I don't think the prophecies of Nostradamus are any "news" to any one. Certainly to no one reading these reviews, and even in 1981, he was getting some of the "underground" appeal. By the time this film came out, he entered into super fame status thereafter.
This film is a great visual piece, and I think it should be of note that even narrator Orson begins by saying this film is not his idea, inferring that he is not "sold" on Nostradamus.
And so, Orson does a fantastic narration, which in view of his denial of belief, makes this a great acting job on his behalf.
I was never sold on the prophecies, and neither were most of us in the arts, because we could see how vague the "quatrains" were. Give enough vague verses, and they have to come true across the globe over hundreds of years.
The only amazing thing is that less that 100% of them came true so far, in some interpretation. That would be amazing.
The "legend" of Nostradamus is very akin to Tyrone Power in NIGHTMARE ALLEY. The con approach is to be general enough, and hit upon items that can have many meanings. I practiced this myself around 1990 with some friends, and scared them senseless with one quatrain, which incidentally came totally true on 9-11-01. I wasn't being "insightful". I just knew that "twin towers", "Sun falling", and other phrases could have dozens of meanings. "Twin towers" could mean basketball players, Minnesota cities, the buildings, and who knows what else.
So, it isn't to be taken seriously. It's "fun and games", this film is. And it is great fun and games. Very interesting, very well done, very entertaining. Thumbs up.
This film is a great visual piece, and I think it should be of note that even narrator Orson begins by saying this film is not his idea, inferring that he is not "sold" on Nostradamus.
And so, Orson does a fantastic narration, which in view of his denial of belief, makes this a great acting job on his behalf.
I was never sold on the prophecies, and neither were most of us in the arts, because we could see how vague the "quatrains" were. Give enough vague verses, and they have to come true across the globe over hundreds of years.
The only amazing thing is that less that 100% of them came true so far, in some interpretation. That would be amazing.
The "legend" of Nostradamus is very akin to Tyrone Power in NIGHTMARE ALLEY. The con approach is to be general enough, and hit upon items that can have many meanings. I practiced this myself around 1990 with some friends, and scared them senseless with one quatrain, which incidentally came totally true on 9-11-01. I wasn't being "insightful". I just knew that "twin towers", "Sun falling", and other phrases could have dozens of meanings. "Twin towers" could mean basketball players, Minnesota cities, the buildings, and who knows what else.
So, it isn't to be taken seriously. It's "fun and games", this film is. And it is great fun and games. Very interesting, very well done, very entertaining. Thumbs up.