Ben Gazzara, Beverly D'Angelo, Christopher Walken, Donal McCann, John Turturro ...( see more  see more... ) , Katherine Borowitz , Rufus Sewell , Susan Sarandon

John Turturro's homage to the world of theatrical make-believe may fall short of the shining beacons of this Shakespearean genre--Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander and Jean Renoir's The Golden Coac...( read more  read more... )h, for two--but his Illuminata casts considerable sweetness and light of its own. Mostly set in a teeming warren of private and performance spaces within a turn-of-the-century theater, the film follows the fluctuating fortunes of playwright Tuccio (Turturro), his lover-muse-leading lady (Katherine Borowitz, Turturro's offscreen wife), and their colorful company: Rufus Sewell and Georgina Cates, youthful, less wise projections of playwright and muse; Ben Gazzara as a grizzled old thespian forgetful of the line between reality and performance; Bill Irwin as the naive bit player who catches the hungry eye of Christopher Walken's deliciously over-the-top, acid-tongued critic; Susan Sarandon as a calculatingly seductive diva fighting her age; and commedia dell'arte types Aida Turturro and Leo Bassi. Tuccio's dying to get his play on the boards, but as theater owners Beverly D'Angelo (she of the endearing overbite) and Donal McCann (late star of Irish cinema, and of John Huston's The Dead) reasonably point out, his delicate fantasy about love and illusion lacks an ending. Zigzagging through Midsummer Night's Dream misunderstandings and misalliances, slipping seamlessly from mundane into artifice and back again, Illuminata wends its way toward Tuccio's bittersweet denouement. In Mac, his directorial debut, Turturro paid heartfelt tribute to his own blue-collar dad; this sophomore effort (cowritten with friend and fellow director Brandon Cole) glows with warm affection for audiences, actors, and those who dream their plays. --Kathleen Murphy

Flixster Users

65% liked it

910 ratings

Critics

41% liked it

22 critics

R, 120 min.

Directed by: John Turturro

Release Date: June 1, 1998

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DVD Release Date: October 17, 2000

Stats: 43 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (43)


  • May 17, 2008
    A very cute, funny, sad, and heartwarming film. I love John Turturro...he is hilarious and a wonderful actor. His vision of the theatre is great and I have a feeling that's what it is like behind the scenes of a theatre company.
  • April 10, 2009
    Amazing directing from Turturro and amazing cast (especially Christopher Walken)!
  • September 13, 2008
    good cast kind of just ok though
  • August 16, 2008
    This is a wondfull, bizare, mad creation. Like Hamlet this is the play within the play theme and you can't tell which story is more important but try it, you'll like it. The acting is top notch from all and all play it to the hilt.
  • June 18, 2007
    Tuturo is amazing no matter what he does~this movie is just my style... Great story line and interaction of characters
  • May 23, 2007
    great performances and real life struggles
  • September 30, 2006
    This is one of my top five favourite movies ever. Beautiful perfection.
  • May 29, 2006
    I really, really need to rent this again.

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  • KonichiwaKooL
    November 18, 2008
    I'm watching it right now as i'm writing this... it's a really fun film to watch; beautifully odd in a drunken poet sort of way** LoL =)

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  • This actor played in this movies: *Illuminata *Pulp Fiction *Blast From the Past *Man on Fire *Romance and Cigarettes *Click Who is this actor?  Answer »

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