Directed by Derek Jarman • 1991 • United Kingdom, Japan
Starring Steven Waddington, Andrew Tiernan, Tilda Swinton

Derek Jarman’s New Queer Cinema classic offers a postmodern take on Christopher Marlowe’s Elizabethan drama. Pleasure-seeking King Edward II (Steven Waddington) sets the stage for a palace revolt by taking an ambitious lover (Andrew Tiernan), who uses his favor in bed to wield political influence—sending the pair from the throne to a terminal torture dungeon. This landmark of gay cinema features an incredible performance from Jarman muse Tilda Swinton as Edward’s spurned Queen Isabella and a rare film appearance by singer Annie Lennox.