Tempest (1982)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writers:

Leon Capetanos (writer)
Paul Mazursky (writer)

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Most men dream their fantasies. Phillip decided to live his.

Plot:

A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the successful...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Marriage | Architect | Divorcee | Father Daughter Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Cassavetes	...	Phillip Dimitrius
Gena Rowlands	...	Antonia Dimitrius
Susan Sarandon	...	Aretha Tomalin
Vittorio Gassman	...	Alonzo
Raul Julia	...	Kalibanos
Molly Ringwald	...	Miranda Dimitrius
Sam Robards	...	Freddy
Paul Stewart	...	Phillip's Father
Jackie Gayle	...	Trinc
Anthony Holland	...	Sebastian
Jerry Hardin	...	Harry Gondorf
Lucianne Buchanan	...	Dolores
Vassilis Glezakos	...	Captain
Luigi Laezza	...	Sailor
Sergio Nicolai	...	Sailor

Runtime:

Israel:136 min | Argentina:136 min | USA:140 min | Canada:142 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby | 70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Norway:12 | Finland:K-12 | USA:PG | Australia:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Final cinema feature of Paul Stewart.

Quotes:

Kalibanos: I am Kalibanos.
Dolores: I am Dolores.
Kalibanos: I like your melones.
Dolores: [flattered] Thank you.
Kalibanos: And your bumba.
Dolores: You're so strong. So beautifully - primitive. What's a bumba?
Kalibanos: This!
[seizes her buttocks]
Dolores: You have charisma.
Kalibanos: My charisma is growing like mountain flower in springtime.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962)

Soundtrack:

New York, New York

Disjointed and different, but never boring....

For many years I thought I was the only person on the planet who had seen TEMPEST, and I am so glad to learn that I am not the only person who discovered this sleeper somewhere in their movie-going travails. Loosely based on the Shakesperean play, TEMPEST follows an architect (the late John Cassavettes, in one of his best performances), bored with his work and his crumbling marriage (to real life spouse Gene Rowlads), who decides to chuck it all, say the hell with the rat race and go live on an island with his daughter (Molly Ringwald, in her film debut), and new girlfriend Aretha (a luminous Susan Sarandon). Even though Paul Mazursky is credited as director, Cassavettes hand is all over this film...the long scenes filmed without cutting, the improvisatory feel to the dialogue..., the self-indulgent storytelling style, this is definitely his show from beginning to end, and if you're not a fan of his work, the film will seem laboriously long and dull but if you are a fan, there are rewards to be had. Cassavettes is surrounded by a first rate cast...his scenes with Rowlands crackle with intensity and his surprising chemistry with Sarandon is a stark contrast to his scenes with Rowlands. Ringwald shines in her film debut and there is a scene-stealing performance by the late Raul Julia as Kalibanos, Cassavettes' manservant on the island. Julia stops the show in one scene dancing with a flock of sheep accompanied by Liza Minnelli singing "New York, New York". This film is sad and tragic and funny and intense. Yes, it's a little long and disjointed and it works a little too hard at being different (there's even a curtain call at the end of the film), but it never fails to hold the attention of those who like something a little different in their filmgoing.