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Orlando [DVD] [Special Edition]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Director Potter provided the vocals on the score, which she co-wrote. Jimmy Somerville, who plays a singer in the 16th century and the 18th century, and an angel, is best known as the lead singer of the British pop groups Bronski Beat and The Comunards. The literary legend Quentin Crisp, who played Elizabeth I, was scandalized in real life for his penchant for androgynous dress--as was Orlando for her ambiguous sex. Having concentrated on raising a family at her home in Scotland, and on acting on the London stage, Tilda Swinton returned to movies to make THE BEACH (1999) with Leonardo di Caprio. In the narration of the film, Tilda Swinton's voice tells us, "For there can be no doubt about his sex," later changing it to "For there can be no doubt about her sex," both quotes from the novel. Virginia Woolfe once described her novel ORLANDO, as "an escapade, half-laughing, half-serious, with great splashes of exaggeration." Estimated budget of $4 million. Potter achieved such a lush look with so low a budget thanks to the poor economy in Russia, where part of Orlando was filmed. Shot on location in England, St. Petersburg, Russia and Uzbekistan, in Eastmancolor. The opening film of the 1993 New Directors/New Films series. Also shown at the 1993 Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. Based on Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel written for and inspired by her friend and lover Vita Sackville-West. The book not only explored gender, but was a tour of literary history as well. British actress Tilda Swinton is best known for her work in the films of British experimental director Derek Jarman. ORLANDO won more than 25 international film awards including a "Felix" for best picture, and received 2 Academy Award nominations.
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Credits

Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey, Heathcote Williams
Critic Reviews

"...This ravishing and witty spectacle invades the mind through eyes that are dazzled....[Swinton has] sweetness, gravity and intelligence..."
New York Times
"...[A] sumptuously costumed journey..." - Recommended
Premiere
"...ORLANDO straddles the genders while creating a new genre....A pace that this smashingly designed and photographed..." -- 3 out of 4 stars
USA Today
"...[Swinton] is flat out amazing in a performance that is destined to become legendary..."
Rolling Stone
"...Sumptuous....With an adept star turn by Tilda Swinton..."
Film Comment
"...[Swinton is] a stunning found object: She looks so much like a painting of English nobility come to life that she helps root the film in a mythical historical past..."
Entertainment Weekly