, more superficially linear film.So, we have the preoccupation with numbers and cataloguing, with 92 being our focal point (92 deaths that are chronicled throughout, 92 disparate languages, some fictitious, 92 different types of bird, and 92 known instances of Violent-Unknown-Events, or V.U.E.).
Greenaway pieces the whole thing together over the course of the film's epic, multi-faceted narrative, which the director has himself stated can be enjoyed at the viewer's own leisure.
This means that we can enter and leave the proceedings whenever we feel compelled, creating a form of cinema as encyclopaedia, with Greenaway creating a shattered mosaic of wavering strands and themes running parallel through the 92 various plots and sub-plots that are documented in the film.
Though it clearly won't be for everyone, The Falls will certainly appeal to fans of Greenaway's other short form experimentations, such as the aforementioned Dear Phone and other films like Windows (1975) and Water Wrackets (1976), which create similarly intellectual, arcane and satirical scenarios rife with humour and imagination.