Orpheus Descending (film)

Orpheus Descending
Promotional poster
Directed by	Peter Hall
Produced by	George Manasse Stuart Goodman Gladys Nederlander Elizabeth Ireland McCann
Written by	Tennessee Williams Peter Hall
Starring	Vanessa Redgrave Kevin Anderson Brad Sullivan
Music by	Stephen Edwards
Cinematography	Mike Flash
Editing by	Edward Marnier
Distributed by	TNT
Release date(s)	24 December 1990
Running time	117 min
Country	United States
Language	English

Orpheus Descending is a 1990 American television film starring Vanessa Redgrave and directed by Peter Hall. It is an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play-of-the-same-name. Hall had directed Redgrave in an acclaimed^[1][2] Broadway production of the play a year earlier.^[3] The stage actors such as Redgrave, Kevin Anderson and Brad Sullivan reprised their roles for the film.

Plot

Lady Torrance (Redgrave) is introduced as a disillusioned character, her Sicilian father was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and she's been trapped in a miserable marriage for twenty years. Her tyrannical and bigoted husband is struck down by cancer. Then Lady Torrance meets the orpheuse, a young man named Val Xavier (Kevin Anderson), an Elvis Presley-inspired drifter. A romantic entanglement ensues as Lady Torrance puts behind the misery of marriage behind her and finds passion and happiness with Val.^[1]

Cast

• Vanessa Redgrave as Lady Torrance
• Kevin Anderson as Val Xavier
• Brad Sullivan as Jabe Torrance
• Manning Redwood as Talbot
• Sloane Shelton as Beulah
• Patti Allison as Dolly Hamma
• Pat McNamara as Peewee
• Michael McCarty as Dog Hamma

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Review/Theater; Vanessa Redgrave in 'Orpheus': Matching Artistic Sensibilities New York Times. 25 September 1989
2. ^ Orpheus Descending The Guardian. 7 March 2010
3. ^ Orpheus Descending Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on 5 September 2010

External links

• Orpheus Descending at the Internet Movie Database