Salome's Last Dance (1988)

Late on Guy Fawkes Day, 1892, Oscar Wilde arrives at a high-class brothel where a surprise awaits: a staging of his play "Salome," with parts played by prostitutes, Wilde's host, his lover ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Oscar Wilde (play), Vivian Russell (translation)

Stars:

Glenda Jackson, Stratford Johns, Nickolas Grace

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenda Jackson	...	Herodias / Lady Alice
Stratford Johns	...	Herod / Alfred Taylor
Nickolas Grace	...	Oscar Wilde
Douglas Hodge	...	John the Baptist / Lord Alfred 'Bosey' Douglas
Imogen Millais-Scott	...	Salome / Rose
Denis Lill	...	Tigellenus / Chilvers
Russell Lee Nash	...	Pageboy
Ken Russell	...	Cappadocian / Kenneth (as Alfred Russell)
David Doyle	...	A. Nubin
Warren Saire	...	Young Syrian
Kenny Ireland	...	1st Soldier
Michael Van Wijk	...	2nd Soldier
Paul Clayton	...	1st Nazarean
Imogen Claire	...	2nd Nazarean
Tim Potter	...	Pharisee

Storyline

Late on Guy Fawkes Day, 1892, Oscar Wilde arrives at a high-class brothel where a surprise awaits: a staging of his play "Salome," with parts played by prostitutes, Wilde's host, his lover Bosey, and Lady Alice. The movie moves between the play and Wilde's night. In the play, Herod begs his pubescent step-daughter Salome to dance for him, promising her anything she desires. Her mother, Herodias, objects. Salome is stung by John the Baptist's rejection of her affections. The prophet's scolding celibacy puts him between the expressed desire of age and youth. Wilde dallies with a young man as he watches the show, provoking Bosey's jealousy. Two surprises await him.

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Plot Keywords:

play | desire | prostitute | prophet | oscar wilde | 

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Taglines:

NOTORIOUS, SCANDALOUS, WILDE!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Última Dança de Salomé

Filming Locations:

Cannon Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$331,469

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jolly Russell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ken Russell: a stagehand.

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Quotes

John the Baptist: Don't be tempted to worship the golden calf or you'll suffer my wrath.
Oscar Wilde: No sermons, please, Bosey. I'm not in the mood for the missionary position just now.

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Connections

Version of Salomé (1970)

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Soundtracks

Le Coq d'Or
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

User Reviews

Much better than initially thought

Salome's Last Dance is one of those films that will fascinate people or repulse them very like director Ken Russell's directorial style. First viewing I disliked it, seeing it again in a better mood just recently it was much better than remembered, though for me one of Russell's weaker films. A few things stop it from being a masterpiece. Russell does go overboard with the excess at times- not unusual for Russell- and some of those excessive images are disgustingly ugly, especially with Salome licking saliva off her face. Russell also writes himself in an acting role as a photographer and is rather embarrassingly bad and in a somewhat creepy way. Imogen Millais-Scott I had mixed feelings on, she is gorgeous, seductive and age-appropriate, though with a tendency to mug. Even with the excess, Salome's Last Dance does maintain the spirit of Oscar Wilde's play Salome with its beauty and ability to shock. The film is expertly filmed and the production values are a mix of the hypnotisingly beautiful and the decadent, which is hardly inappropriate(Strauss' opera Salome, which I personally love, has those qualities too). The music is a hodgepodge of classical music, and a wonderful hodgepodge at that, Rimsky-Korsakov and especially Debussy the prime composers and they further add to the beautiful yet shocking atmosphere. They are performed very well and mostly fit within the film. The script is witty and uproarious, Herodias has some truly hilarious lines, and the story is interestingly structured with a good touch of the theatrical and the cinematic. You cannot take your eyes away from the dance scene either. Most of the acting is better than its given credit, Glenda Jackson and Stratford Johns especially. Jackson is a little bizarre but also very regal and authoritative and Johns is suitably wry and mischievous, making a potentially tiresome character interesting. Nickolas Grace is a witty Oscar Wilde and Douglas Hodge a mostly effectively warning John the Baptist though he does over-compensate a bit. Overall, easy to see why people will dislike it, it's far from perfect but has interest points and entertainment value. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox