Wittgenstein

"If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done."

1993 1h 12m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 92

DramaHistoryComedy

Synopsis

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A dramatization, in modern theatrical style, of the life and thought of the Viennese-born, Cambridge-educated philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose principal interest was the nature and limits of language. A series of sketches depict the unfolding of his life from boyhood, through the era of the first World War, to his eventual Cambridge professorship and association with Bertrand Russell and John Maynard Keynes. The emphasis in these sketches is on the exposition of the ideas of Wittgenstein, a homosexual, and an intuitive, moody, proud, and perfectionistic thinker generally regarded as a genius.

“If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.”

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Cast

Clancy Chassay
Young Wittgenstein
Karl Johnson
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Michael Gough
Betrand Russell
Tilda Swinton
Lady Ottoline Morrell
Kevin Collins
Johnny
Nabil Shaban
Martian
Sally Dexter
Hermine Wittgenstein
Lynn Seymour
Lydia Lopokova

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Derek Jarman
Writers: Derek Jarman, Terry Eagleton, Ken Butler
Languages: English
Countries: Japan, 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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Derek Jarman, shot by James Welland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jan Latham-Koenig. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Clancy Chassay and Karl Johnson and Michael Gough carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Derek Jarman directs. James Welland behind the camera. Jan Latham-Koenig scores. Budge Tremlett cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Derek Jarman, shot by James Welland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jan Latham-Koenig. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Budge Tremlett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Clancy Chassay and Karl Johnson and Michael Gough carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.".
9IMDB entry: tt0108583 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: James Welland
Original score: Jan Latham-Koenig
Editing: Budge Tremlett
Costume design: Sandy Powell
Runtime: 72 min · 1h 12m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Wittgenstein (1993)

Awards

Teddy Award

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

Also by

Derek Jarman

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-01-05
★ 7/10
Told by way of some theatrical style sketches, this quite engagingly depicts not only the life of the acclaimed philosopher but it also shines an entertaining light on just what “philosophy” actually might be. I say might be because what is clear between himself (latterly Karl Johnson), Bertrand Russell (Michael Gough) and John Maynard Keynes (John Quentin) is that nothing is definite. His thrust centres around the limitation of language as a means of expression, and though I’ll admit to most of the theories going six feet over my head, it’s presented in quite an intriguing fashion. Is it all substantial or just emperor’s new clothes? On the personal front, he is gay and has what appears to be a shared relationship with “Johnny” (Kevin Collins) - a man always dressed in what appear to be primary coloured jump suits (I’ve no idea if that is significant, philosophically or to Derek Jarman). The episodic structure of this drama allows us to present bullet points from his life, but not necessarily in chronological order and so we get to see a little of Tilda Swinton overdoing it marvellously as Lady Ottoline and plenty from the scene-stealing Clancy Chassay as a younger Wittgenstein with an attitude that made me smile. Michael Gough was ever-around in British cinema through the sixties and seventies, and though perhaps not terribly versatile, he does have some good lines and eyebrow-raising expressions as he and his friend see a parting of their ways as inevitable. Maybe only Jarman could conceive of a dramatisation of an Austrian-born, Cambridge scholar that mixes cerebral debate with homosexuality (though with very little sex and no nudity), flamboyance and that left me feeling just a bit intellectually inadequate. I found this to be one of this director’s more accessible watches, and I enjoyed it.

Production companies