Orlando

Tilda Swinton was largely unknown when she took on the role of Orlando, an ageless young man who transforms into an ever-youthful woman over the course of four centuries in Sally Potter's elegant 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel. Born during the reign of Elizabeth I (played by gay icon Quentin Crisp), the adult Orlando is told by the monarch that he can keep his lavish estate forever—if he remains eternally young. This intriguing premise finds the hero/heroine experiencing life from Elizabethan to modern times, switching gender viewpoint midway through the odyssey. Potter combines the experimental tools and feminist approach of her earlier works with painterly imagery and more conventional narrative storytelling to present the cinematic counterpart to Woolf's writing, with Orlando periodically speaking to the audience in brief, witty asides, and decades passing via a single fluid sequence or a simple cut. Nabbing Oscar nominations for its art direction and costume design, Orlando is considered both a faithful adaptation and a creative interpretation of a classic literary work. DVD extras include select scenes commentary with Potter, an interview with the director, the featurettes “Orlando Goes to Russia” and “Orlando in Uzbekistan” (both shot during production); and footage from the 1992 Venice Film Festival press conference. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)