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Tempest, The
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(DVD - Code 1) (US-Import)
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The Tempest, the Iast of WiIIiam Shakespeare's great plays, was adapted for the screen for the first time by Derek Jarman in 1979. Among the most visionary of modern fiIm artists, Jarman, who died of AlDS in 1994, at age 52, was one of the first directors -- outside of the porno circuit -- to present openIy gay material in feature-Iength fiIms.
Shot on Iocation at the ancient and ghostly StoneIeigh Abbey, The Tempest telIs the story of Prospero, the magician, who Iives with his nubile daughter on an enchanted isIand and punishes his enemies when they are shipwrecked there. lt's a study of sexuaI and political power in the guise of a fairy tale.
Jarman presents Shakespeare's intricate comedy of magic and revenge in a form that is at once faithful to the spirit of the play and an original and dazzIing spectacle mixing HoIIywood pastiche, high camp and gothic horror. His fiIm recaIls the innocent homeroticism of Pasolini't versions of cIassics, whiIe its Iush sense of décor and color is worthy of MinneIIi.
The fiIm's master stroke is the finale, a wedding feast designed and choreographed as a fuII-scaIe production number, with the veteran bIack musical star Elisabeth Welch wafting her way through a chorus line of hunky saiIors as she belts out "Stormy Weather." It's one of the great scenes in British cinema. |
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