Orlando
Orlando is a 1992 British period drama fantasy film loosely based on Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando, Billy Zane as Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth I. It was written and directed by Sally Potter, who also co-wrote the score with David Motion.
Plot
The story begins in the Elizabethan era, shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. On her deathbed, the queen promises an androgynous young nobleman named Orlando a large tract of land and a castle built on it, along with a generous monetary gift; both Orlando and his heirs would keep the land and inheritance forever, but Elizabeth will bequeath it to him only if he assents to an unusual command: "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." Orlando acquiesces and reposes in splendid isolation in the castle for a couple of centuries during which time he dabbles in poetry and art. His attempts to befriend a celebrated poet backfire when the poet ridicules his verse. Orlando then travels as English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. After years of diplomatic service, participates in a battle but flees after witnessing the first death. Waking seven days later, he learns something startling: he has transformed into a woman.
Awards
Cast
- Barbara Hicks
- Billy Zane
- Charlotte Valandrey
- Cyril Lecomte
- Dudley Sutton
- Heathcote Williams
- Jerome Willis
- Jimmy Somerville
- John Bott
- John Grillo
- John Wood
- Kathryn Hunter
- Lothaire Bluteau
- Mary MacLeod
- Matthew Sim
- Ned Sherrin
- Oleg Pogudin
- Peter Eyre
- Quentin Crisp
- Roger Hammond
- Sarah Crowden
- Simon Russell Beale
- Thom Hoffman
- Tilda Swinton
- Toby Jones
- Toby Stephens
- Viktor Stepanov