The Tempest
United States
2010
110 Min
Color
2.35:1
English
Synopsis
In Julie Taymor’s version of The Tempest, the main character is now a woman named Prospera. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor’s version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it’s a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect. –IMDb
Director
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor’s work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song. She is widely known for directing the stage musical, The Lion King, for which she became the first woman to win the Tony Award for directing a musical, in addition to a Tony Award for Original Costume Design. She had been the director of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark before leaving in March 2011, after four months of previews (the longest preview period for any show in Broadway history), following artistic differences with the producers.
Taymor has also worked in film in recent years, directing Titus (1999) and Frida (2002). Both movies received positive reviews for their stylish filming; but Frida… read more
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DT
5Jan12
Taymor gives Prospero a sex change as she tackles Shakespeare’s classic scenario of mythical chaos and vengeance. It seems a fitting combination, given her successful work on Titus a decade earlier; and, despite one or two sequences perhaps being a tad overdone, she does indeed bring this glorious play to life. Housing some of the Bard’s finest passages and with Mirren holding her own outstandingly - the other players having plenty of charisma also - the film’s clarity as well as its aesthetic beauty overshadow any blemishes it might still possess elsewhere.
Lars Ole Kristiansen likes this
Phil Worfel
21Sep11
Really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I find Taymor's Titus to be outstanding but here, her magic only seems to muddy the story. The performances from Mirren, Hounsou,and Wishaw for me were the standouts with the rest of the cast either only playing a single note or barely distinguishing themselves from other characters. It is certainly a watchable film but is not in the pantheon of Shakespearean adaptation.
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Articles
Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
NYFF 2010. Wrap
By David Hudson on October 11, 2010
The index will take you to roundups for nearly every film in this year's New York Film Festival main slate as well as to those for a handful
Venice 2010. Wrap
By David Hudson on September 21, 2010
It's been a week and a half since the night of those controversial awards. Time to wrap Venice 2010 with one final roundup. The festival
Venice and Toronto Lineups, Round 1
By David Hudson on July 27, 2010
As mentioned yesterday, the Venice Film Festival will open on September 1 with Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and close on September 11 with
THE TEMPEST Review
By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
I supposed my reaction to Julie Taymor’s photographically bold, yet cinematicly flat rendition of William Shakespeare’s play could be summed up by comparing the performance of Alan Cumming from her previous
NYFF 2010: THE TEMPEST Review
By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Interesting without feeling inspired, “creative” but hardly magical, Julie Taymor’s The Tempest is apt to be a hit in certain high school classrooms—that is, if English teachers can get away with screening
Venice 2010: Fresh Images From Julie Taymor's THE TEMPEST
By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
Having been fortunate enough to grow up within striking distance of one of the great Shakespeare festivals in the world and to have spent my entire school career with teachers smart enough to take me there
Trailer For Taymor's TEMPEST Arrives.
By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
It’s a curious thing, the trailer for Julie Taymor’s The Tempest. On one hand, the visuals are frequently stunning and it’s obvious that Taymor has lost none of her visual style. But despite the visuals
Trailer For Taymor's TEMPEST Arrives.
By Twitchfilm.net on October 5, 2010
It’s a curious thing, the trailer for Julie Taymor’s The Tempest. On one hand, the visuals are frequently stunning and it’s obvious that Taymor has lost none of her visual style. But despite the visuals
NYFF 2010: THE TEMPEST Review
By Twitchfilm.net on October 2, 2010
Interesting without feeling inspired, “creative” but hardly magical, Julie Taymor’s The Tempest is apt to be a hit in certain high school classrooms—that is, if English teachers can get away with screening
Venice 2010: Fresh Images From Julie Taymor's THE TEMPEST
By Twitchfilm.net on September 3, 2010
Having been fortunate enough to grow up within striking distance of one of the great Shakespeare festivals in the world and to have spent my entire school career with teachers smart enough to take me there
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