Dreadfully Boring

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

This film moves a little slower than I recall. And, unlike Edward de Vere's play, it switches narrative from one scene to the next in a kind of classic modern Hollywood style.No rapid cuts, no gun fights, nor CGI. The film tells the story of a man trying to escape his past, only to have it find him via his own supernaturalness.It's respectably shot, and well acted, and the story itself is good enough for an evening of self retrospection, but the film itself didn't grab me like it did many years ago.Still, it's a solid enough movie. Give it a chance.

Paul Mazursky gathered an impressive acting ensemble for this modern reworking of Shakespeare's "The Tempest", with John Cassavetes feeling trapped by his career and his marriage and taking off for Greece, but direct inspiration from the Bard seems to have run dry early on, and the second-half of the picture is awfully dreary. Cassavetes is a questionable actor to put center-stage in a movie like this, one which depends on a light, fanciful touch if it's to work at all; dogged by a perpetual black cloud, Cassavetes doesn't sink into this character, and his furrowed brow and uncertain grimaces aren't interesting or attractive. As his mistress, short-haired Susan Sarandon is like a dangerous pixie, and Molly Ringwald gives the movie some joy as Cassavetes' daughter; Raul Julia has fun as a horny sheepherder, but Gena Rowlands has little to work with (the wife's arrival in the latter stages of the plot signals nothing but gloom up ahead). Although Mazursky initially seems in frisky spirits, he lets the contemplative nature of the material drag him into pretentious waters, and "Tempest" fades so fast it nearly evaporates off the screen. ** from ****

I just cannot believe the low scores for this movie. Probable reason has to do with the low number of votes meaning few people have seen it. This is simply a fantastic movie! There are so many stories inter-wined within but it's not complicated. Each character grows with the movie and we experience with them undergoing life changes. The scenery is simply amazing and the end credits are the best ever in any movie I have seen (just like a Shakespeare play). Yes, it's a little dated (filmed in 1982) but the issues the characters face are very current. It could have been filmed in 2002 without modifications to the story line. Raul Julia is amazing, best role ever in a movie - this is his signature piece. A young Molly Ringwald is excellent as she matures from girl to young woman. Susan Sarandon is perfect as a young carefree woman and John Cassavetes is the force that puts this all together. Do yourself a favor, find this movie, view it & enjoy it. Come back to IMDb and score this movie into the top 250 of all time where it really belongs.

I can't say what knowing the source for this movie adds, but this is one of my favorite films from Paul Mazursky (director and co-author). This is a retake on the Shakespeare "comedy", but utterly removed from the stage. Without much text, Mazursky and star Cassavettes make visual a mid-life crisis of passion and purpose. Desperate to re-center himself, Cassavettes retreats to a remote Greek island--where the locals and the island itself weave a little magic. With Raul Julia especially, Susan Sarandon and Molly Ringwald, this is an adult fantasy that is emotionally satisfying and visually gorgeous. And funny. It wasn't a big box office hit, but whenever it does come to DVD, it will sell.