A loose, multi-layered deconstruction of Shakespeare's final play by Peter Greenaway,
enfant terrible of the British art-house scene. Beginning with its opening sequence of a urinating angel, PROSPERO'S BOOKS is a remarkable celebration of naked excess. Penises, especially, proliferate
like so many pairs of socks dangling from a clothesline. It's Shakespeare's work, though certainly not as originally envisioned. The 86-year-old Gielgud gives an undeniably virtuoso performance as a most regal Prospero, master manipulator of people and events. Gielgud functions as a sort of
onscreen chorus--an intermediary between the action and audience to give form and fabri...
Released:
1991
Rated:
R
Length:
120 mins