Where Is Parsifal?
Where Is Parsifal? is a 1983 British comedy film directed by Henri Helman and starring Tony Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Erik Estrada, and Orson Welles. It was released in France on 13 April 1983. Terence Young has an executive producer credit. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Where is Parsifal? | |
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Directed by | Henri Helman |
Written by | Berta Domínguez D. |
Starring | Tony Curtis Donald Pleasence Erik Estrada Orson Welles |
Music by | Yvan Jullien (as Ivan Jullien) Hubert Rostaing |
Cinematography | Norman G. Langley |
Edited by | Peter Hollywood Russell Lloyd |
Release date | 13 April 1983 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English, French |
This was Peter Lawford's final film role before his death the following year.
Plot
Parsifal Katzenellenbogen (Tony Curtis) is an eccentric hypochondriac who has invented a laser skywriter. Parsifal invites businessmen to his castle in the hopes of selling his invention. Potential buyers include gangster Henry Board II (Erik Estrada) accompanied by has-been movie star Montague Chippendale (Peter Lawford), Scotsman Mackintosh (Donald Pleasence), and gypsy Klingsor (Orson Welles).
Cast
- Tony Curtis – Parsifal Katzenellenbogen
- Berta Domínguez – D.Elba (as Cassandra Domenica)
- Erik Estrada – Henry Board II
- Peter Lawford – Montague Chippendale
- Ron Moody – Beersbohm
- Donald Pleasence – Mackintosh
- Orson Welles – Klingsor
- Christopher Chaplin – Ivan
- Nancy Roberts – Ruth
- Ava Lazar – Sheila
Release
Where Is Parsifal? is often incorrectly considered to be a lost film, since it has never been commercially available in the UK or US—in fact, it is on the British Film Institute's 75 Most Wanted list of lost films, though its status was updated to "found" after director Helman donated his personal print to the BFI[2]—but the film was released on home video in (at least) Italy, The Netherlands and in Australia (by Seven Keys Video) during the 1980s. The misinformation about the film being lost is due to the fact that although it was screened at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, it was withdrawn prior to its official release date in the UK. In May 2013, the film appeared on Netflix streaming.
References
- "Festival de Cannes: Where Is Parsifal?". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
- "BFI Most Wanted". BFI. Retrieved 15 July 2017.