Prospero's Books [VHS]
by Peter Greenaway
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Product details
Actor: Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco, John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel BlancDirector: Peter Greenaway
Writer: Peter Greenaway
Producer: Denis Wigman
Producer: Kees Kasander
Producer: Masato Hara
Producer: Michel Seydoux
Producer: Philippe Carcassonne
Writer: William Shakespeare
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 126 minutes
Release Date: 1996-04-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Media / Video Treasures
Studio: Media / Video Treasures
VHS Movie Reviews of Prospero's Books [VHS]
Movie Review: Baroque Audio/Visual Feast
Summary: 5 Stars
In his review for Peter Greenaway's visually enthralling 'Prospero's Books (1991)', Roger Ebert claimed that the film 'really exists outside criticism--all I can do is describe it', a description that could be equally leveled at most Greenaway films. Ever since 'The Falls (1980)', the painter-turned-director was clear that he was not interested in conventional narrative, his adage was (and still is) 'that cinema is too important to be left only to story-tellers'. It's true with his films and statements such as these many find him intolerable & pretentious, but there's no doubt that Peter Greenaway has created a new visual language with his cinema for the past two decades. This stands true specially when regarding 'Prospero's Books'.
An adaptation of William Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest' (published in 1623 but written around 1611), 'Prospero's Books' is anything but conventional. Don't be surprised if you find yourself exhausted after 15min--the sheer visual intricacy, what with the meticulously photographed layers of text, illustrations, baroque settings full of activity will either bore you or, make you awe at the unprecedented artistry in display. It's not enough to look at a single frame, more often than not another frame would overlay it: just as complex and meticulously framed, albeit from another angle or, visualizing the words spoken by the narrator. Enthralling & exhausting, to say the least. (Also, see if you can spot some of the Mythological/Historical/Biblical figures behind the opening credits during the opening sequence)
John Gielgud takes center stage as Prospero/Shakespeare, his sonorous voice is poetic and well adapt after years of theatrical performances; Michael Nyman's music chimes in intermittently, always emotive (especially in the opening sequence); cinematographer Sacha Veirny's flashy, chiaroscuro style imagery is full in display. Its typical Greenaway, demanding and somewhat contemptuous--disappointed, no doubt, about the limitations of cinema and its dependence on the finite frame. On those terms 'Prospero's Books' could easily be an expose on contemporary visual illiteracy, the demand for narrative sans image--which could possibly explain why the medium is, after 100 years, staunchly conventional.
P.S : Seriously, where's the DVD for this? One the first films to use HDTV technology, its absence in the digital domain is really perplexing.
Movie Review: Prospero's Books
Summary: 1 Stars
I was disappointed that this version of was chopped into the old analog "4:3" television format. The theater version of Prospero's Books was a widescreen movie with a "16:9" format or wider. Only the cast and crew part of this movie was shown in the theater widescreen format. Movie Review: Great movie; not a great DVD
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this from ''classics_vhs_dvd" and am rather disappointed at the image quality; the data is highly compressed (only 3.1GB for the whole movie!) and there are visible compression artifacts and audio hiss; no chapter markings, menus, or subtitles. A real shame for such a visually detailed film!
It looks very much like a ripped copy burned onto a DVD-R, though the seller claims this is how it was originally released. (Which seems likely to be true; I see a lot of complaints online about the quality of various DVDs produced by Allied Artists Classics.)
It's better than nothing, and no higher-quality version seems likely to come along any time soon... but it's sure not what I was hoping for.
Movie Review: A complete rip off
Summary: 1 Stars
First, I love this movie. It's five stars in my book.
The $50 version being offered here by 'classics_vhs_dvd' is a complete rip off. It's not a proper DVD-Video, it's a DVD-R that's been made from a VHS tape and one of those cheap home recording boxes. It's shame this movie isn't available in a better format.
Movie Review: Concerning the Allied Artists DVD release
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered a copy of this on DVD last week and just finished watching it. It is a DVD but it is a decent quality copy from the video master. It is in SORE need of digital restoration from the negative, the colors are no where near what they were in the theater, but the quality is much better than VHS. If you are wanting a copy of this film, snatch one up where ever you can find it. Like most fans, I have been waiting a very long time for a copy of this, even though it is not perfect, it is a copy and still joyful to watch.
The fact that this is not a Criterion release complete with an outstanding array of special feature goodies is a total crime against the art of cinema.
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