Customer Reviews

Tempest [VHS]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Maybe it's just a sentimental attachment, but I've always loved this movie since I saw it over and over again, when my household first got cable TV. Great actors old (John Cassavettes and Gena Rowlands) and new (Molly Ringwald, Raul Julia, Susan Sarandon, all in early roles) abound in this modern retelling of Shakespeare's Tempest. Nominally a comedy, Tempest focuses on serious topics: infidelity, a young woman's coming of age, parent-child relationships, family conflict. Beautiful settings and realistic dialog. Happy endings in spite of the rocky conflicts each character goes through. Every time I watch it, I learn something new.

This is a very refreshing movie which does not happen too often. When I watched it I had a feeling that every actor (and they all were great) was free tp act on his or her own and the director just gave the general directions. One could see every actor, every talent at its best. Little things, little touches made it work. Good movie, great production, excellent actors and the perfect music. It is very reccomended.

A brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's play. The ensemble cast of regulars from the glory days Cassavettes' independent films are well represented - included the ageless Gena Rowlands. Casting Raul Julia as Calibanos was inspired. He creates a hilarious and utterly humane character that is as over-sexed and under-loved as it gets. However, part of director Paul Mazursky's "magic" is to blend the "independents" with Hollywood. Susan Sarandon and Molly Ringwald round out this pitch perfect ensemble cast. This version of "The Tempest" is among the best adaptations of Shakespeare on DVD today. Contrast it with Peter Greenaway's "Prospero's Books" to see how versatile this play really is.

I love this movie. The contrast of the big urban sprawl and the small, serene greek island is just wonderful. Since the first time I saw this,(1982) I have wanted to make a similar escape. The acting is very realistic and the cinematography is inspirational. Freeze a few scenes and look at the framing! I wish it were on DVD though.

In this loose (emphasis on loose, for sure) adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, John Cassevetes takes on the Prospero role for all it's worth and delivers a piercing performance as Philip Demetrios, successful architect with a failed marriage. He moves with his daughter Miranda (Molly Ringwald in her first film appearance) to a Greek island where he meets the beautiful Aretha Tomalin (Susan Sarandon in the Ariel role) and promptly hooks up with her, as they say.

On hand as well is Raul Julia as Calibanos, a goatherd who exhibits one of the more representative characteristics of "goatness", namely, lust, but also evokes Zorba in his dancing, his use of the term "boss" to refer to Phil, and other stuff; he's utterly convincing as a Greek native. His name is the obvious link to the Shakespeare character.

At 140 minutes, this does tend to ramble in a number of places. But Cassevetes, Sarandon, and Julia are strong enough actors to carry it and make it shine in more places than it rambles. Cassevetes' real-life wife Gena Rowlands is also here as his movie wife; their marriage breaks up, the impetus for his flight to Greece. Rowlands is also very good, as is Vittorio Gassman as Rowlands' new lover--who, as it turns out, is Phil's boss in New York City before Phil's departure. The director, Paul Mazursky, shows up as a movie producer (big stretch...).

If you don't mind a laid back script that lets the characters talk about a lot of stuff that is not necessarily punchy, then this is the movie for you. It's not bad, but in my opinion, could have been tightened up by at least 20 minutes, more like half an hour. Not bad at all--but not great.

This is the story of a guy who's thought only about himself for most of nearly half a century, and can't figure out why he's so miserable...duh !
The cinematography by Donald McAlpine (who did the fabulous '96 "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet") is exquisite. The island in Greece is gorgeous and there's an eerie view of the New York skyline in an electrical storm, with the twin towers gleaming in the light, as well as another scene that takes place at the WTC. We will no doubt be haunted by the sight in films for years to come. The score by Stomu Yamashta is also wonderful.

Paul Mazursky (who plays Bloomfield the producer, with his real life wife Betsy as Mrs. Bloomfield) has an incredible knack for casting his films, and this is an ensemble that works perfectly. Everyone shines, perhaps Raul Julia, with his priceless dance to "New York, New York", the most.
I should have given this 5 stars for its many merits, but I just never got to like this guy, or care about him. His sacrifice was done in arrogance and seemed empty. Methinks Antonia made a big mistake.

I first saw this movie in the 80's when it came out on VHS. At that time the picture quality was not great but the story was. Good story, good music (sinatra) and beautiful locations. Susan Sarandon was just georgous and even Molly Ringwald was cute. Makes you want to go the Greece and live on an island. The DVD picture makes it even better.