Prospero's Books

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 2002 Filmcritic.com

Peter Greenaway is possibly best known for this inexplicable film, a fanciful, musical, nearly-all-nude recreation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. You have to wonder if the austere John Gielgud, who has played Prospero in the theater five times, knows if topless women are voguing behind him as he delivers his lines. Or that a child is projectile urinating in the background. The paycheck couldn't have been that great.

Unlike, say, Caligula, Gielgud's voice has the ability to put you right to sleep with its bass and monotone timbre. The good news is that when you wake up, you won't have missed a thing.

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Rating

1.0 out of 5 Stars

Cast and Crew

  • Director: Peter Greenaway
  • Producer: Kees Kasander
  • Screenwriter: Peter Greenaway
  • Stars: John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel Blanc, Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco
  • MPAA Rating: R