Tempest

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: August 13, 1982

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

40	METASCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

David Denby

This movie, one of the most bizarrely ambitious works directed by an American in recent years, is certainly a mess, but it's a joyful mess, with far more invention and life than many a more conventional well-made film. [16 Aug 1982, p.42]

Bob Thomas

Mazursky lets it all run too long, by a half-hour at least, but he also offers a menu of rare delights. [27 Aug 1982]

David Sterritt

It's bold, and big, and even beautiful at times. That's more than most recent movies can claim. [26 Aug 1982, p.19]

Jack Kroll

Tempest is too long and often rambles when it should scintillate, but it has wit and heart, and some of its Shakespearean switcheroos have a touching charm. [16 Aug 1982, p.59]

Staff (Not Credited)

That old Shakespearean magic survives even this loosest of adaptations, and by the end one is wallowing in the length and indulgence of it all. Read full review

Tim Purtell

Though real-life couple Cassavetes and Rowlands bounce well off one another and Raul Julia does a wacky musical number with goats (set to the tune of ”New York, New York”), the magic’s spare. Read full review

Vincent Canby

Experiencing it is like watching a 10-ton canary as it attempts to become airborne. It lumbers up and down the runway tirelessly, but never once succeeds in getting both feet off the ground at the same time. The spectacle is amusing in isolated moments but, finally, exhausting. Read full review

Bill Cosford

Mazursky never makes the case for his hero's disaffection, and Cassavetes is not one of those screen presences for whom we are willing to fill in the blanks. [24 Sep 1982, p.D2]

RogerEbert.comRoger Ebert

The movie is an ambitious experiment, but a long and tedious one, and our revels end long before Mazursky's. Read full review