Product Details

• Actors: John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Vittorio Gassman, Raul Julia
• Directors: Paul Mazursky
• Writers: Paul Mazursky, Leon Capetanos, William Shakespeare
• Producers: Paul Mazursky, Pato Guzman, Steven Bernhardt
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 4, 1996
• Run Time: 140 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303589138
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,039 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

A burnt-out architect (the peerlessly unhinged John Cassavetes) tries to get away from it all on a seemingly idyllic Greek isle in this extremely loose-limbed adaptation of Shakespeare's play. This pleasantly rambling, exquisitely lit portrayal of the middle-aged-crazies is rather broad even by writer-director Paul Mazursky's estimable standards, but Cassavetes's wholly unpredictable performance keeps the considerable preciousness from ever getting too thick. (He's aided by a uniformly wonderful cast, including Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Molly Ringwald, and especially Raul Julia as a wacked-out lech of a goatherd.) Not recommended for people trying to get out of reading the source material (for that, try the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet), but patient viewers will find plenty of rewards amid the schmaltz. --Andrew Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man Thinks He's God, February 13, 2002

By 

P. Uhl "Leftie Loosie" (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempest [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I just purchased this video today after many years of recalling memorable scenes from it. To me it's about a man with a greek surname who abandons his meaningless life as an NYC Architect to explore himself, taking his trepidacious(?) daughter with him to a small Greek island.

The story has dual timelines which eventually meet at the present day. This was a new experience for me when first seeing this movie.

Some of the many memorable scenes are:

John Cassavetes looking up at the baloons falling during the New Years Day party and making the decision to get the hell out of there.

The Greek captain of the ship taking them to their island calling out the names of the dozens of Greek islands.

Raoul Julia dancing around with an octopus on his head.

Also Raoul admitting that he wants to sleep with Cassavetes daughter saying 'She wants the Bonnie Johnnie inside of her'. Cassavetes fights him and probably considers killing him but stops.

Cassavetes' wife happens to be floating near the island as an entouragee of a Greek tycoon ala Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. Cassavetes conjures a storm with his reading glasses saying "Come on, show me the magic."

To me this is the pinnacle of Cassavetes journey to find himself, fancies himself a god, and makes the magic happen only to regret his actions but assist in rescuing the party.

This movie is definitely on my list of the best movies ever.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long lost gem!, February 2, 2007

By 

Marten Sanden "martensanden" (Lund, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempest (DVD)

Finally this Mazursky classic will be available on DVD! If you have seen it, you'll know why you should be excited. If you missed when it came out in the early eighties you should definitely give it a chance. A truly magical film, very loosely based on the Shakespeare play, with stellar performances by John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Molly Ringwald, Raul Julia and many others. Great actors, great script, beautiful cinematography - Great movie!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost-Masterpiece, August 21, 2001

By 

Patrick B. Marren (Crystal Lake, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tempest [VHS] (VHS Tape)

First, for those of you who asked in your reviews, the tango in the movie is "Tango del Fuego," written by Lieber & Stoller (who also wrote half of Elvis Presley's hit songs, oddly enough). The song at the end is Dinah Washington singing "Manhattan." This movie is haunting, a bit disjointed, perhaps, but it gets into your head. Cassavetes keeps it slightly off-track, but that's good. The scenery is fantastic. And Raul Julia is just beautiful in the role of a cave-dwelling goat-herding lecher in two-tone shoes. The Great Greek-American Mid-Life-Crisis Movie.