Graham Greene 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.

bernie-25 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). from victim 1 through 92 (including the few who are barely mentioned, along with a very convincing excuse as to why they don't have a full feature mention), the viewer is trapped in this make belief world of this plague that has struck part of the population. 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. and after three hours of listening to it, i am sure it will be stuck in my head all day tomorrow at work. the way it progresses from one victim to the next is fascinating.i thought that i would struggle to remember individual cases. however, the closing scenes show a quick recap of the victims, and each case is remembered individually. i think that goes to show that the magical moviemaking techniques in this movie left a good imprint on my memory. the absurd tongue-in-cheek eccentricities of each case reminded me of classic british comedy. 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. "The thief, the cook, ...." had a similar effect. however, the effects differ. 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.

Afracious Welcome to the highly personal paramount of Greenaway's work. His scathing documentary on general English silliness. An elongated, meticulously constructed piece of fabulous fantasy. A fantastic frivolous frolic. 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. The bios are described by several narrators. Some of the bios are curt, others are fastidiously described. They are always witty. Examples being a victim who continually tells bird jokes, "Why do birds fly south for the winter? Because it's too far for them to walk". Others constantly drive in circles. Many of them have new talents, like spitting long distances. Some of the bios reminded me of Monty Python sketches, with the similar zest of absurd English humour. It is a challenge to sit through it all in one go, and is probably best viewed on video in two or three attempts. Not recommended for everyone, but if you want something hilariously different look no further.

VHelsing I saw this film in college. 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. It was that boring. To paraphrase Tom Servo of MST3K from his critique of "Manos," this film made me want to blow my brains out. 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.