- Actors: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp, John Bott, Elaine Banham
- Directors: Sally Potter
- Writers: Sally Potter, Virginia Woolf
- Producers: Christopher Sheppard, Laurie Borg, Lynn Hanke, Martine Kelly, Richard Salmon
- Format: AC-3, Dolby, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: Aug 17 2010
- Run Time: 94 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B003Q7B78S
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #11,839 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Breathtaking and practically nondiscursive, 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 camp by legendary cross-dresser Quentin Crisp), the title character becomes immortal; we then follow Orlando through 400 years of dreamlike 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 willful 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. Based on, but scarcely resembling, the Virginia Woolf modernist classic of the same name. --Miles Bethany
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites.,
By
This review is from: Orlando (Widescreen) (DVD)
Finally got this one on DVD after nearly wearing out my VHS copy. Sally Potter is one of the best directors and of course Tilda Swinton in the title role is mesmerizing in every way. Although a sharp departure from Virginia Woolf's source material, it retains the spirit and scope of the novel. Orlando's tranformation from man to woman half way through is a beautiful moment. Swinton proudly naked and observing herself in the mirror looks directly into the camera and says "no difference really, just a different sex" it brilliantly blurs the line between what it means to be a man and woman. And when I say blur, I mean it in a good way. The gender, sexual orientation and race lines all need to be blurred until they disappear. Orland is a good salvo in that war.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An epic of astounding grace,
By
This review is from: Orlando (Widescreen) (DVD)
This telling of Virginia Woolf's tale is a sweeping epic of grace and beauty.There could not have been a better choice to portray the gender swapping Orlando than Tilda Swinton. She lights up the screen with her beauty, grace and subtle wit. As a young man nervously reciting poetry to Queen Elizabeth, or a modern woman raising a young daughter, she embraces the audience and pulls us fully into her world. The settings, costumes and music serve to construct a world of changing ages spinning around a single soul in flux. Orlando is an astounding piece of cinema history and deserves a place of honor in any DVD library.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Work of Beauty,
By
This review is from: Orlando (VHS Tape)
Whether it was a mystical experience to watch because it pulled me out of the boredom of a dreary Sunday morning when it appeared on IFC, or whether it really is one of the most fascinating and hauntingly photographed films ever made...well, the jury is still out, and in fact it's probably both reasons. But I quickly obtained my own copy and have waited to watch it again because I so badly want to share this movie with someone. But it's a rare breed that will appreciate the story of a man who over time turns into a woman---a human being who tells a story of pain and obsession, heartache, war, and finally fulfillment in the truest love possible, across five centuries of different lives/same soul. A beautiful and artful rendition of the novel. I can't wait to unwrap mine one day and share it with the right friend... Could become an underground intellegentsia cult classic. (If it hasn't already and I'm really out of the loop.)
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