The Tempest Comparison Essay

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Julie Taymor version of The Tempest, with the change in gender roles, was beyond amazing. Taymor took an extra step and embellished the back-story to be more appropriate and making the backstory better fit the context of her adaptation. Prospera, Helen Mirren, is absolutely the right person for the role. Mirren is just such an actor, she protrays her Prospera with such dignity and intensity, which is at the center of all this film's success. Prospera is vain, bitter, volatile, doting towards her daughter, and a magnetic presence throughout the film. She manages to convey shades of grief and remorse at the years she’s lost, and her weathered face goes through a whole range of dark emotions. Mirren’s performance, in fact, is basically the one great thing in the movie. Djimon Hounsou as …show more content…

In Taymor direction, I strongly believe she picked the right man to portray a drunk. His interpretation of Stephano was a comedic relief to the play. He truly played the charter that frustrates Caliban as he jokes around. I wish he had had more of a presence in the play, but understand that would have changed the interpretation of the play. In this paper I did not touch on the King and his men as they traveled the island looking for Ferdinand or their encounters with Ariel, though I did not touch on this part of the movie it was also well divulged but the director and the cast. Alan Cumming and Chris Cooper played their roles as appearing to be “trusted” but being the villains wanting to kill the King for their own benefit was shown through their acting. Tom Conti who, played, Gonzalo, showed how loyal his charter was to the King and that he would lay his own life down to protect him. Conti facial expressions showed the pain/worry that the King. David Strantharin who played King Alonso, seemed more distraught about the loss of his son from the shipwreck in the movie compared to the

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