The Baby of Mâcon

"Exploring thoroughly modern taboos"

1993 2h 2m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 117

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

“Exploring thoroughly modern taboos”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Julia Ormond
The Daughter
Ralph Fiennes
The Bishop's Son
Philip Stone
The Bishop
Jonathan Lacey
Cosimo Medici
Don Henderson
The Father Confessor
Celia Gregory
The Mother Superior
Jeff Nuttall
The Major Domo
Jessica Hynes
The First Midwife (as Jessica Stevenson)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Greenaway
Writers: Peter Greenaway
Languages: English
Countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Greenaway, shot by Sacha Vierny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Julia Ormond and Ralph Fiennes and Philip Stone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Exploring thoroughly modern taboos".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0106335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Greenaway directs. Sacha Vierny behind the camera. Chris Wyatt cuts. Produced in France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Peter Greenaway, shot by Sacha Vierny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Julia Ormond and Ralph Fiennes and Philip Stone carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Exploring thoroughly modern taboos".
7IMDB entry: tt0106335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 20 themes, including "virgin", "baby", "rape", "bishop".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sacha Vierny
Editing: Chris Wyatt
Production design: Jan Roelfs
Costume design: Ellen Lens
Makeup / hair: Sara Meerman
Sound: Paul Govey
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $90,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Baby of Mâcon (1993)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best cinematography

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Greenaway

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-01-07
★ 6/10
I've always found Peter Greenaway films rather hit or miss, and this rather theatrical effort I found more the latter. It all centres around a sort of immaculate conception birth at the Medici court and follows the anticipatory and resultant shenanigans as human nature is (quite literally) laid bare for all to see (and that nature doesn't always come off so well!) It has something of the bawdy romp to it, with some suitably appropriate ecclesiastical excesses and loads of colour - usually red - to liven it up. The story? Well though interesting for the first twenty minutes or so, I felt it fell into pantomime territory all too quickly. The cast are a collection of reasonably competent talent, but too much of the emphasis of this production is on the style, imagery along with an admittedly glorious choral score that does so much to add to the vivid and seamy look of this rather lengthy effort. The message is clear enough, but it has something of sledgehammer and nut to it; there is no subtlety or nuance to it, it's an intellectual brute of a film before a denouement that confirms what most of us - certainly those without religious convictions - may have expected from the outset. As with all of his films, this is certainly worth watching - but as to enjoying it, well I didn't really.

Production companies