The Tempest, part 7: Film versions and wrap-up
Here's a list of links to all the posts related to The Tempest:
The Tempest, part 1 A summary of the play
The Tempest, part 2 Caliban, the native
The Tempest, part 3 Check and mate
The Tempest, part 4 Shipwrecked!
The Tempest, part 5 Ungentlemanlike behaviour
The Tempest, part 6 A conversation with Lisa Mantchev
Tomorrow we're moving on to A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play that we covered last year, but it's simply too delightful not to take it up again. And as I have lunch plans far from home tomorrow, I won't be around to pile posts up early in the day - that's right, it's not all Shakespeare, all the time around here. At least, not quite. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I confess to not having seen a single screen adaptation of The Tempest, so please do not consider these personal recommendations.
As mentioned in my conversation with Lisa Mantchev, there is a new film version that is going to come out in December of this year, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera (it's the only gender-change in the casting, but it should make for an interesting interpretation, and reports from early screenings are that Mirren is transcendant (as per usual, really). I have not, of course, seen it because it's still 6 months away, but I will be all over it once it's out.
The 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet is a sort of adaptation of The Tempest, but certainly not a faithful retelling. In that version, the role of Ariel is played by a robot. Haven't seen it, not interested, but those of you who are into B-movies might like it.
I refuse to mention any of the other filmed versions because I understand that they are all pretty much crap, based on reviews and on Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the World's Best Playwright by Reed Martin and Martin Tichenor, a review of which is forthcoming.
The Tempest, part 1 A summary of the play
The Tempest, part 2 Caliban, the native
The Tempest, part 3 Check and mate
The Tempest, part 4 Shipwrecked!
The Tempest, part 5 Ungentlemanlike behaviour
The Tempest, part 6 A conversation with Lisa Mantchev
Tomorrow we're moving on to A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play that we covered last year, but it's simply too delightful not to take it up again. And as I have lunch plans far from home tomorrow, I won't be around to pile posts up early in the day - that's right, it's not all Shakespeare, all the time around here. At least, not quite. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I confess to not having seen a single screen adaptation of The Tempest, so please do not consider these personal recommendations.
As mentioned in my conversation with Lisa Mantchev, there is a new film version that is going to come out in December of this year, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera (it's the only gender-change in the casting, but it should make for an interesting interpretation, and reports from early screenings are that Mirren is transcendant (as per usual, really). I have not, of course, seen it because it's still 6 months away, but I will be all over it once it's out.
The 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet is a sort of adaptation of The Tempest, but certainly not a faithful retelling. In that version, the role of Ariel is played by a robot. Haven't seen it, not interested, but those of you who are into B-movies might like it.
I refuse to mention any of the other filmed versions because I understand that they are all pretty much crap, based on reviews and on Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the World's Best Playwright by Reed Martin and Martin Tichenor, a review of which is forthcoming.