Lizzie Borden Took an Ax

Plot synopsis:
In August 1892, Fall River, Massachusetts Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden comes across the grisly murder scene of her father Andrew, who has been brutally killed with a hatchet. Local law enforcement arrives, also discovering the body of Abby Borden, the stepmother of Lizzie and her older sister Emma. As the case progresses, the evidence seems to point to Lizzie as the prime suspect. Her lawyer, Andrew Jennings, maintains that a woman could not commit such a cruel and gruesome crime. Still, Lizzie is put on trial for the murders, and the case makes headlines in newspapers throughout the country, which call it the most infamous of the century.
Eventually, the jury finds Lizzie innocent of all charges. Despite the acquittal, she has become the town pariah. During a final confrontation between Lizzie and Emma, the former asks her sister if she wants to know the truth. Lizzie then whispers into Emma's ear as a series of flashbacks show Lizzie committing the murders. A visibly upset Emma leaves the room, and eventually, moves out of their home, never seeing Lizzie again. Lizzie walks outside and hears three children jump roping to the famous nursery rhyme: "Lizzie Borden took an axe/She gave her mother forty whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father forty-one."

Tags: murder

Review:
The movie to watch on the case was Legend of Lizzie Borden with Elizabeth Montgomery.
Lifetime TV movie about the murder trial of Lizzie Borden.
Basically, Lifetime takes the Lizzie Borden story and adds sex appeal and rock music.
Having seen and read quite a bit over the years about this case I know they played fast & loose with the facts, as just about any movie does with historical events.
If you can find it you should definitely check out the 1970s TV movie with Elizabeth Montgomery called The Legend of Lizzie Borden.
You probably know the "Lizzie Borden took an axe" children's rhyme and wondered where it came from.
'The Legend of Lizzie Borden' made as a TV movie in 1975 with Elizabeth Montgomery is far better in terms of both atmosphere and the character of Lizzie.
Ricci looks to small and innocent to be a candidate for an axe-murderess, and all through the film she can be seen trying ever so hard to take on the aura of a late nineteenth century woman, and failing dismally in the process.
I don't think a thriller/mystery set in 1892 should have 21st-century electric/amplified rock music inserted, especially in the first half of the movie.
To have a scene or a transition of a movie set in the 1890's interrupted by an amplified guitar and keyboards with the nauseating "Oooooo, boy!" was not only ridiculous, after a while we started laughing and wondering when the next inappropriate music would come bursting in.
I didn't really care for Christina Ricci, she just didn't seem that believable to me, but Billy Campbell was pretty good; though I've seen him in better things.I just can't get over that soundtrack though.
Do you think I'm hiding something from you?" During the summer of 1892 in the town of Fall River, Massachusetts a young woman named Lizzie Borden (Ricci)returns to her house and finds her father and step-mother brutally murdered.
The story of this murder is very intriguing and is a good idea for a movie, but the fact that Lifetime did it really tones down what could be a great movie.
Christina Ricci is the perfect choice for this role and she is really the only thing that saves the movie.
(Her performance was much more nuanced and provided significant ambiguity regarding Lizzie's actual guilt.) Christina Ricci is in fine form; the locations and costumes are accurate to the period; and overall, it should have been a good movie.
This movie was also very good at maintaining suspense.the only criticism was some of the music they chose which was not suited for the era this movie was set in.I read some other posts on here that agree about the music but i don't think bad music should create so much negativity on what looked like a good production overall.Having said that...the reasons why my views on this movie might be more positive than others is becausei watch a lot of lifetime movies and felt as though this film was much better than the typical lifetime TV movie.i never watched the original movie made in the 1975 with Elizabeth Montgomeryi haven't followed the original case so i didn't have any ideas on what or how this movie should be like.
I usually respect Christina Ricci but her acting is awful and she plays Lizzie like a psychopath in a modern horror film.
Before the opening credits, we see Sunday school teacher Christina Ricci (as Lizzie Borden) sensuously eating a pear while watching a darkly attractive man outside her window.
The film's pieces simply never fall into place.*** Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (1/25/14) Nick Gomez ~ Christina Ricci, Clea DuVall, Billy Campbell, Stephen McHattie.
Christina Ricci stars in this made-for-TV dramatization of the 1893 trial of Lizzie Andrew Borden for the murder of her father and step-mother in Fall River, Massachusetts.
It blends a modern soundtrack with historic events to create an oddly entertaining take on the controversial case.At 11:10 a.m. on August 4, 1892, Lizzy Borden (Christina Ricci), 32, yelled for the family maid, Bridget Sullivan (Hannah Anderson), to quickly come downstairs.
We'll never know what the sisters said to each other in private conversation, so this is creative license at work.The film weirdly sexualizes Lizzie Borden, and for that, Christina Ricci was perfect for the role, but Ricci looks nothing like a proper, White Anglo-Saxon Protestant spinster.
Lizzie is portrayed as attempting to seduce everyone who gets in her way, even her own father, and is shown committing the murders in the nude.Lizzie Borden Took an Ax is well-paced.
The filmmakers establish their backgrounds with a few lines and a few short scenes.Veteran character actor Gregg Henry was given the unenviable role of playing prosecutor Hosea Knowlton, who is portrayed in this film as the antagonist.
Lizzie Borden gives him every reason to suspect she's the killer, yet Knowlton's insistence on prosecuting her comes off as a witch-hunt, as few believe her capable of a brutal double murder.
Filmmakers tried to cast the verdict as a surprise, but it's hard to do that when your source material is a real trial.There are many ways to make a compelling film about the Borden murders–the drama practically writes itself.
Christina Ricci fans love this movie, and it's a capable and entertaining introduction to the case, just don't reference it in a history paper..
(It is down at this time for maintenance but will be back up, so try again if you can't see it!)The music and costumes were horrible.The inaccuracies boggle the mind of anyone who has even done a rudimentary investigation of the case.The 1975 movie with Elizabeth Montgomery was much better..
Christina Ricci in the title role as Lizzie Borden gives a disturbing and complex performance as the accused hatchet killer.
The infamous crime of the century has been retold in numerous television and film versions including one with Elizabeth Montgomery, (of "Bewitched" fame) who was an actual distant relative of Lizzie Borden herself.
But this version with Christina Ricci is morbidly entertaining with a wonderful cast that includes talented Clea DuvVall as Lizzie's older sister, Emma Borden.
Director Nick Gomez born in Massachusetts, probably grew up hearing about the grisly murders and does a good job captivating the audience in "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax" both in and out of the courtroom.
The "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax" film includes quick edits of the ax forcibly coming down in flashbacks and allows one's imagination to run wild.
The bluegrass rock and roll soundtrack surprisingly works in key scenes as when the horse and carriage frenetically rushes Lizzie Borden to the inquest.
As much as has been written about Lizzie Borden, this movie manages to reel in the viewer as curious sleuth to peel more layers and investigate the events and motive leading up to the murders.
Frankly I think Lizzie Borden did commit the murders but due to the times and lack of forensic evidence got away with it..
Also, great star in Christina Ricci as Lizzie Borden.
RELEASED TO TV IN 2014 and directed by Nick Gomez, "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax" chronicles the infamous hatchet murders of Andrew & Abby Borden (Stephen McHattie & Sara Botsford) that took place in Fall River, Massachusetts, on August 4, 1892, presumably by Andrew's suffocating daughter, Lizzie (Christina Ricci).
Gregg Henry appears as the determined prosecutor.I just watched this version and 1975's "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" with Elizabeth Montgomery back-to-back and I give this one the edge.
People complain about the music, but it's not like it's anything new to apply rockin' soundtracks to historical movies; "Marie Antoinette" did it in 2006 and Spag Westerns did it decades prior in the early 70s.
In any case, I recommend seeing both versions to compare the data and understand what was going on behind the scenes at the Borden abode.While it's impossible to defend Lizzie's gruesome actions, both movies help you see why she felt she had to do what she did (with 99.9% certainty).
Such hard rock and heavy metal music relates in no way whatever to the story or the time period.
I thought Christina Ricci was outstanding - she portrayed Lizzie Borden in a way that made me wonder if she was guilty.
I love Christina Ricci, and I have long been fascinated by the Borden murders, so I had high hopes for this film.
Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed by the dreadful dialogue, the portrayal of Lizzie as a sex kitten meandering around in her slip during a period of time when such behavior would have brought down the wrath of her family and the condemnation of the entire community, and the very poor choice to use contemporary music over a film set in the 1890s.
Christina Ricci gives the performance of a lifetime in the title role of this film based upon the brutal, bloody 1892 murders.
This film tells the story of a young woman who was trialled for the murder of her parents in a small town back in 1800's."Lizzie Borden Took An Ax" details the police investigation and the trial proceedings of the murder.
There is however, an element of charm to Ricci's hypnotic characterisation that piques the curiosity enough to sustain the other lackluster performances, she encapsulates the role perfectly and gives just the right balance of innocent and guilty to really play off the mystery of one of history's greatest unsolved murders..
I love Christina Ricci, and personally think she gave off an unstable vibe that really worked.Fun film, not historically accurate at all..
The true story of Lizzie Borden (Christina Ricci), a young woman tried and acquitted in the 1892 murders of her father and stepmother.My rating on this film is a bit lower than it possibly should be.
I couldn't help comparing it to the Elizabeth Montgomery TV movie version, "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975).
However "Lizzie Borden Took An Ax" amped up my excitement to levels normally reserved for Indie horror films set to release.
In this version of the most infamous American female murderess Christina Ricci took on the iconic persona of Lizzie Borden.
The story is something that cannot change with the Borden murders but most of what we know about Lizzie herself comes from those few statements and descriptions from her friends and family.
Lifetime does a very good summarization of Lizzie Borden's character and the events around one of the most well known murder cases in American history.
The story: On a scorching, hot summer day in 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden returns home to the house she shares with her father Andrew, stepmother Abby and sister Emma.
As the case rages on, the courtroom proceedings fuel an enormous amount of sensationalized stories and headlines in newspapers throughout the country, forever leaving Lizzie Borden's name in infamy.My thoughts: First off, forget even trying to compare this film with the classic Elizabeth Montgomery movie "The Legend Of Lizzie Borden" because there is nothing there that can compare other than, maybe the stylized interpretations of the facts themselves.
Bonus aspect that really makes this movie watchable is the visionary, creative way the director chose to tell the story balancing between stoic character interactions, and shocking, visceral moments of brutality that are honest to the murder scene's "truth".
This movie definitely delivered on giving me a great Lizzie Borden film.
Christina Ricci is effective in the role of the infamous Lizzy Borden, who was suspected and tried in the 1892 ax murders of her father and step-mother.
This made-for-cable movie is faithful to known historical facts about the woman and the murder case, and dramatizes the story well.
I don't get it; made me feel the movie was in 2014 Amish Country not 1892.Read more about the history of this case and you'll see how many details; which many would have been great to build the tension of this TV movie up, but where simply overlooked.Overall its worth the watch but don't be looking for one of those intense murder movies with real historical value..
What were they thinking?Anyway, this movie recounts the murder, and Ricci comes off as kind of psychotic in the role.
Christina Ricci in the role of Lizzy Borden how sweet is that,, she looks devilishly good for the part to..
there are some lesbian overtones in the movie so viewer beware,, this film, follows the legend of Lizzy Borden and how she killed her father and her step mother,, apparently she really hated father because he was the 1st to go,,, it is really never explained why she hated him so much,, did he beat her,, give her to many rules to live by,, who knows.
While I appreciate that Directors are afforded a degree of cinematic license, I do not agree that they should be permitted to skew the facts to the extent conveyed in this movie, just to produce entertainment.Over the years, the research undertaken by legal scholars into the Lizzie Borden case has been exhaustive.
And although most of the movie is straight from court documents and testimonies a small percentage is fictional dialogue based on the writers opinion of Lizzie Borden.
We know that rock and roll didn't exist in 1892 but thank goodness it does now.My biggest disappointment with this movie was the nearly complete omission of Alice Russel who was there from the night of the murders and never left her friends side, even sleeping at the Borden house for several days, volunteering to stay in the very room the step mother had been murdered.
I suppose there is nothing better than a real event that remains a mystery ever afterwards, and the story of Lizzie Borden is one of those.
If I have a criticism it is that Christina Ricci was a little doe-like and vulnerable as Lizzie.
Although I like Christina Ricci, they could have chosen an actress more fit to portray Lizzie.
For those fascinated by this case should watch Elizabeth Montgomery's portrayal in the 1975 The Legend of Lizzie Borden which is more accurate..
One of the keys to believing her guilty is how when Andrew Borden returned home that day, Lizzie stood at the top of the front staircase, laughing.
The film shows her downstairs when Andrew arrived home.Also wrong, the film, after the police were examining the crime scene, has Lizzie sending the maid alone upstairs to look for Mrs. Borden.
Her room was on the third level, far from the first floor sitting room site of the murder.They also showed Maggie inside, hearing a thud (the falling body of Mrs. Borden) when in fact she reported hearing nothing, (as did Lizzie).The many times when an investigator referred to Mrs. Borden as her "mother" and was interrupted by Lizzie, insisting she was only her "stepmother" were omitted from this film.The dress that was such a focal point had been burned in the kitchen stove, not an outside pot as stated in the film.
When the jury returned to the courtroom, they enter in slow motion for some reason.The director also found it necessary to repeatedly show scenes, usually short bits, of the hatchet swinging and blood flying, in flashback format, as if one look at all the blood wasn't enough.I believe this film poorly made, with the worst soundtrack I ever heard, to be excessively bloody, and with over two dozen factual inaccuracies (I quit counting) to be a real waste of time..
Watch the older TV movie with Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie.
I went to the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA and the lay out of the house in the movie was also very incorrect.
Her real name was Lizbeth Andrew Borden not Lizzie as stated in the movie.
I was really trying to like this movie, but it just hack and butchered, the controversial historic cause célèbre (infamous legal cases) of 1892's Lizzie Borden's murder trial.
Lizzie Borden was tried for the axe murders of her father, Andrew Borden and stepmother Abbey.
Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave the viewers, some bad whacks.
Christina Ricci as Lizzie Borden.
Lizzie's father Andrew Borden (Stephen Mchattie) woke up as he was about to get killed him.
Lizzie and Emma Borden (Clea Duvall) look like they haven't aged.
The movie hint of a lesbian relationship between Lizzie and actress Nance O'Neill (Andria Wilson) in which caused Lizzie to tell Emma Borden (Clea DuVall) about the 'truth' about the murders is a joke.
How are we supposed to believe that, when the movie has Lizzie talking to her father in an incest kind of way, and a dream scene of her kissing a mysterious man?
Watch Elizabeth Montgomery's 1975 The Legend of Lizzie Borden which is more accurate.
I also thought it enhanced the act itself and it showed that Lizzy Borden had to be a much deeper and more disturbed person than the lady like character performed by Elizabeth Montgomery.
I very much enjoyed Stephen McHattie's role as Andrew Borden, Lizzie's father.
Christina Ricci actually did a pretty good job.Excellent sets, great costuming, etc.
I do have to say, if Christina Ricci's portrayal of this woman is correct, then Lizzie Borden was nuts and she did murder her parents.
It pretty well follows the historical and police accounts.I have always been a fan of Christina Ricci and she is superb as Lizzie Borden.
Her sister is played by Clea DuVall, also age appropriate in her 40s, as Emma Borden.Of course we cannot know for sure if Lizzie did it, but this movie adopts the POV that she did and got away with it.Good movie, I enjoyed it..
Do you think I'm hiding something from you?" The story of Lizzie Borden is infamous...and when I heard that Christina Ricci was going to play the lead I was beyond exited!!
I wonder during the real Lizzie Borden's time, did their parents know that their children were singing it about a murderer?
Probably a kid made it up!I think this is a good TV movie, I honestly love Cristina Ricci!