Prospero's Books [VHS]
by Peter Greenaway
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco, John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel BlancDirector: Peter Greenaway
Writer: Peter Greenaway
Producer: Denis Wigman
Producer: Kees Kasander
Producer: Masato Hara
Producer: Michel Seydoux
Producer: Philippe Carcassonne
Writer: William Shakespeare
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 126 minutes
Release Date: 1996-04-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Media / Video Treasures
Studio: Media / Video Treasures
VHS Movie Reviews of Prospero's Books [VHS]
Movie Review: Baroque Audio/Visual Feast
Summary: 5 Stars
In his review for Peter Greenaway's visually enthralling 'Prospero's Books (1991)', Roger Ebert claimed that the film 'really exists outside criticism--all I can do is describe it', a description that could be equally leveled at most Greenaway films. Ever since 'The Falls (1980)', the painter-turned-director was clear that he was not interested in conventional narrative, his adage was (and still is) 'that cinema is too important to be left only to story-tellers'. It's true with his films and statements such as these many find him intolerable & pretentious, but there's no doubt that Peter Greenaway has created a new visual language with his cinema for the past two decades. This stands true specially when regarding 'Prospero's Books'.
An adaptation of William Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest' (published in 1623 but written around 1611), 'Prospero's Books' is anything but conventional. Don't be surprised if you find yourself exhausted after 15min--the sheer visual intricacy, what with the meticulously photographed layers of text, illustrations, baroque settings full of activity will either bore you or, make you awe at the unprecedented artistry in display. It's not enough to look at a single frame, more often than not another frame would overlay it: just as complex and meticulously framed, albeit from another angle or, visualizing the words spoken by the narrator. Enthralling & exhausting, to say the least. (Also, see if you can spot some of the Mythological/Historical/Biblical figures behind the opening credits during the opening sequence)
John Gielgud takes center stage as Prospero/Shakespeare, his sonorous voice is poetic and well adapt after years of theatrical performances; Michael Nyman's music chimes in intermittently, always emotive (especially in the opening sequence); cinematographer Sacha Veirny's flashy, chiaroscuro style imagery is full in display. Its typical Greenaway, demanding and somewhat contemptuous--disappointed, no doubt, about the limitations of cinema and its dependence on the finite frame. On those terms 'Prospero's Books' could easily be an expose on contemporary visual illiteracy, the demand for narrative sans image--which could possibly explain why the medium is, after 100 years, staunchly conventional.
P.S : Seriously, where's the DVD for this? One the first films to use HDTV technology, its absence in the digital domain is really perplexing.
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