Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, creative, unusual, captivating -- a find!
Review: If you see this for the first time on video, you'll probably wish you'd seen it when it was still in theatres (or at least you'll want to see it in widescreen). The cinematograpy is both unusual in its makeup and breathtaking besides, and well-suited to a larger screen. The movie chronicles several _centuries_ of her life; Orlando's character changes not only from male to female, but from immature to mature in a number of ways. It's a journey which is strange, sensual, and extraordinary all at the same time, and leaves you wondering what happens next... "next" being after the movie ends as "her life is just beginning." The soundtrack is also very well thought out... and if you're invested enough, the ending song brings tears to your eyes. Great movie for all lovers of art films...but although not a "chick flick" per se, Orlando probably will appeal more to the female sex simply for its themes. The sentiments expressed by Orlando as he/she changes and matures, however, will doubtless be universally appreciated!
Rating: 
Summary: A work of art.
Review: Most every frame of this film could be taken out, enlarged, and hung as a piece of art. The cinematorgraphy is truly amazing. The dialog, minimal as it is, is also very strong and the acting is great. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that it really seems to fall apart at the very end. I really wish the war scene and the flying angel had been left of the cutting room floor. That aside, it is a must-have for anyone who truly enjoys film.
Rating: 
Summary: Different, Dull and Spectacular
Review: ORLANDO is not the best movie I have seen, but it does have a small spice to it. Spectacular backgrounds, and sets lighten this semi-period piece up. This movie has some dull moments, and also goofy moments with Tilda Swinton looking at the camera, talking to the audience. The transformation from a man to a woman is un-discussed, making it alittle hard for the viewer to know why he or she did it. This movie was different, I will tell you that. Billy Zane's character (even though getting second most attention in advertising, and in the credits) is only on the screen for about ten minutes, has probably about 8 lines. I do not recomend this movie to be purchased, though if your a fan of such film noir -- DIG IN.
Rating:
Summary: What independant film is all about
Review: Orlando is one of the best indies I've seen in years. It differs from the book but its a good differance. Tilda Swenson is fantastic in the lead role and Quinten Qrisp has a fine turn as Queen Victoria. It is beautifly photographed and has great costumes and set design. It has a very easy flow to it that allows the viewer to progress with the character as she lives through differant eras of English society and has a slight and attractive sexual undertone that is not expolitive and is very nessessary to the story. IT WILL CAST A SPELL OVER THE VIEWER
Rating:
Summary: Even better than the real thing...
Review: Sally Potter is one of the few directors to achieve the near impossible - to create a movie that actually surpasses the original novel. Not wishing to take anything away from Virginia Woolf, whose The Waves is one of the most brilliant and defining novels of all time, Potter's film version is nothing less than a work of art. As other reviewers have indicated, when the Orlando character, who was based on Woolf's friend and lover, Victoria (Vita) Sackville-West, crosses gender to become a woman, she automatically loses the right to own the very same property that, as a man, she/he had owned for eons. Even as a socio-political commentary, (see also Woolf's A Room Of One's Own) this speaks volumes about a patriarchal society in which the lowliest, most moronic male had infinitely more rights than the most brilliant and gifted female. Our society is still dealing with the legacy of the tyranny of gender and the legacy of the Inquisition, in which nine million women were murdered for being women. Yet despite the dark insanities that underly the film's pivotal transition, Potter's modern classic is a rich and joyful romp, filled with love, hope and transcendence, with a simply breathtakingly beautiful closing section. A rare and inspired work of genius, in which the production direction and casting cannot be faulted.
Rating:
Summary: Orlando
Review: The most aesthetically beautiful film, frame-to-frame, in memory. The color palette is scrumptuous, and the ultimate dessert of the senses. The story is corelatively mind-taking, and a delight for all those who place no limits on human experience and imagined possibilities.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful. Strange, but beautiful
Review: The movie starts with Tilda Swinton playing Orlando, a male role (so far), and Quentin Crisp playing Queen Elizabeth. Already, physical sex and social gender have been neatly divided. Later on, Orlando abruptly transforms from man to woman with no reason or mechanism given. S/he takes it in stride, but her place in her social world changes around her. Given the magical premise, it's an effective way to comment on the attitudes of men and women towards each other, based on complete and mutual ignorance.
There was only one small problem with the casting. Swinton is just too lovely a woman to play even an androgynous male convincingly. It took some effort to go along with Tilda the man, but it was worth it for the sake of the plot.
And, if nothing else, I could always watch the incredible costuming and scenery. Architecture and landscaping seemed to have quiet lives of their own, tolerating the people that moved among them. Many scenes were chosen for strong, almost confrontational symmetries, something that definitely attracted my attention. Another scene near the end actually costumed the landscape, Christo-like, for reasons I never worked out. There were a number of night scenes, too, and many seemed to be filmed using natural light. Those scenes often had a grainy look, but not enough to be distracting.
This is an odd movie, but I like it. Swinton's little asides to the camera, sometimes just a glance, added a quirky note. It's a thoughtful movie, about tone and appearance rather than action, and delivers well in those areas. However much I like it, though, I come away a bit unsure what to make of it. Maybe that's why I keep coming back to it.
//wiredweird
Rating:
Summary: Sexless, raceless, colorless, you name it.
Review: The theorist- Orlando, who wakes up every morning to a new intrest, fear, love or body. From Elizabeth's court, to modern day vehicles, he starts as a young boy in search of a "why" and a "how". Why does love twist life? How does a real Poet think? He finds himself writing, reading, and pondering nonstop in search of real answers. And yet is never satisfied.
On a cold morning Olralndo wakes up a woman. This stirs up even more questions and feelings on the space around her. Time is flying, she goes through over two hundred years of change. Experiencing pregnancy, travel, lost love, two sexes, and marrage, she ends a long emotional book with questions, and color. In my opinon, Orlando lives on
Rating:
Summary: A Journey through History
Review: This film has a few things going for it. 1)Tilda Swinton-She manages to be believable as a man as well as a women and I love her direct glances into the camera. 2)The story-It may not have enough plot for some but I love the story- a person goes through 400 years of English history and changes sexes. 3)The Music- I love the last song by Jimmie Sommerville and the piano pieces are wonderful. This is not a film for everyone. Only watch it if you have a sese of humor that looks for subtlety or you have a sense of adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Post-Elizabethan Personification
Review: This film is simply stunning! All around a marvel and delight to behold. Virginia Woolf was ahead of her time if this portrayal of her novel is correct.
The story is pure genius in that what most readers/viewers miss is that the main character is simply not human but rather portrays England itself in its own realization of maturity after the reign of Queen Elizabeth, whom is ment to act as the catalyst whom sets Englands/Orlando's realization of herself in motion.
I challenge all to look at this story again with new eyes. You might just see that Orlando is Mother England herself! Spectacular!
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