Breathtaking and practically non-discursive, Sally Potter's audacious Orlando overcomes some dodgy performances and a narrative structure that could most generously be described as "loose" to emerge as a haunting, discussion-provoking, trans-historical and transsexual drama. Commanded never to age by Queen Elizabeth (played with surprisingly little campness by legendary cross-dresser Quentin Crisp), the title character becomes immortal; we then follow Orlando through 400 years of dream-like British history. Midway through the film, Orlando changes genders--to Potter's immense credit, the transformation is handled with little fanfare and no explanation. Tilda Swinton, in the lead role, is far more convincing as a woman than as a man and, even during the film's latter half, her impassivity and lack of expression can be annoying. Potter encourages Swinton to play to the camera and the resulting asides and glances askance can be amusing but often seem purposeless, or even arch. Nevertheless, the wilful idiosyncrasy and understatement of the film never quite capsize the project and, once you give yourself over to the filmmaker's logic, the panoramic sweep of the cinematography (remarkable sets include an aristocratic skating party on the frozen Thames during the Great London Frost of 1603, a stunning tent-caravan in Central Asia, and countless fastidious boudoirs and interiors) will surely keep you enraptured. Orlando is no Merchant-Ivory production, no prissy, forgettable period piece; this film has teeth and it may bite ferociously when you least expect it to. Although based on the Virginia Woolf modernist classic of the same name, it scarcely resembles the original. --Miles Bethany
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Triumphant film of Virginia Woolf's historical fantasy. The Director Sally Potter creates a wondrous, illusive, highly textured world through which the androgynous Orlando moves for three hundred years as he/she writes a poem. Orlando is a role made for Tilda Swinton and arrived with perfect timing to move her career into a different league. By some alchemy she makes the fantastical plot seem quite natural, whilst delighting us with masterly acting moving fluently from one emotion and period to another. Nobody but Swinton with her love of the unique... more info
Avoid like something really nasty I had the misfortune of being forced to watch this drivel TWICE in college. It is perhaps one of the most awful, dull and annoying films ever; a man played by a woman who becomes an immortal woman and then spends a lot of time moping around. Quite how the titular character became immortal I know not, though maybe the bundle of rags and leathery skin that was Queen Elizabeth I (feel free to call me names if this is wrong) told him/her never to get old is the reason (I was too bored and angry to care about... more info
well made, but the book is much better. buy both. This is a beautiful film, well directed and acted. If I hadn't read the book I would probably have given it 4 stars. It was filmed in Russia, what a pity! Throughout the pages of Virginia Woolf you fill such a vibrant London, expecially in the last part of the novel. The cold Russian winter has such a stong white light and it helps you imagine the Great Frost, during the reign of King James I. Orlando writes a poem which takes him 300 years to finish, but we never see him/her during its writing. When... more info
Brilliant film, poor DVD Orlando is a very beautiful film. This is the second Orlando DVD I bought. The two disk edition of Artifical Eye has a disapointing video quality. The video quality of the German edition (ArtHaus) is visibly better. Also the aspect ratio is slightly different. What I didn't like about the German version are the imprinted subtitles. So I bought the second DVD. :-(
![Orlando [1993]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41M6C45M4GL._SL160_.jpg)
