Prospero's Books Movie Review 1991

Greenaway's free-ranging adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" has all his usual hallmarks of the bizarre. Gielgud is the aged Propsero, exiled to a magical island with his innocent daughter Miranda, and 24 beloved books containing the magician's recipe for life, each of which becomes a separate chapter in the film. Greenaway mixes film and high-definition video to create, with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, dazzling visuals that threaten to overwhelm but don't quite, thanks to both Greenaway's skill and the astonishing performance of the then 87-year-old Gielgud.

Distribution

Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1699 Stutz Dr., Troy, MI 48084, Phone: (248)816-0909, Toll-free: 800-786-8777, Fax: (248)816-3335, URL: http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com

Available on VHS
Running time 129 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Plays to Film: William Shakespeare, Magic, Modern Shakespeare

Screenplay

Peter Greenaway

Cast

John Gielgud, Michel Blanc, Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco, Tom Bell, Kenneth Cranham, Michael Clark, Mark Rylance

Cinematography

Sacha Vierny

Director

Peter Greenaway

Music

Michael Nyman