Sirens

( 2 )

Overview

Sex, religion, and morality are the key ingredients in this Australian comedy set in the 1930s. Rev. Anthony Campion Hugh Grant is a liberal, forward-thinking Anglican priest who is sent on an unusual assignment. Norman Lindsay Sam Neill is a popular and highly controversial artist whose paintings often feature voluptuous nude women; his latest major exhibition is to feature a work called The Crucified Venus, which depicts a naked female impaled on a cross. Outraged, the Anglican Bishop of Sydney wants Campion to...
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Overview

Sex, religion, and morality are the key ingredients in this Australian comedy set in the 1930s. Rev. Anthony Campion Hugh Grant is a liberal, forward-thinking Anglican priest who is sent on an unusual assignment. Norman Lindsay Sam Neill is a popular and highly controversial artist whose paintings often feature voluptuous nude women; his latest major exhibition is to feature a work called The Crucified Venus, which depicts a naked female impaled on a cross. Outraged, the Anglican Bishop of Sydney wants Campion to visit Lindsay and persuade him to remove the work from his show. Rev. Campion and his wife, Estella Tara Fitzgerald, travel to Lindsay's Blue Mountain estate, where the artist is hard at work with a bevy of lovely nude models in tow, including Sheela Elle MacPherson, Giddy Portia de Rossi, and Pru Kate Fischer. The Reverend is quietly appalled by the open sensuality of Lindsay's household, and Estella is mortified; they're even more upset when Lindsay calmly but firmly refuses to remove The Crucified Venus from his show. However, the longer the Campions stay with Lindsay in hopes of changing his mind, the more they find themselves drawn into the sensuous pleasures of his world. Sirens was based on an actual incident and Norman Lindsay was a real artist of the period his life was depicted in the film Age of Consent, in which he was played by James Mason. But audiences were probably less interested in art and cultural history than in the opportunity to see supermodel Elle MacPherson appear undraped; she also gives a fine and charming comic performance, as do Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Michael Costello
John Duigan's gently playful erotic comedy on the transformative powers of sex manages to offer a measure of insight along with the sight of three surpassingly beautiful women scampering about naked. Hugh Grant stars as a young English clergyman who journeys to the rural abode of a notoriously controversial painter with orders to persuade him to remove one of his more blasphemous works from public exhibition. Yet, when the repressed cleric and his similar wife arrive, it's Sam Neill's painter and his trio of lover/models who prove far more effective at the art of persuasion. The film, which comes to focus on the young wife's gradual unfolding, is more interested in attitudes toward sex, and its relationship to character, than sex itself. Grant and Tara Fitzgerald as his prim wife are perfectly cast as a pair in need of stimulation, and Neill is surprisingly good in this prankish departure from the kind of serious roles he usually plays. Elle MacPherson also acquits herself well, although after watching her frolic mostly nude for two hours, the viewer's judgment may have been slightly compromised.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/24/2011
  • UPC: 096009770891
  • Original Release: 1994

    • Rating:

  • Source: Miramax Echo Bridge
  • Language: English
  • Time: 1:34:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 9,526

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Hugh Grant Rev. Anthony Campion
Tara Fitzgerald Estella Campion
Sam Neill Norman Lindsay
Elle MacPherson Sheela
Portia de Rossi Giddy
Kate Fischer Pru
Pamela Rabe Rose Lindsay
Ben Mendelsohn Lewis
John Polson Tom
Mark Gerber Devlin
Julia Stone Jane
Ellie MacCarthy Honey
Vincent Ball Bishop of Sydney
Peter Campbell Articulate Drunk
John Duigan Earnest Minister
Technical Credits
John Duigan Director, Screenwriter
Justin Ackerman Executive Producer
Hans Brockmann Executive Producer
Geoffrey Burgon Score Composer
Geoff Burton Cinematographer
Humphrey Dixon Editor
Laurie Faen Art Director
Roger Ford Production Designer
Robert Jones Executive Producer
David Lee Sound/Sound Designer
Sue Milliken Producer
Liz Mullinar Casting
Rachel Portman Score Composer
Sarah Radclyffe Co-producer
Terry Ryan Costumes/Costume Designer
P.J. Voeten Asst. Director
Noriko Watanabe Makeup
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Sirens
1. Welcome to Australia [5:48]
2. Friendly Locals [4:30]
3. Norman Lindsay [5:50]
4. After Dinner [6:38]
5. Swimming Hole [4:45]
6. Prolonged Stay [5:09]
7. Witches [4:30]
8. Convoluted Conversation [5:30]
9. Night Games [7:28]
10. Fun at the River [9:04]
11. Secrets From God [5:39]
12. Anarchy is Freedom [5:24]
13. Lust [5:58]
14. Unchecked Desire [9:35]
15. A Good Likeness [8:07]
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Menu

Disc #1 -- Sirens
   Play
   Chapters
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 2 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

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2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Beautiful

    The best photography i've seen in a movie. With great references to the pré-raphaelites and classisism this movie is as irresistible as the chant of the sirens. Don't let the cover fool you... I tought I was in for a soft romantic comedy and found a brilliant movie thet went far beyond my expectations. Beautiful... a must see for the art lovers.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Memorable film

    I saw this movie several years ago and it keeps coming back to mind. The clash of puritan values versus hedonistic, sensuous values adds to the eroticism of this film. It is a beautiful and sensuous film.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews