Prospero's Books (1991)

An exiled magician finds an opportunity for revenge against his enemies muted when his daughter and the son of his chief enemy fall in love in this uniquely structured retelling of the 'The... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Peter Greenaway

Stars:

John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel Blanc

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

An exiled magician finds an opportunity for revenge against his enemies muted when his daughter and the son of his chief enemy fall in love in this uniquely structured retelling of the 'The Tempest'.

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Plot Keywords:

book | female frontal nudity | shakespeare adaption | urination | pregnant woman nude | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Fantasy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive nudity

Details

Country:

Netherlands France UK Italy Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1991 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Última Tempestade

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Gross:

$1,750,301 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allarts, Cinéa, Caméra One

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prospero was John Gielgud's favorite stage role and he had attempted to mount a film of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" for decades, contacting Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman about directing and Welles and Albert Finney about playing Caliban. The version with Welles directing and playing Caliban was in preparation until the financial failure of Welles' and Gielgud's film of 'Falstaff (1966)' forced the project to fall through, where it laid dormant until Gielgud finally convinced Peter Greenaway to make this version.

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Connections

Version of The Tempest (1911)

User Reviews

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.