Caravaggio (DVD)(1986)

Stewing in Rome's underbelly during the late Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo da Caravaggio was plucked from the streets by the Catholic Church to paint austere Biblical exaltations. Derek Jarman masterfully captures not only his rampant flirtations with Roman counterculture, but also beautifully saturates the film with the same delicate attention to the chiaroscuro techniques the painter so expertly crafted. Starring 2007 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, The Chronicles of Narnia) in her debut film role, Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) and Nigel Terry (Excalibur) in the title role, Caravaggio is a lush re-imagining of the volatile life of the 17th-century painter and his brilliant, nearly blasphemous works.