Prospero's Books (1991)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Peter Greenaway (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1991 (UK)

Genre:

Fantasy | Drama

Tagline:

A magician's spell, the innocence of young love and a dream of revenge unite to create a tempest.

Plot:

An exiled magician finds an opportunity for revenge against his enemies muted when his daughter and...

Plot Keywords:

Urination | Male Frontal Nudity | Child Nudity | Male Nudity | Dream Like

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Gielgud	...	Prospero
Michael Clark	...	Caliban
Michel Blanc	...	Alonso
Erland Josephson	...	Gonzalo
Isabelle Pasco	...	Miranda
Tom Bell	...	Antonio
Kenneth Cranham	...	Sebastian
Mark Rylance	...	Ferdinand
Gerard Thoolen	...	Adrian
Pierre Bokma	...	Francisco
Jim van der Woude	...	Trinculo
Michiel Romeyn	...	Stephano
Orpheo	...	Ariel
Paul Russell	...	Ariel
James Thiérrée	...	Ariel

Also Known As:

L'ultima tempesta (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive nudity.

Runtime:

124 min | 129 min

Country:

Netherlands | France | UK | Italy | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (bw) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Allarts

Trivia:

One of the first films to use HDTV technology; 'Prospero's Books' specifically utilized an early analogue high-definition process called 'Hi-Vision' developed by the Japanese group NHK.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#11.2)" (1998)

Brilliant, but not an easy watch

Peter Greenaway is one of the great filmmakers, with an original and personal vision. This movie is a marvelous mixture of Shakespeare, visual poetry, music, art ... a feast for the imagination.

Having said that, I must add that I watched it with my wife whose succinct comment was "pretentious". Well, yes, it is a little pretentious, and there are spots that move along too slowly, so you can't just "let it happen" as you do with most movies. This one requires you to pay attention.

It includes what must be the longest single pan to the side ever filmed. I'm not sure how long it was, but it went on forever. I guess it must have gone more than 360 degrees, circled back to the original spot, where new sets had replaced the old. I'm not sure. But it is dazzling. Actually, you can take virtually any frame from this movie and make it into a poster.

Films have been around for about a century, and there isn't much around that doesn't recycle old material. Peter Greenaway is an exception. Like him or not, he's a dyed-in-the-wool original.