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Lenfilm
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England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.
CinemaSerf
Oct 21, 2022 · via TMDB
Tilda Swinton is superb in this story of the eponymous Tudor noble who obeys a command from the enamoured Queen Elizabeth (Quentin Crisp) and refuses to grow old. The film now follows the adventures, loves and ultimately depicts how the character adapts - quite literally - as England becomes Britain and eventually he becomes free! The experiences as an ambassador in the middle east, the determination to retain the family property when the authorities begin to smell a rat, the arrival of a child - all build upon this wonderfully enigmatic Virginia Woolf creation that defies typical analysis. This is story of humanity and of it's own reluctance to embrace meaningful change as events and the environment relentlessly changes around it. Historical figures from Othello to King James I appear throughout this quirkily engaging chronology that is colourful, vibrant and enjoyably imaginative with this particular adaptation taking a little liberty with the book by extending the timeline into the more modern era. Whilst "Orlando" may evolve with some Hermaphroditic characteristics, they serve as a conduit to this story and are not overtly central to the action. It's that very gender ambiguity that becomes gradually better defined as if the immortal is emerging from a fog - and Sally Potter keeps that remarkably well focused for the ninety minutes of screen time we are presented with here. It is an hard film to evaluate, it may or will mean many different things to many different people, and that's what makes it very watchable indeed.
Filipe Manuel Neto
Sep 29, 2022 · via TMDB
**Based on a somewhat controversial novel, it tackles gender issues and other deep subjects quite well.** “Orlando” is perhaps one of the most interesting and controversial novels by the equally controversial Virginia Woolf. The details of this writer's life are known: the sexual abuse she suffered in childhood, the depressive crises, the existential doubts she experienced all her life, her bisexuality. And “Orlando” was born in this context: it is the result of the relationship between Woolf and Victoria Sackville West, an aristocrat who maintained an open marriage, in which she could live her sexuality with other women. To what extent have Victoria or the author herself, at certain moments, not wanted or fantasized about an eventual sex change? I don't know, however, I assume that Woolf's novel may be one of the first literary works to explore the possibility of transsexuality. The film doesn't do much more than transport Woolf's words to the screen, recreating a story where a young androgynous English aristocrat of the Elizabethan court, Lord Orlando, finds himself the object of the affection of the old queen, who gives him various goods and perks. on condition that he can never grow old or die, which actually happens! Thus, “blessed” (the eventual negative consequences are never addressed) in this way, Orlando crosses the centuries without aging a day, lives in love and gets to know other countries. At one point, he is possessed by a sleep he cannot wake up from, and when he finally wakes up, he has mysteriously become a woman, and spends the next two hundred years proving that not only did he never die, he changed sex. And the years go by, with the film ending in our days. The film is responsible for boosting the film career of Tilda Swinton, a British actress who, even before making this film, was already pursuing a somewhat androgynous aesthetic look, perhaps due to having spent her childhood as the only girl among several male brothers. . The truth is that the film contributed decisively to the actress's career. She dominates the film and gives us a superb performance. John Wood and Quentin Crisp also do great value work. Technically, what stands out the most about this film is the cinematography, very careful and beautiful, and the smooth but consistent pace of a film that can take a while to convince viewers, but manages to do it and keeps our attention until at end. Filmed largely on British soil, it makes good use of various aristocratic houses as part of its set, and all the costumes, for each historical era, were really well done.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Tilda Swinton
Orlando
Billy Zane
Shelmerdine
Lothaire Bluteau
The Khan
John Wood
Archduke Harry
Charlotte Valandrey
Sasha
Heathcote Williams
Nick Greene / Publisher
Quentin Crisp
Queen Elizabeth I
Peter Eyre
Mr. Pope
Thom Hoffman
King William of Orange
Kathryn Hunter
Countess
Jimmy Somerville
Singer / Angel
Dudley Sutton
King James I
Simon Russell Beale
Earl of Moray
Matthew Sim
Lord Francis Vere
Jerome Willis
Translator
Viktor Stepanov
Russian Ambassador
Barbara Hicks
Second Woman
Toby Stephens
Othello
Oleg Pogodin
Desdemona
George Antoni
First Valet
Toby Jones
Second Valet
Robert Demeger
Third Valet
Lol Coxhill
Butler
Sarah Crowden
Queen Mary
Roger Hammond
Mr. Swift
Cyril Lecomte
Young Man
Olivia Lancelot
Young Woman
John Grillo
First Official
Martin Wimbush
Second Official
Stanislav Romanovsky
Production Design
Sandy Powell
Costume Design
Morag Ross
Makeup Supervisor
Fred Frith
Additional Music
Steve Dent
Stunt Coordinator
Michael Powell
Thanks
Sally Potter
Director
Christopher Newman
First Assistant Director
Hervé Schneid
Editor
Martine Kelly
Associate Producer
Matthijs van Heijningen
Co-Producer
Roberto Cicutto
Co-Producer
Sally Potter
Original Music Composer
Virginia Woolf
Novel
Sally Potter
Screenplay
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Pavlínka
Alsasua 1936
Nine Days and One Morning
Bread and Salt
In Search of the Equator
The Godfather
The Pianist
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8½
Metropolis
Das Boot
Ugetsu
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Hide and Seek
Doctor Who: Castrovalva
Les Jeunes Filles
Trainspotting
Freedom Writers
Rebecca
Fargo
A Beautiful Mind
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My Life Without Me
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September Sky
Navráťte sa k otcom svojim
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Sahara
The Smiling Madame Beudet
Good Dick
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9 Songs
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Century
The Passion of Ayn Rand
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Overseas
Doctor Who: Snakedance
The Narcissus Season
Jarrapellejos
You Wont Miss Me
The Extraordinary Tale of the Times Table
Anatomy of Hell
Finn's Girl
A Round Trip to Love 2
Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls
Model Minority
The Butterfly Lifts the Cat Up
Küss mich, Genosse!
Felicitas
Older Than America
The Prince and the Nature Girl
Beatriz
Passion Fever
Kaivopuiston kaunis Regina
The Sideways Light
Father Sergius
Eve: The Real Petting
Farewell to Hollywood
Songs From the Shed
Miles of Sand
The Lifeboat
Bali, das Wunderland
Just My Imagination
Cukor
Jennie Gerhardtová
Hajniks Wife
Blame the Rabbit
Express
Kill Your Darlings
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden
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The Secret Life of Bees
Night and the City
Remember
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
To Walk Invisible
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Wonder Woman
Before I Fall
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Victoria & Abdul
Eleanor the Great
I Am David
The Words
Sabotage
Passage to Marseille
Nothing Personal
Starving in Suburbia
Helen
Wonder Woman 1984
The Sense of an Ending
Mr. K
TalhotBlond
Killer's Kiss
Agatha and the Midnight Murders
Sweetness in the Belly
Hideaways
The Happy Prince
Origin
King Lear
Holy Lands
Inseparable
The Shadow
Northfork
Snow White and the Huntsman
The Eternal Daughter
How Sarah Got Her Wings
Paradise Hills
Jack the Giant Slayer
Queen of the Desert
The End We Start From
The Dark Tower
The Girl in the Book
Mar 19, 1993
New York New Directors and New Films Festival
Jun 9, 1993
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Football's Financial Shame: The Story of the V11
2025
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1917
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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2000 · 12 wins
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2022 · 11 wins
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2019 · 11 wins
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