Prospero's Books (1991) was directed by Peter Greenaway. William Shakespeare is also given credit as a writer (play), because Shakespeare wrote "The Tempest." However, the movie is really Greenaway's concept of "The Tempest," not Shakespeare's concept. People have said, "Don't see this film unless you know the story of 'The Tempest'." True enough, because if the only thing you learn about "The Tempest" comes from Greenaway, you'll never want to see Shakespeare's play.
The basic plot of the play is that the Duke of Milan (Prospero) and his daughter are marooned on an island. They get a chance for revenge when the people who forced them from Milan arrive on the island.
Prospero has studied the occult, and he has a book of magic from which he has learned to be a powerful wizard. However, Shakespeare mentions that Prospero has other books with him on the island. Greenaway's concept is to present the story by telling us about each book in turn.
Not a bad concept, when you think about it. However, the whole thing turns sour once Greenaway gets going. There are endless scenes of naked or near-naked men and women wandering around, dancing (sort of), and looking like they belong somewhere else. (It's a deserted island, don't forget.) You'd think that all this would be erotically charged, but it isn't. It just looks like a confusing underground nudist colony.
Shakespeare's "pure spirit" named Ariel is played by four different actors, one of whom sings, one of whom pees, and so forth.
John Gielgud, one of the great Shakespearean actors of the 20th Century, plays Prospero. I would love to have seen Gielgud as Prospero in "The Tempest." What he's doing in this movie is beyond me.
I can enjoy creative, cutting-edge versions of Shakespeare's plays. Some of them work, some of them don't. This one didn't work. I saw the film as part of an honors seminar I audited called "Shakespeare on Film." The college students with whom I saw the film also found the nudity boring.
The film was shown on a "classroom-sized" large screen. It will be just as unsatisfying on DVD.
The basic plot of the play is that the Duke of Milan (Prospero) and his daughter are marooned on an island. They get a chance for revenge when the people who forced them from Milan arrive on the island.
Prospero has studied the occult, and he has a book of magic from which he has learned to be a powerful wizard. However, Shakespeare mentions that Prospero has other books with him on the island. Greenaway's concept is to present the story by telling us about each book in turn.
Not a bad concept, when you think about it. However, the whole thing turns sour once Greenaway gets going. There are endless scenes of naked or near-naked men and women wandering around, dancing (sort of), and looking like they belong somewhere else. (It's a deserted island, don't forget.) You'd think that all this would be erotically charged, but it isn't. It just looks like a confusing underground nudist colony.
Shakespeare's "pure spirit" named Ariel is played by four different actors, one of whom sings, one of whom pees, and so forth.
John Gielgud, one of the great Shakespearean actors of the 20th Century, plays Prospero. I would love to have seen Gielgud as Prospero in "The Tempest." What he's doing in this movie is beyond me.
I can enjoy creative, cutting-edge versions of Shakespeare's plays. Some of them work, some of them don't. This one didn't work. I saw the film as part of an honors seminar I audited called "Shakespeare on Film." The college students with whom I saw the film also found the nudity boring.
The film was shown on a "classroom-sized" large screen. It will be just as unsatisfying on DVD.