|
|
| TEMPEST,
THE (director/writer: Derek
Jarman; screenwriter: based on The Tempest by
William Shakespeare; cinematographer: Peter Middleton;
editors: Leslie
Walker /Annette D'Alton; music: Wavemaker;
cast: Heathcote Williams
(Prospero), Toyah Wilcox (Miranda), Jack Birkett
(Caliban), Karl Johnson (Ariel), David Meyer
(Ferdinand, Son of King Alonso), Richard Warwick
(Antonio, Brother of Prospero), Peter Bull (King
Alonso, of Naples), Christopher Biggins (Stephano),
Peter Turner (Trinculo), Claire
Davenport (Sycorax), Ken Campbell (Gonzalo), Neil
Cunningham (Sebastian,
Ferdinand's brother); Runtime: 95; MPAA Rating:
NR; producers: Don Boyd/Guy Ford/Mordecai Schreiber;
Kino Video; 1979-UK) "A most bizarre version of Shakespeare--one that's not for all tastes." Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz This
is the personal unique colorful punk interpretation of
the Bard's fanciful last play by the visionary gay
Brit filmmaker Derek Jarman ("War
Requiem"/"Sebastiane"/"Jubilee"), who died of AIDS in 1994
at age 52. It was shot on location at Stoneleigh Abbey
in Warwickshire, giving it an eerie Roman
Gothic look that captures a crumbling state of decay.
It keeps the Bard's dialogue and plot intact, but
deletes many scenes and alters the remaining scenes
with controversial campy dramatics and homoerotic
imaginings rendering a most bizarre version of
Shakespeare--one that's not for all tastes, but suited
me just fine. The former Duke of Milan,
Prospero, the magician (Heathcote
Williams, a
real-life stage magician), because of political
intrigue (his usurping
brother Antonio and the King of Naples plotted against him) lives
in squalor for the last 12 years in exile with his
unsophisticated virgin teenage daughter Miranda (Toyah
Wilcox, pop singer), on a gloomy desolate island in the
Northumbrian seacoast, where his oafish deformed
servant is Caliban (Jack Birkett), the savage son of the witch Sycorax (Claire
Davenport). The sorcerer has
control of Ariel (Karl
Johnson), who he
freed from the witch to enslave for himself. Ariel
is an airy spirit Prospero uses to do his dirty work
and the spirit does so in the hopes of being
liberated some day. The effete airy spirit is
attractively dressed in an all-white jump suit. Prospero's peace is threatened when a sea
storm brings the survivors of the shipwreck to his
island. Among the survivors are his conniving title
stealing brother Antonio (Richard Warwick), his old enemy King Alonso of Naples (Peter Bull) and the king's naive son Ferdinand (David Meyer), and a pair of drunken sailors Trinculo
(Peter Turner) and
Stephano (Christopher Biggins). The
sailors are befriended by the nutty Caliban, the
island's original ruler until enslaved by Prospero,
who comically leads the sailors to take revenge on
Prospero and in return the savage promises to be
their slave. Meanwhile Ferdinand is enslaved by
Prospero, but when Miranda lusts after him and they
find they love each other. Ferdinand is accepted
as her groom by dad--who now has second thoughts
about using magic to get revenge. The play’s wedding climax, of the marriage
between Ferdinand and Miranda, attended by King
Alonso, is memorably turned into a song-and-dance
number where the elderly black American blues singer
Elizabeth Welch, dressed in a shimmering
gold costume to look like a sun goddess, delivers an upbeat rendition of Stormy
Weather while surrounded by a chorus line of
sailors. The offbeat light-hearted film is a one of kind version of Shakespeare, which is a fun watch because of its startling visuals, its mix of modern and ancient costumes, its lush decor, strange stage-lighting and the Jarman-like absurd characterizations. REVIEWED ON 5/11/2012 GRADE: A- Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews" © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ |