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Information
- Year
- 1955
- Runtime
- 92 min.
- Director
- Charles Laughton
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir
- Rating *
- 8.0
- Votes *
- 66,977
- Checks
- 14,691
- Favs
- 1,988
- Dislikes
- 130
- Favs/checks
- 13.5% (1:7)
- Favs/dislikes
- 15:1
Top comments
-
Gershwin
Well, I just watched it, loved the cinematography, but didn't see why anyone would like the story and the acting (except for Robert Mitchum's, which was great). So I read a few reviews, and I stumbled upon Ebert's review, in which he stated you should regard this movie as a kind of a nightmare, not as an attempt to represent a realistic, existing world.
An interesting point of view, which makes the plot much more agreeable. So, for now: 7/10, but I should watch again to make sure. 13 years 7 months ago -
Lumen
A lot of mixed reviews about this movie. I personally love this movie for many reasons. The first time I saw it I was almost alone in an old small cinema in Toulouse. I think it set the mood right. The place could have been part of the film. There might be some spoilers...
What makes the movie so strong for me is basically the photography, the wonderfull shots, surprising angles, use of light and shadows... The decors are amazing, an ode to (the then already very dated) German expressionists (Murnau, Wiene, Lang...). Some moments are genuinly brilliant: the scary looking love bed, that soon becomes a death bed, the whole enchanting river that Tim Burton would love too much. Details such as the children filmed through a spider web (same kind of shot in Ivan's childhood), the frog and other hunting (or guarding?) animals mixed with a couple of cute bunnies. The appearance of Pearl, who looks more like her rag doll than a real child keeps with her the biggest treasure.
Most criticism seems to be about the acting. While all forms of art have many equally valid genres and standards, the art of acting only seems to have one: realism. And I completely agree that if we expect realistic acting, this movie is terrible. But I think our expectations are more to blame than the film. The acting fits very well in the tradition of, once again, German expressionism. Furthermore, they all seem more dreamlike than we are used to in cinema. The characters are both ridiculous and nightmarish, and nightmares have nothing to do with reality (Mitchum is anyway too good an actor to have such a strange 'off performance' if he didn't do it on purpose).
I think he does a wonderful job, his stiff body seems like a machine that is out of control. His voice that will haunt you, "chiillllldren" and his hunting song "leaning on Jesus" combined with his shadow/silhouette play make him really scary. The switchblade game, the mixing up with the left and right hand when he tries to tell the story once more, the scene just before the murder where he keeps his head tilted to be perfectly two-faced. I know it is all very obvious, but I still think it is incredibly good.
In many ways I have to agree that the movie is dated, profanity and stuff don't shock anybody anymore, and the morality of protecting the children, the fight of good and evil, and watch out for charming speakers are even too much for my grandmother. One thing that did shock me was the song the town kids sang to John and Pearl after the execution of their father "hing-hang-hung". So cruel!
Finally this film offers a curious experience of Americana, horror, comedy, Capra-esque sentimentality and redemption (yuck). I was raised with tales and fables. This film is a wonderful extension! 8 years ago -
Aissi
Brilliant. Robert Michum oozes evil and the soundtrack is hauntingly sinister. 12 years 8 months ago
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In 34 official lists
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This movie ranks #2 in Cahiers du Cinéma's 100 Films for an Ideal Cinematheque
Cahiers du Cinéma's 100 …
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This movie ranks #6 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
Roger Ebert's Great Movi…
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This movie ranks #8 in IMDb's Film-Noir Top 50
IMDb's Film-Noir Top 50
8 -
This movie ranks #14 in Spike Lee's Essential List of Films for Filmmakers
Spike Lee's Essential Li…
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This movie ranks #15 in iCheckMovies's 1950s Top 100
iCheckMovies's 1950s Top…
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This movie ranks #19 in Arts & Faith's Top 100 Films
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This movie ranks #28 in ASC's 100 Milestone Films in Cinematography of the 20th Century
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This movie ranks #31 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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This movie ranks #34 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
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This movie ranks #35 in Time Out’s The 100 Best Thrillers
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This movie ranks #36 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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This movie ranks #38 in Taschen's 100 All-Time Favorite Movies
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This movie ranks #39 in François Truffaut's The Films in My Life
François Truffaut's The …
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This movie ranks #71 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
Empire's The 500 Greates…
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This movie ranks #90 in Library of Congress's National Film Registry
Library of Congress's Na…
90 -
This movie ranks #91 in Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies
Jennifer Eiss's 500 Esse…
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This movie ranks #93 in TSPDT's 100 Essential Noir Films
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This movie ranks #93 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
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This movie ranks #102 in TSZDT's The 1,000 Greatest Horror Films
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This movie ranks #113 in Butler's Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen
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This movie ranks #173 in 366 Weird Movies
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This movie ranks #206 in Reddit Top 250
Reddit Top 250
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This movie ranks #221 in Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown
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This movie ranks #233 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
FOK!'s Film Top 250
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This movie ranks #239 in iCheckMovies's Most Favorited
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This movie ranks #244 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
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This movie ranks #292 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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This movie ranks #363 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
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This movie ranks #389 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
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This movie ranks #508 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
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This movie ranks #604 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
The New York Times's Boo…
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This movie ranks #627 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
The Guardian's 1000 Film…
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This movie ranks #640 in The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
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This movie ranks #653 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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653