It won 1 Oscar out of a total of 1 nomination in 1927-28.
- Best Art Direction
- William Cameron Menzies
Tempest is a period piece set in the final days of Imperial Russia, and follows a peasant who rises from the ranks to become an officer in the military. Falling in love with the princess, and resented by the aristocracy because of his inferior class, his romantic pursuits ultimately land him in prison. A peddler, looking to start a revolution, uses this as an opportunity to recruit the officer to overthrow those in power. The officer's love for the princess, however, makes the process quite complicated.
Reportedly, when the negative and prints were discovered at some point in the 1950s, there was some missing footage that had been cut from the film. Spoiler alert: originally, the ending had included a chase sequence, in which the officer and the princess were supposed to make their escape to the Austrian border on a sleigh. It has been suggested that the missing sequence could have been used as stock footage for another film. But this is speculative.
Editorial:
The production design on this film is very well done. The elaborate sets are massive in scale and intricate in design, which make for a film that is quite pleasing to look at. It is reasonably enjoyable on its own, but the aesthetics elevate it.
Of most interest is that the filmmakers seemed to go out of their way to make the Communist peddler as dastardly as they possibly could - complete with menacing eyes, scraggly hair and a toothless grin. I imagine this depiction is a remnant of the First Red Scare in the United States during the 1920s.
Score | 04/10 | This motion picture is worth trying.
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