Wittgenstein: The Terry Eagleton Script and the Derek Jarman Film

by Terry Eagleton, Derek Jarman, Colin MacCabe

Derek Jarman's film "Wittgenstein" articulates the themes of this major 20th-century philosopher. Channel 4 television commissioned literary critic Terry Eagleton to write a television play which was eventually filmed by Derek Jarman. This illustrated book includes both the original screenplay & Jarman's very different shooting script. It also contains reflections on Wittgenstein, film & the problems of biography by both Derek Jarman & Terry Eagleton.
Terry Eagleton is Britain's most influential radical literary critic. He's been a fellow of four Oxford & Cambridge colleges, & is presently Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at Oxford.
Derek Jarman was both a major film-maker & artist, a gay activist & an English patriot. Caravaggio & Blue were both acclaimed feature films.
"An imaginative & serious attempt to render its subject's life in form & color."--The New Republic

Genres: Philosophy, Film

151 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Widely regarded as England's most influential living literary critic & theorist, Dr. Terry Eagleton currently serves as Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster and as Visiting Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Thomas Warton Prof. of English Literature at the University of Oxford ('92-01) & John Edward Taylor Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester 'til '08. He returned to the University of Notre Dame in the Autumn '09 semester as Distinguished Visitor in the English Department.

He's written over 40 books, including Literary Theory: An Introduction ('83); The Ideology of the Aesthetic ('90) & The Illusions of Postmodernism ('96).
He delivered Yale's '08 Terry Lectures and gave a Gifford Lecture in 3/10, titled The God Debate.

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The script is more quotes than flair. The film is more style than substance. Still, they capture Wittgenstein fairly well and in an unusual format.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky piece, two different scripts. Stage Play by Terry Eagleton. BBC TV script by Derek Jarman.