''Sebastiane'' is a 1976 Latin-language British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

film directed by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

and Paul Humfress and written by Jarman, Humfress and James Whaley. It portrays the events of the life of

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...

, including his iconic

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

by arrows. The film, which was aimed at a gay audience, was controversial for the

homoeroticism Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

portrayed between the soldiers and for having dialogue entirely in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Plot

In the third century AD, Sebastian is a member of the Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

's personal guard. When he tries to intervene to stop one of the Emperor's

catamite In ancient Greece and Rome, a catamite (Latin: ''catamitus'') was a pubescent boy who was the intimate companion of an older male, usually in a pederastic relationship. It was generally a term of affection and literally means " Ganymede" in ...

s from being strangled by one of his bodyguards, Sebastian is exiled to a remote coastal garrison and reduced in rank to private. Although thought to be an early Christian, Sebastian is a worshipper of the Roman sun god

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and sublimates his desire for his male companions into worship of his deity and

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. Both incense Severus, the commanding officer of the garrison, who becomes increasingly obsessed with Sebastian, tries to assault him, and ultimately presides over his

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

for refusing to take up arms in defence of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. Justin, one of his comrades in arms, is also in love with Sebastian, albeit necessarily unrequited, but he forms a friendship with the stubborn celibate pacifist. Adrian and Anthony, two of Sebastian's fellow soldiers, are gay and obviously in love with one another.

Cast

Barney James Barney James (11 November 1944 – 11 April 2016) was an English musician, actor and writer. He was known as the drummer with the band Warhorse and for Rick Wakeman. His acting credits include the Derek Jarman films ''Sebastiane'' and ''Jubilee' ...

as Severus * Neil Kennedy as Maximus * Leonardo Treviglio as Sebastian *

Richard Warwick Richard Warwick (29 April 1945 – 16 December 1997) was an English actor. He was born Richard Carey Winter, the third of four sons, at Meopham, Kent, and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in the r ...

as Justin * Donald Dunham as Claudius * Daevid Finbar as Julian * Ken Hicks as Adrian *

Lindsay Kemp Lindsay Keith Kemp (3 May 1938British Film Institute entry for Lindsa ...

as Dancer * Steffano Massari as Marius * Janusz Romanov as Anthony * Gerald Incandela as Leopard Boy * Robert Medley as Emperor Diocletian The emperor's guests included such notables as

Peter Hinwood Peter Hinwood (born 17 May 1946) is an English antiques dealer and former actor. He is best known for his role as Rocky in ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' in 1975. Biography Hinwood worked as both a photographer and a professional model whil ...

Nell Campbell Laura Elizabeth Campbell (born 24 May 1953), better known as Nell Campbell or by her stage name Little Nell, is an Australian actress, singer, and former club owner. She is best known for her role as Columbia in the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror ...

, and Patricia Quinn (all of ''

Rocky Horror Rocky Horror is a character from ''The Rocky Horror Show''. It may also refer to * ''The Rocky Horror Show'', a stage musical from 1973 * ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film ...

'' fame),

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Philip Sayer Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, Charlotte Barnes,

Nicholas de Jongh Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for ''The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British dail ...

Duggie Fields Douglas Arthur Peter Field (6 August 1945 – 7 March 2021
Duggiefields.com), known as Duggie Fields, was a ...

Christopher Hobbs Christopher Hobbs (born 9 September 1950) is an English experimental composer, best known as a pioneer of British systems music. Life and career Hobbs was born in Hillingdon, near London. He was a junior exhibitioner at Trinity College London, t ...

, Andrew Logan, and Johnny Rozsa.

Reception

Margaret Walters, author of ''The Nude Male'', commented that ''Sebastiane'', "where male nudes in various stages of ecstasy positively littered the screen", was "successfully aimed at a very specialized homosexual audience."

Home media

The film was released on DVD in the UK and the U.S. A

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

disc was released in the U.S. on August 7, 2012.

References

Audio recording of Derek Jarman interviewed by Ken Campbell at the ICA, London, 7 February 1984

External links