Rappaccini's Daughter (1980)

Rappaccini's Daughter

1980

Drama Fantasy Mystery TV Movie

Synopsis

Set in 18th Century Italy, RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER is the tale of a young scholar named Giovanni (Kristoffer Tabori) who falls in love with a beautiful, yet forbidden, girl who tends her father's poison garden. However, the strange and unearthly beauty of Beatrice (Kathleen Beller) masks a terrifying curse which Giovanni must tragically discover. Her father, the mysterious Dr. Rappaccini, has made her the subject of a diabolical experiment. In Giovanni's attempt to free Beatrice from the control of her father and to escape the poisonous effect she begins to have on him, he unwittingly destroys her. From the short story of master American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, two quintessential Hawthorne themes are explored: the sins of interfering with another's soul and the futility of trying to tamper with nature.

Credits

Director

Dezsö Magyar

Cast

Antonia Rey as Emma

Coqui González as Flower Seller

Dennis Boutsikaris as Vito

Henry Fonda as Self - Series Host (uncredited)

Kathleen Beller as Beatrice

Kristoffer Tabori as Giovanni

Leonardo Cimino as Rappaccini

Madeline Willemsen as Lisabetta