The Fifth Empire ( O Quinto Império - Ontem Como Hoje ) ( The 5th Empire )

The Fifth Empire (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: O Quinto Império - Ontem Como Hoje
Alternate Title: The 5th Empire
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Subtitles )
Portuguese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Portugal ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
121 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Posters
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2004 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Portugal ( Spain, Portugal )

Directed By:
Manoel de Oliveira

Written By:
José Régio
Manoel de Oliveira

Actors:
Ricardo Trêpa ..... El Rei Sebastião
Luís Miguel Cintra ..... Simão, Sapateiro Santo
Glória de Matos ..... Rainha D. Catarina
Miguel Guilherme ..... Truões
David Almeida ..... Truões
Ruy de Carvalho ..... Conselheiros
José Manuel Mendes ..... Conselheiros
Luís Lima Barreto ..... Conselheiros
Rogério Samora ..... D. Sancho I
José Wallenstein ..... D. João I
Filipe Cochofel ..... D. Duarte
Nuno Cardoso ..... Noble
Carlos Gomes ..... D. Manuel
Ramón Martinez ..... Noble
John Jesus Romão ..... Moços de Câmara

Synopsis:

Admirable in retrospect but maddening as it goes (and goes and goes), The Fifth Empire opens with a comet in the sky, a conversation in the dark, and a half-dozen or so arresting tableaux of men and architecture. This magnificent overture transports us to 16th-century Portugal-and deep in the thicket of Manoel de Oliveira's imagination. Any hope that the great Portuguese master is in one of his more accessible moods is quickly dashed as the film grows progressively darker, talkative, and stubborn in the extreme. Adapted, intractably, from a play by José Régio, Empire unfolds in the court of King Sebastio (Ricardo Trêpa). Against the advice of his counselors, the young megalomaniac hatches a plan to conquer the Muslim world, unloading reams of declamatory discourse on the subject.

With 'The Fifth Empire,' a drama about a young Portuguese king hoping to unite his troubled nation by embarking on a foreign adventure, the prolific 98-year-old director Manoel de Oliveira pushes his minimalist style as far as it can go.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 14 February, 2012.

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