Orlando is a 1992 historical fantasy drama film loosely based on Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando, Billy Zane as Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth I. It was written and directed by Sally Potter.
Plot[]
The story begins in the Elizabethan era, shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. On her deathbed, the queen promises an androgynous young nobleman named Orlando a large tract of land and a castle built on it, along with a generous monetary gift; both Orlando and his heirs would keep the land and inheritance forever, but Elizabeth will bequeath it to him only if he assents to an unusual command: "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." Orlando acquiesces and reposes in splendid isolation in the castle for a couple of centuries during which time he dabbles in poetry and art. His attempts to befriend a celebrated poet backfire when the poet ridicules his verse. Orlando then travels as English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. After years of diplomatic service, he participates in a battle but flees after witnessing the first death. Waking seven days later, he learns something startling: he has transformed into a woman.
The now Lady Orlando comes home to her estate in Middle-Eastern attire, only to learn that she faces several impending lawsuits arguing that Orlando was a woman all along and therefore has no right to the land or any of the royal inheritance that the queen had promised. The succeeding two centuries tire Orlando; the court case, bad luck in love, and the wars of British history eventually bring the story to the present day (the early 1990s). Orlando now has a young daughter in tow and is in search of a publisher for her book. The literary editor who judges the work as "quite good" is portrayed by Heathcote Williams—the same actor who played the poet who had, earlier in the film, denigrated Orlando's poetry. Having lived a most bizarre existence, Orlando, relaxing with her daughter, points out to her an angel.
Cast[]
- Tilda Swinton as Orlando
- Billy Zane as Shelmerdine
- Lothaire Bluteau as The Khan
- John Wood as Archduke Harry
- Charlotte Valandrey as Princess Sasha
- Heathcote Williams as Nick Greene / The Publisher
- Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth I
- Peter Eyre as Mr Pope
- Thom Hoffman as King William of Orange
- Kathryn Hunter as Countess
- Ned Sherrin as Addison
- Jimmy Somerville as Falsetto / Angel
- Dudley Sutton as James I
- John Bott as Orlando's Father
- Elaine Banham as Orlando's Mother
- Anna Farnworth as Clorinda
- Sara Mair-Thomas as Favilla
- Anna Healy as Euphrosyne
- Simon Russell Beale as Earl of Moray
- Matthew Sim as Lord Francis Vere
- Toby Stephens as Othello
- Oleg Pogudin as Desdemona
- Toby Jones as Second Valet
- Sarah Crowden as Queen Mary
- Roger Hammond as Mr Swift