Julie Taymor's The Tempest

Julie Taymor, an Academy Award-nominated director, created the film, The Tempest, in order to show the original Shakespeare play justice on the big screen. The movie was shown in theaters across the country on December 10th, 2010. The film is firmly based on the play The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare in 1610. Many believe that it was thought to be that last written play that Shakespeare wrote alone. With such an original storyline, The Tempest is a Shakespearean comedy that has a “never-ending struggle between the forces of good and evil” (Dozier). The film continues to emphasizes this point; however, in the 21st century, the film is considered to be fantasy and drama. The use of magic and the “emotional and relational development

One aspect is the background. The film successful portrays the deserted island. With the advance in technology, the creators did not overcomplicate the scenery, because it would take away the focus of the characters. Each scene was perfectly presented, just as it was described in the original play. Another aspect was the ability to keep the original script. Even though, some of the dialogue was cut short, skipped, or slightly changed, many viewers were able to follow the script word for word. The only major changes, involved a gender shift. Father was changed to mother. He was turned into she. The reason for these changes was caused by the change in the principle role. As generations become older, Shakespeare’s plays are hard to understand. Nevertheless, the actions and the personalities of each character shined in the film, causing every viewer to understand and relate to the characters and understand what is being said. The last aspect is the themes that were portrayed in both, the film and the original script. The major theme of The Tempest is justice. Prospero and Prospera, same character, was betrayed by their brother and sent to an island, to live out their days. They both required justice, in order to restoring their power. Using his/her magic, Prospero/a was in control of the fate of all characters in the film, and play. This transition from the play to the film, was not lost. It was strongly

As the world evolves, the language of Shakespeare may be lost in transition. However, the film portrays the original script, showing the true beauty of Old English. Each character was enchanting and well developed. It added new dimensions from the original play. With technology being so advance, a movie can become overly complexed and dramatic. However, the film was presented with the original script in mind, keeping the background and the themes perfectly intact. Despite the gender shift, the story line remained unbroken. The Tempest (2010) was able to show the audience a new and technology-advanced film, that remain completely true to the original