Orlando (1992)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sally Potter

Writers:

Sally Potter (writer)
Virginia Woolf (novel)

Release Date:

9 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Young nobleman Orlando is commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to stay forever young. Miraculously, he does just that...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Queen | Queen Elizabeth I | Love | Nobility

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Orlando
Quentin Crisp	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Jimmy Somerville	...	Falsetto / Angel
John Bott	...	Orlando's Father
Elaine Banham	...	Orlando's Mother
Anna Farnworth	...	Clorinda
Sara Mair-Thomas	...	Favilla
Anna Healy	...	Euphrosyne
Dudley Sutton	...	King James I
Simon Russell Beale	...	Earl of Moray
Matthew Sim	...	Lord Francis Vere
Jerome Willis	...	Translator
Viktor Stepanov	...	Russian Ambassador
Charlotte Valandrey	...	Princess Sasha
Mary MacLeod	...	First Older Woman

Runtime:

93 min | Argentina:95 min

Country:

UK | Russia | France | Italy | Netherlands

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG (cut) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (2007) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Adventure Pictures

Trivia:

As Orlando progresses throughout the years, during each new incarnation actress Tilda Swinton's eye color changes.

Quotes:

Orlando: But you are mine!
Princess Sasha: But why?
Orlando: Because... I adore you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Schau mir in die Augen, Kleiner (2007)

Soundtrack:

ELIZA IS THE FAIREST QUEEN

A Uniquely Captivating Piece Of Cinema.

Really and truly strange (to say the least) offering from the early nineties that stars the gorgeous, red-haired Tilda Swinton in the bizarre, gender bending (she plays both genders better than any actress or actor that I've ever seen before) and seemingly ageless role of Orlando: a porcelain-skinned nobleman in the late 16th and early 17th centuries who is supposedly ordered by the feeble and very ancient-looking Queen Elizabeth the first (ironically that role was played by the late notorious drag-queen Quentin Crisp) to never age, i.e. exist in a constant state of immortality, for reasons that are not explained to us if I'm remembering correctly, and miraculously enough he does just that! Nearly a century or so later and apparently tired, embittered or whatever of the trappings that the male gender brings he decides to up and become a she...and amazingly enough he is again able to do just that based solely upon will alone! Ultimately though, she learns the hard way that each gender has their own drawbacks no matter what century you live in when she gets dumped by a selfish and randy, albeit good-looking, male lover of hers (played here by a swarthy and utterly gorgeous Billy Zane). The cinematography, set design and costuming in this flick are all absolutely exquisite and stunning (with the two latter departments having been nominated for Academy Awards no less), and to top things off here there was also a great deal of subtle and sarcastic humor in the script which thankfully lets the audience know that the film doesn't completely take itself quite as seriously as it might have originally appeared at first glance. Overall, "Orlando" can best be described as a sweeping historical drama on the outside with a unique art-house sensibility on the inside. And since most mainstream audience members run for the hills when they hear the words "art house film", "Orlando" does not exactly have a large viewership despite it's two Oscar nods unfortunately enough. (***** out of *****)