This film is currently unavailable
Prospero's Books
John Gielgud plays The Tempest’s Prospero, and Greenaway experiments with digital techniques to further his vision.
Director: Peter Greenaway
Overview
Greenaway adapts Shakespeare’s The Tempest, abandoning established narrative structures and employing innovative digital techniques alongside mime and dance to present a work of beauty and precision. John Gielgud gives a performance of astonishing breadth, playing both Prospero and, ultimately, Shakespeare himself. The result is an extraordinary, illusory work that perfectly reflects Greenaway’s unique, uncompromising sensibility.
Related
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
La Belle et la Bête La Belle et la Bête
Fantasy 1946 95 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future
Fantasy 2022 99 mins Director: Francisca Alegría
Francisca Alegría brings together family trauma and ecology into a poetic journey of rebirth. A mysterious and poetic tale on our collapsing ecosystem and finding balance.
Dreams That Money Can Buy Dreams That Money Can Buy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 79 mins Director: Hans Richter
Dadaist Hans Richter attempts to bring the European avant-garde to the masses, with this story about a man who discovers he has the power to create dreams, and sets up a business selling them to others.
Medusa Medusa
Fantasy 2021 128 mins Director: Anita Rocha da Silveira
Electrifying genre-bending horror about a gang of marauding vigilantes who target women they deem to be sinful.
Born of Fire Born of Fire
Fantasy 1986 84 mins Director: Jamil Dehlavi
Peter Firth stars as a musician haunted by visions of a mystical nemesis, in this bold and poetic horror with stunning visuals.
The Draughtsman's Contract The Draughtsman's Contract
Period drama 1982 107 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway became a director of international status with this witty, stylised, erotic country house murder mystery.
The Baby of Mâcon The Baby of Mâcon
Period drama 1993 122 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
An apparently miraculous birth is exploited by the authorities in medieval France in Greenaway's disturbing film about corruption, starring Julia Ormond and Ralph Fiennes.
The Belly of an Architect The Belly of an Architect
Drama 1987 118 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
The splendour of Rome is the setting for Greenaway’s richly symbolic work, with Brian Dennehy as the American architect.
Drowning by Numbers Drowning by Numbers
Comedy 1988 119 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Sex, death, number counting and game playing co-exist in Greenaway’s morbidly humorous and quite brilliant work.
81⁄2 Women 81⁄2 Women
Comedy 1999 121 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
A son tries to help his grief-stricken father by creating a harem at their spacious home in Peter Greenaway's Palme d'Or-nominated film.
The Pillow Book The Pillow Book
Drama 1996 126 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Ewan McGregor followed Trainspotting with this bewitching fusion of flesh and text for Peter Greenaway, a visually erotic delight co-starring Vivian Wu.
The Draughtsman's Contract The Draughtsman's Contract
Period drama 1982 107 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway became a director of international status with this witty, stylised, erotic country house murder mystery.
A Zed and Two Noughts A Zed and Two Noughts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1985 117 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
Following a fatal car crash involving a swan outside a zoo, twin-brother zoologists Oliver and Oswald become fascinated by the processes of decay.
Goltzius and the Pelican Company Goltzius and the Pelican Company
Biopic 2012 117 mins Director: Peter Greenaway
An artist stages a series of erotic dramatisations illustrating sexual taboos from the Old Testament, in this startling and shocking return from director Peter Greenaway.
The Ornithologist The Ornithologist
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
A lone scientist in Portugal’s Douro region embarks on an unexpected transcendental journey. Beautiful, erotic and baffling.
The Secret in Their Eyes The Secret in Their Eyes
Thriller 2009 129 mins Director: Juan José Campanella
A retired legal investigator revisits an unresolved case that still haunts him, in Juan José Campanella’s taut, Academy Award winning, thriller.
Silver Haze Silver Haze
Drama 2023 103 mins Director: Sacha Polak
Dirty God director Sacha Polak and star Vicky Knight reunite for this daring drama about love, family and forgiveness, loosely inspired by Knight’s life.
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Wild Men Wild Men
Comedy 2021 102 mins Director: Thomas Daneskov
In this razor-sharp black comedy featuring Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), Martin flees to the mountains in a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis.