A lively, ambitious take on the troubled times and colorful life of early 16th-century prophet Michel de Nostradame, "Nostradamus" is gloomy but entertaining, featuring several winning performances. Director Roger Christian ("The Sender") only partly achieves the sought-for synchronicity between a difficult subject matter and a commercial approach that includes apocalyptic special effects and numerous sexual encounters for the lead character.
The Orion Classics release should conjure up respectable art-house numbers.
Knut Boeser and Piers Ashworth's screenplay follows a more-or-less straight road through Nostradamus' life, starting with the Provence youth dreaming of a modern city literally being torn from the earth.
Throughout, the visions of Nostradamus look remarkably like newsreel footage of World War II, the Kennedy assassination and African famines. Christian is able to pull it off by not belaboring the details or getting too wrapped up in the many verses of Nostradamus' "Centuries" that are still being interpreted (a woman is elected U.S. president in the year 2004, for instance).
Quiet and intense, Tcheky Karyo ("1492: Conquest of Paradise") is perfectly cast as the lead. Julia Ormond is fiercely passionate in her over-fast-but-memorable role as the first Mrs. Nostradamus. F. Murray Abraham is excellent as usual, while Amanda Plummer is simply stunning with her distinct brand of smiling menace.
Filmed on Romanian locations and at Ealing Studios, "Nostradamus" showcases cinematographer Denis Crossan's naturalistic images. Production designer Peter J. Hampton works wonders with the many sets and Barrington Pheloung's bold score soars like one's imagination after seeing this movie.
NOSTRADAMUS
Orion Classics
Allied Entertainments and Vereinigte Film Partners present
A Film by Roger Christian
Director Roger Christian
Producers Edward Simons, Harold Reichebner
Screenplay Knut Boeser, Piers Ashworth
Executive producers Peter McRae, Kent Walwin, David Mintz
Director of photography Denis Crossan
Production designer Peter J. Hampton
Editor Alan Strachan
Music Barrington Pheloung
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Nostradamus Tcheky Karyo
Scalinger F. Murray Abraham
Monk Rutger Hauer
Catherine De Medici Amanda Plummer
Marie Julie Ormond
Anne Assumpta Serna
King Hnery II Anthony Higgins
Running time -- 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
The Orion Classics release should conjure up respectable art-house numbers.
Knut Boeser and Piers Ashworth's screenplay follows a more-or-less straight road through Nostradamus' life, starting with the Provence youth dreaming of a modern city literally being torn from the earth.
Throughout, the visions of Nostradamus look remarkably like newsreel footage of World War II, the Kennedy assassination and African famines. Christian is able to pull it off by not belaboring the details or getting too wrapped up in the many verses of Nostradamus' "Centuries" that are still being interpreted (a woman is elected U.S. president in the year 2004, for instance).
Quiet and intense, Tcheky Karyo ("1492: Conquest of Paradise") is perfectly cast as the lead. Julia Ormond is fiercely passionate in her over-fast-but-memorable role as the first Mrs. Nostradamus. F. Murray Abraham is excellent as usual, while Amanda Plummer is simply stunning with her distinct brand of smiling menace.
Filmed on Romanian locations and at Ealing Studios, "Nostradamus" showcases cinematographer Denis Crossan's naturalistic images. Production designer Peter J. Hampton works wonders with the many sets and Barrington Pheloung's bold score soars like one's imagination after seeing this movie.
NOSTRADAMUS
Orion Classics
Allied Entertainments and Vereinigte Film Partners present
A Film by Roger Christian
Director Roger Christian
Producers Edward Simons, Harold Reichebner
Screenplay Knut Boeser, Piers Ashworth
Executive producers Peter McRae, Kent Walwin, David Mintz
Director of photography Denis Crossan
Production designer Peter J. Hampton
Editor Alan Strachan
Music Barrington Pheloung
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Nostradamus Tcheky Karyo
Scalinger F. Murray Abraham
Monk Rutger Hauer
Catherine De Medici Amanda Plummer
Marie Julie Ormond
Anne Assumpta Serna
King Hnery II Anthony Higgins
Running time -- 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 9/14/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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