Prospero's Books (1991)

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:

'The Book of Motion' notably features Caliban (played by Michael Clark), Prospero's main antagonist in the island.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Peter Greenaway in Indianapolis (1997) (V)

It's a ballet

I found Prospero's Books fascinating, on many levels, but it wasn't until my second or third time watching it that I realized the "key" to unlocking this film: It's a ballet.

This film is essentially images and motion choreographed to music (this realization struck me during the opening credit sequence in one viewing). Now, it's an unusual ballet: The "music" includes the mellifluous recitation of "The Tempest" by Gielgud, and the choreography includes things like digital manipulation of images, and the images are heavily influenced by renaissance paintings, but I maintain that the film is, fundamentally, a ballet.

That means that you shouldn't really expect a clear expression of the story, any more than you would from any other ballet. What you should expect is a series of interesting images choreographed to music inspired by "The Tempest". As with any ballet, you can follow it if you're already familiar with the story, but otherwise, you should read the play in advance.

And, just a couple of things about some of the most common criticisms: The naked people? Think of them as invisible - they are visual symbolic representations of the "airy spirits" Prospero commands, his magic. The infamous pissing? Ariel p***ing on a model ship is just an obvious visual metaphor for Ariel creating a storm over the real ship.