The Duke of Burgundy

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This article is about the 2014 film. For the historical ducal title, see Duke of Burgundy. For the butterfly species, see Hamearis lucina.
The Duke of Burgundy
File:The Duke of Burgundy UK Poster.jpg
British release poster
Directed by Peter Strickland
Produced by Andy Starke
Written by Peter Strickland
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by Cat's Eyes
Cinematography Nic Knowland
Edited by Mátyás Fekete
Production
companies
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Distributed by Artificial Eye
Release dates
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  • 6 September 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF)
  • 20 February 2015 (2015-02-20) (UK)
Running time
 104 minutes[2]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Box office $175,668[3][4]

The Duke of Burgundy is a 2014 British drama film written and directed by Peter Strickland, and starring Sidse Babett Knudsen as Cynthia and Chiara D'Anna as Evelyn.

The film was screened at various film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the London Film Festival, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam, to positive critical reviews.[1][5][6]

Plot

Evelyn is studying lepidopterology under the older Cynthia, who frequently lectures on her studies. Evelyn is romantically involved with Cynthia and works as a maid in her home, where she is subject to strict behavioural expectations and high standards for cleanliness. When Evelyn does not complete tasks to Cynthia's satisfaction, she is punished.

As Cynthia increasingly falters in her dominance, it becomes apparent that Evelyn is orchestrating Cynthia's role in the relationship by writing instructions and scripts for specific scenes, which the couple acts out in the same way each day. While Evelyn finds the scenes to be sexually exciting, Cynthia only acts them out to sate her lover. She attempts to please Evelyn by ordering a carpenter to construct a bed with a drawer underneath for Evelyn to sleep in as a punishment; however, Evelyn is unhappy with the length of time it will take to produce the bed, and ultimately refuses the gift.

Evelyn begins to demand that Cynthia lock her in a trunk in the evening as a new punishment. Cynthia agrees, but she is resentful about the new physical separation. Cynthia also becomes self-conscious about her aging, having injured her back moving the trunk to her bedside. She expresses her unhappiness on Evelyn's birthday, when she demands that Evelyn bake her own birthday cake, which she eats while reclining with her feet resting on Evelyn's face. Evelyn does not enjoy the scene and calls out her safeword, pinastri, which Cynthia ignores.

The couple's relationship becomes more strained as Evelyn's expectations go unfulfilled. Finally, Cynthia accuses Evelyn of polishing another lecturer's boots, which she considers to be an act of betrayal. The two eventually seem to make up, and Evelyn agrees to put less emphasis on her sexual needs. The film ends with the couple going through the same play routine seen at the film's start.

Cast

  • Sidse Babett Knudsen as Cynthia
  • Chiara D'Anna as Evelyn
  • Monica Swinn as Lorna
  • Eugenia Caruso as Dr. Fraxini
  • Fatma Mohamed as The Carpenter
  • Kata Bartsch as Dr. Lurida
  • Eszter Tompa as Dr. Viridana
  • Zita Kraszkó as Dr. Schuller

Title

As lepidopterology (study of moths) is a theme throughout the film, the title refers to the Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) butterfly, although it is no longer known "how [it] received that name in the first place, any reasoning being lost in the mists of entomological antiquity."[7]

Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 93%, based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1 out of 10. The critical consensus reads 'Stylish, sensual, and smart, The Duke of Burgundy proves that erotic cinema can have genuine substance'.[8] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 88 based on 7 reviews.[9]

Awards and accolades

Strickland received The Wouter Barendrecht Pioneering Vision Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival for his work in the film.[10] The film also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 23rd Philadelphia Film Festival.[11]

Soundtrack

The Duke of Burgundy was released by Cat's Eyes in February 2015.

No. Title Length
1. "Forest Intro"   0:38 -
2. "The Duke of Burgundy"   2:19
3. "Moth"   1:29
4. "Door No. 1"   1:11
5. "Pavane"   0:58
6. "Dr. Schuller"   0:13
7. "Lamplight"   2:48
8. "Door No. 2"   1:39
9. "Carpenter Arrival"   3:33
10. "Reflection"   1:43
11. "Door No. 3"   1:39
12. "Black Madonna"   1:49
13. "Silkworm"   0:18
14. "Evelyn's Birthday"   2:07
15. "Evelyn's Birthday" (Flute Version) 1:52
16. "Black Madonna" (Cor Anglais Version) 1:21
17. "Night Crickets"   0:20
18. "Requiem For the Duke of Burgundy"   4:36
19. "Hautbois"   2:10
20. "Coat of Arms"   2:48
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 87/100[12]
Review scores
Source Rating
MusicOMH 4/5 stars[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Duke-of-Burgundy-The#tab=international
  4. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=dukeofburgundy.htm
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Matthew Oates, In Pursuit of Butterflies: A Fifty-year Affair (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015), https://books.google.com/books?id=X8QJCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT41&dq=%22any+reasoning+being+lost+in+the+mists%22+duke+burgundy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-lND525PMAhUEOT4KHVUgA5sQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=%22any%20reasoning%20being%20lost%20in%20the%20mists%22%20duke%20burgundy&f=false
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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