Prospero's Books (1991)

A magician in exile wishes to take revenge against his enemies, but runs into a roadblock when his daughter and the son of his arch enemy fall in love. An interesting take on the Shakespeare classic, "The Tempest." The story is told in dance and words. All the dialog is spoken by Sir John Gielgud. Product Description

unconscious artifact

this movie makes me feel as if i've been swallowed whole by deja vu, long-forgotten dreams and any other unconscious artifact. brilliant! April 21, 2008

A superb cinematographic event, but there's also dialogue!

Prospero' s books represented a regrettable achievement, because all of us are aware about the daring artistic proposal of Peter Greenaway, but in this opportunity, the visual grandiloquence surpassed by far, the dialogue. On the other hand, the superb cast remained less that relegated, being Gielguld the narrator who supported the drama.
December 12, 2007

A Brilliant Interpretation of "The Tempest"

I will not comment on the technical merits of the DVD pressing as other reviewers have done.
As a piece of art, this movie is truly outstanding. The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's lsat plays, and its themes are love, compassion, the quest for knowledge & power, and finally subduing the ego and finding peace. Greenaway's version is "arty", maybe, but it is gorgeous, well-written, intellectually intriguing, and unique. Gielgud narrates and he is incomparable. Watch it! November 20, 2007

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