Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16106 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-05
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Synopsis
Fans of John Tuturro and those with an unhealthy interest in backstage glimpses will enjoy this farce about a would-be theatrical production in turn-of-the-century New York. Tuturro is the struggling playwright, Christopher Walken is the gay theater critic, and Susan Sarandon is the desperate actress of dubious morals.

Customer Reviews

Illuminata - well worth watching.
I sometimes like to order a DVD without knowing exactly what it is about, simply taking a chance because of the title, the cast, or something about the cover. This may ofcourse lead to disappointments, but it may also, in the case of this film, lead to a wonderful surprise.

There are lots of familiar faces, some have more screentime than others yet they are all equally contributing to the story and the atmosphere of the film. Astergourd (Beverly D'Angelo) and Pallenchio (Donal McCann) are owners of a small theatre, who are doing their best to keep things afloat. When they suddenly find themselves with a gap in the evening's programme, the playwright Tuccio (John Turturro) seizes the opportunity to introduce the crowd to a preview of his play Illuminata. Unfortunately critics such as the unforgettable Bevalaqua (Christopher Walken), who has a great little speech about things he doesn't like, are negative about it, and so Astergourd decides on a play that has already proven it's worth. This sets off a flurry of activities and intrigue where those involved with this theatre all do their bit to persuade the powers that be to stage Illuminata.

Susan Sarandon is wonderful as the vain actress Celimene who disguises her love of herself as her love of art. Katherine Borowitz has some great scenes as Tuccio's love Rachel. There are many more but I cannot name them all, nor will I go into detail as I don't want to spoil things for you. All I can say is that this film, at times funny and at times poignant, is in my opinion definitely worth watching.

Why, might you ask, if I so enjoyed this film, did I give it 4 stars, not 5? Well, that is because I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to follow all of it with the assistence of subtitles. English is not my first language and my understanding of English falters when having to deal with such interfering elements as strong accents, faster speech or background noises. I am sure that other foreign viewers and people hard of hearing would agree with me that it's a shame not more DVD's have at least English subtitles to offer.

One more thing, this film is recommended for viewers aged 15 and above. This is because of nudity, sex and occasionally strong language. Thankfully I am a bit older than that so this did not hinder me in enjoying a little gem of a film.