Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- morbid
- surreal
- cerebral
- arthouse film night
- film studies viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's sleek visual energy and audacious formal treatment of death, though some found its style pretentious and emotionally distancing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The zoologist twins obsessively study and film the decay of animals, turning decomposition into the film's central motif.
The zoo, scientific investigations, numbered structures, and meticulously arranged tableaux give the film the appearance of a visual classification system.
The twins' clinical fascination with mortality and Alba's escalating bodily losses are presented with dry, unsettling humor.
Identical brothers Oliver and Oswald respond in parallel to the loss of their wives and their shared relationship with Alba.
Films like A Zed & Two Noughts, and why
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
formal experimentation, morbid humor, and obsessive engagement with mortality and bodily decay
The Baby of Mâcon
stylized arthouse drama combining theatrical visual design, grotesque imagery, and darkly comic treatment of death
The Cremator
surreal black comedy, provocative bodily imagery, and philosophical preoccupation with mortality
The Falls
eccentric tragicomedy structured around grief, obsession, and surreal visual motifs
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Greenaway
- Release Date
- 1985-10-04
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (185)
Cast
- Frances Barber
- Joss Ackland
- Brian Deacon
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Eric Deacon
- Andréa Ferréol
- Jim Davidson
- Wolf Kahler
- Ken Campbell
- Guusje van Tilborgh
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Zed & Two Noughts about?
- Two zoologist twins turn their grief over a fatal car crash into an increasingly macabre investigation of animal decay, bodily loss, and mortality.
- What is A Zed & Two Noughts like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Zed & Two Noughts as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is A Zed & Two Noughts violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in A Zed & Two Noughts as moderate.
- What did critics think of A Zed & Two Noughts?
- Critics broadly praised the film's sleek visual energy and audacious formal treatment of death, though some found its style pretentious and emotionally distancing.
- Which films are like A Zed & Two Noughts?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Baby of Mâcon, The Cremator, and The Falls.
- How long is A Zed & Two Noughts?
- A Zed & Two Noughts runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Zed & Two Noughts?
- In United States, A Zed & Two Noughts streams on Kino Film Collection.
