gavin6942 A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius (John Cassavetes), to the extent where the successful architect trades his marriage and career in for a spiritual exile on a remote Greek island where he hopes to conjure meaning into his life - trying the patience of his new girlfriend (Susan Sarandon) and angst-ridden teenage daughter (Molly Ringwald).This is, of course, a very loose adaptation of Shakespeare. Other than Caliban, the names have been changed and there was no architect or movie stars in Shakespeare's work that anyone can recall.The film has the distinction of being Molly Ringwald's debut, and she gets more than a little screen time and gets to sing, too. Many may not know, but Ringwald and her father are jazz singers, and this was always her first love. Her character in the first half of the film is nothing special, but she shines once the film moves to the island. Did John Hughes see this film? Raul Julia may be at his finest here, and Cassavetes excels at being angry (he seems to fly off the handle in almost every film he appears in).

constancejones A Masterpiece with an incredible cast, performances and images that will stay in your mind. Yes, there's mid-life crisis, and yes, there's teen-age angst. It's really about growing up at various ages or stages in life. But wait, before dismissing the film as yet another "growing pains" movie, do give it a try. It's been my favorite for many years and everyone to whom I've shown it became a fan. It's the combination of story, actors well-chosen and directed, environment, atmosphere, cinematography, and sound track, that just works in perfect harmony. It's a movie that has you enthralled from the beginning and that doesn't lose its power even after many viewings. It definitely has more than its share of beautifully orchestrated comedic moments as well. One of the rare ones that has it all.

Leftbanker The first time that I saw this film was at an outdoor cinema during the first summer I lived in Greece. I doubt that it is even possible for anyone, anywhere to have a better summer than I did that year. I doubt that is would be possible to improve upon this wonderful movie, although I was beginning to think that I may have overly-romanticized this film because everything else around me that summer was so perfect. This would have been 1984 and I hadn't seen the film again until last night.It's not like I didn't try to see the film again. When I got back to the States a few years later and the whole video craze was in full bloom I looked for a copy of Tempest in every mom and pop video store in the Washington D.C. area without success. Years after this came the internet and Amazon.com. I tried to buy the film but I could only find it on VHS format and I had already abandoned that technology. I could never find it on DVD anywhere until a few weeks ago. I bought it and had it mailed to my brother's home in Chicago and he relayed it to me here in Spain. Even Homer's Odyssey only took ten years.As I said, I saw the movie at a little outdoor theater in a southern suburb of Athens called Glyfada which, although attached to the sprawl of the capital, has more of a beach town feel to it than big city. These little theaters were rather impromptu affairs that looked like someone had just set out a few chairs in their back yard and invited a few friends over. All that I remember is that they seemed to specialize in movies that were filmed in Greece. This was probably why I went to see Tempest.I have praised this movie for so many years that I was a bit worried that it wouldn't live up to the memory I had of it after seeing it so many years ago. I don't think anyone could blame me for over-rating it considering the perfect setting for the first time I saw it. As it turns out, I've been a bit conservative in my praise.It is hard for me to imagine that a movie this good could even be made in this day and age. The run time is 142 minutes which for a romantic comedy (or whatever the hell it is) is very, very rare. If these kinds of movies make it to two hours these days it's some sort of miracle. I didn't remember that the movie goes for almost two and a half hours but I immediately was aware of the slow and deliberate pace of the story—something not synonymous with boring. The director has a story to tell and he isn't about to be pressured into rushing things. A more hurried pacing of the film would have defeated the purpose of why the characters had escaped to a deserted island in Greece. In fact, the story involves two islands: Manhattan and an enchanted Greek isle hidden somewhere in the crystal-clear Aegean. It's difficult to say which one looks more beautiful in film.As I watched this movie for only the second time in 23 years, I felt like I was watching a movie made by adults, for adults. I don't get that feeling very often when I watch movies. Most of the time I'm lucky if the movie doesn't insult me, although I avoid the worst of the comic book remakes and low-brow action flicks. I know that most movies aren't made with my demographic in mind. Tempest, on the other hand, has found in me the perfect target audience.

bglova I love this movie and all aspects of it, well directed as a comedy and as a drama. The acting is tremendous, performed by an all-star cast who play the high society New York perfectly. The scenery is incredible, totally breathtaking. I also love the story: a successful NYC architect who is going through a midlife crisis leaves his cheating wife and runs off to a Greek island to hide out with his daughter who chooses to go with him.I just cannot express my love affair enough regarding this movie. "Show me the magic".