Glitterbug (1994)

Compilation/Packaged Set: Blue/Glitterbug

Barcode	5021866082330
Purchase Date	July 2017
Purchase Price	$39.00
Store	Amazon Marketplace (DeeVeeDee LLC)
Condition	New

This dvd contains Derek Jarman's last films before his death. By the time of Blue (1993), Jarman was losing his sight and dying of AIDS-related complications. Blue consists of a single shot of saturated blue color filling the screen, as background to a soundtrack composed by Simon Fisher Turner, and featuring original music by Coil and other artists, in which Jarman describes his life and vision. When it was shown on British television, Channel 4 carried the image whilst the soundtrack was broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio 3. His final testament as a film-maker was the film Glitterbug made for the Arena slot on BBC Two, and broadcast shortly after Jarman's death.

Derek Jarman: A Biography, Tony Peake, Author, Overlook Press

A collage of Derek Jarman's super 8 footage spanning over 20 years.
The concept of Glitterbug was to use super 8 mm films Jarman had taken throughout his life and splice them together to tell his story. In the end, he managed to edit about an hour’s worth. This is how All Movie Guide described the hurriedly-made documentary: “It is considered to be the companion piece to Jarman’s film Blue. Without a traditional plot, the film chronicles Jarman’s life before AIDS with a series of free-flowing images gleaned from over 15 hours of Jarman’s home movies taken between the years 1970-1985. London provides the central image, but other places seen include Italy, Spain, and rural England. The glittering parties filled with drag queens, drugs, and interesting people before the onset of AIDS are also chronicled.” [Red Orange Radio]

Edition Details
Distributor	Curzon Artificial Eye
No. of Discs/Tapes	1

Personal Details
Location	Personal Library - Blue/Glitterbug
Owner	Deitz
Tags	HIV/AIDS
Links	‡ Commentary: Red Orange Radio Glitterbug at Core for Movies IMDB TheMovieDb.org

References
IMDb Voters	<500

Glitterbug is an autobiographical documentary collage that could only have been made by a superb film-maker, artist, and poet· While made near the end of his life, the images appear all to be before Jarman's diagnosis of AIDS· It was shown on television in the UK as a eulogy after Jarman's death· The musical score by Eno is an essential supporting element·
It is a bit embarrassing to admit, being the grouchy gayelder that I am, that I have a visceral crush on Jarman - I'm in love·
My dvd edition pairs Blue and Glitterbug on the same disk· The two should be seen together· While very different - Glitterbug is all visual and no dialog and Blue is all dialog and only the blue backdrop as visual - they share fine music.

	Tilda Swinton
	Judi Dench
	Sean Bean
	Nigel Terry
	Michael Gough