R.I.P., Paul Mazursky

When I think of Paul Mazursky, who died yesterday at 84, I first call to mind one of the wonderful lost films of the 1980s, "Tempest," his cynical take on Shakespeare with a magical cast. John Cassavetes is at the top of his game as Phillip Dimitrius, a businessman who shucks it all for a Greek island where he wields fantastical Marlin-like powers and battles a serious mid-life crisis.

Mazursky wrote and/or directed some of the more thoughtful films of the past generation: "Harry and Tonto," "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "An Unmarried Woman." He started with lighter TV fare, penning the pilot to "The Monkees" with his writing partner. His heyday ran from the late '60s to the mid-'80s. Richard Corliss said that Mazursky was:

likely to be remembered as the filmmaker of the seventies. . . . No screenwriter has probed so deep under the pampered skin of this fascinating, maligned decade; no director has so successfully mined it for home-truth humor and quirky revelations.

Here is a short TV ad for "Tempest" (I couldn't find a full trailer):



Here's a short clip with wife Gena Rowlands and his daughter in the movie, Molly Ringwald in her debut role (and a small part for Mazursky himself):



I like the scene's generational bookends of Guy Lombardo and John Travolta. One of my favorite movie scenes ever is of Ringwald and a relatively young Susan Sarandon (as Phillip's utopian mistress) frolicking in the water while singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" And Mazursky wields his soundtrack skills in a scene featuring Kalibanos and his goats -- Raul Julia, who often threatens to steal the movie:



"Tempest" was a secret highlight of a fine movie career.