Julie Taymor is returning to the stories of the Bard which, in the minds of those who consider Titus to be the highlight of an otherwise dodgy filmography, is the best possible move for her. Broadway comic-book adaptations may not be working out so well, after all.
The Tempest
is based on what is considered Shakespeare’s last play, or at least the
final one he completed himself, and was written somewhere around 1610
(so this is the 400th anniversary edition!). Prospero, or Prospera in
this case, uses a summoned storm to set events in motion that bring to
light the wickedness of some, and the rightful destinies of others- if
that’s a vague enough recap for you. Taymor has assembled a serious cast
for The Tempest including Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, Chris Cooper, Allen Cumming, Russell Brand and David Strathairn.
The
trailer, which can now be found on Apple Trailers, shows that this film
will be the kind of hybrid theatrical/cinematic experience we’re used
to seeing from Taymor. Blending stylized make-up, costumes, effects
(practical, analogue, and digital), the director never fails to craft a
film that is a unique experience- good, bad, or otherwise. The CGI her
is boring, but the other details look interesting, and the cast seems to
be really crackling. Shakespeare is a tough nut to crack though, and
doubly so on screen. Take a look at the trailer and peruse the huge-able
stills down below*, and let us know if you’ll be in the theater come
December 10th.
her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s mystical thriller
“The Tempest,” Academy
Award®–nominated Julie Taymor (“Across the
Universe,” “Frida,”
“Titus”) brings an original dynamic to the story by
changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress
Prospera, portrayed by Oscar® winner Helen Mirren
(“The Queen”). Prospera’s journey spirals
through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island,
cares for her young daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against
shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance,
tragicomedy and the supernatural.
*I’ve
gotten into the habit of screencapping the more visually interesting
trailers that pop up lately- let me know if this is something you’d like
to see continued.
6 comments
Man, that was sounding great. And then I saw "Russell Brand" in the list. Excuse me while I roll over a few times…
Renn, I hate to break it to you, but these stills aren't high-res. You might have grabbed them off of an 1080p trailer, but in Photoshop, they are 72 dpi, which isn't even print quality (300 dpi is the standard, and anything above that is considered high-res) … might want to revise your comment.
#2 Don't be ridiculous. No image needs to be above 72dpi for the web. Tehnically, hi-res means closest or greater resolution than your display settings. Once upon a time that was 1000's , but now 1900's and above.
I tried watching Get him to the Greek and now when I see Russell Brand I understand all the hate. Titus was awesome but I can't stand that guy now. His kind of humour can be used in emergencies to induce nausea.
Oh, Renn hates CG. What an interesting, original thinker. Way to stand out on the internet, dude!
The movie might turn out great, but man, was that trailer a mess. Just felt really disjointed. And Helen Mirren repeatedly firing magic with her staff like she was Tim the sorceror! Ugh.
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