After seeing this film, I can't stop thinking about how differently it's made me view our customs and our world. I see close ties to the film and the postmodernist philosophy of "truth being relative" and find myself often questioning why things are the way they are. This surreal comedy pokes fun at our tastes, upper class, parenting, government, desires, expectations, and everyday rituals. It often provides a dreamlike feel to it because it shifts absurd situations and scenes so quickly. I recommend this extremely thought-provoking, often over-the-top comedy to anyone who currently feels that we're all taking trivial things a bit too seriously!


I thought that this movie was amazing. I felt as though it went above and beyond typical surreal movies. To apply such ideas as dreams and to follow forward with this is genius. When watching this film, I felt as though I was actually dreaming. It was amazing to start a story and just as it was about to get very interesting it would transfer to another story. Though, somehow you would keep wanting to watch the movie to see what happens next. I thought that my favorite skit was the one with the toilets in the dinning room. I thought this was hilarious that the director would show this to mock the norms of society. It really allowed your mind to wonder to think what else people just accept as normal and what people feel is unnecessary.


There are some works which smack of being surreal just for the sake of being surreal, where you get the feeling the artist just got tired and threw anything together mindlessly in the hopes that someone will come across it and yell "Eureka! How surrealistic!!" Fantôme de la liberté IS NOT one of those films.

It is a taut piece of work where every set up, every punch-line, every reveal is precise and calculated. Every storyline weaves into each other seamlessly, and though each of these characters could take up a full film themselves, their individual story lines feel resolved and complete. Luis Buñuel has precisely constructed a work that preys on our society's monotony, while at the same time pointing out the insanity that lies within all of us.

What moved me the most was how, after basically watching movies since I was born, I realized just how programmed I was to the standard structure of film narrative that each transition by Buñuel struck even more drastically than the last.

Some would say that you should watch the movie being open for anything; I disagree. I say, watch the movie with every notion and every expectation that you bring to any movie you see; it only makes the movie that much more meaningful.


Bunuel's "Phantom of Liberty" is absurd. Everything about it makes me scratch my head and think "what the hell?". But, this is precisely what Bunuel wants. He is the master of surrealism, and Phantom of Liberty proves it.

The main idea I took from this movie is that reality itself is absurd. Everything we accept in our day to day life is just as ridiculous as the scene where an emu walks into a couple's bedroom. I'm reminded of the concept of the butterfly effect, where the flapping of a butterfly wing may cause a hurricane somewhere else in the world. Bunuel shows ( such as the scene where people defecate in public at a dinner table but eat in private ) that if just one thing in a culture had gone differently, the unreal would become the norm. If you think long enough about any cultural norm, you begin to wonder "who the hell came up with that? ".

My favorite scene in the film is where a professor stands in front of a class of french police officers. These officers engage in immature pranks and taunt their professor. As I watched it, I began to think "is this much different from what police officers actually do?". I can easily imagine many cops joining the force not because of some moral duty to society, but just so they can continue to play cops and robbers into their adulthood. Bunuel forces us to look at the institution of law and question if it actually works. Police brutality perhaps is nothing more than a school bully enacting his cruelty on the weaker kids at the playground. However, I'm certain most of us would rather have our personal security in the hands of a bully than say the little glasses wearing kid who has asthma... but is it really that much better?

Bunuel's Phantom of Liberty shows us that our reality is just as crazy as Bunuel's surrealist ideas.


Luis Buñuel's "The Phantom of Liberty" is definitely a thought-provoking film. His surrealist approach to film questions society's rules and customs. Though the scenes are quite bizarre, they still manage to feel "right." The way in which they question the social order of things is like a visual manifestation and elaboration of questions I have asked myself. The contradictions Buñuel proudly exhibits are fabulous. People have been brought up to think a certain way and expect certain things, and Buñuel's humorous defiance of our expectations makes one think about where our expectations come from, and how legitimate they really are. And yet, everything is done with a lot of fun. "The Phantom of Liberty" is like a philosophical discussion about life and individuality and independence of thought made into a movie. I really liked it because it truly made me think about why I am the way I am. It's a good movie to see. I definitely recommend it.


The ability to acknowledge the absurd and question the norm is extremely important in societies. I don't think the point of this film is so much to learn something, but to unlearn a few things. I can't believe that Bunuel was able to create such vividly bizarre sequences that laugh in the face of conventions, and still manage to contain all those random sequences in one film that kept my interest for an hour and forty five minutes. What an incredible feat. I am certainly glad that there aren't too many Bunuels out there. I don't know how often I could watch films like "The Phantom of Liberty" before it got old and uninteresting, but I'm glad that there was someone out there to accomplish what Bunuel did. I would definitely say "The Phantom of Liberty" is very much a film worth watching at least once by everyone.


An awesome play on social queues and common expectations in the public place. What is right and what is wrong? This film takes everything we learn that is "correct" and turns it upside down. Showing situations that would normally shock anyone, though the characters glide through these incredibly awkward scenarios with ease. When I saw it, I wasn't sure what to feel. This was almost an Alice In Wonderland-like place where all your ideals went out the window. There is praise for murder, drunken monks, and tourist attractions taken as pornographic. Almost no logic was involved in the creation of this film, but respectively I adore the dream-like universe Bunuel has created.


We can have the sense of freedom but are we actually free to do anything out of our own will? Maybe not everything. Like the title says 'The Phantom of Liberty', but who is liberated? The phantom? A phantom can be sensed but it has no existence. Bunuel is trying to send us a message through his film with a surrealistic touch that the idea of freedom that we think we have does not really exist. Bunuel's film goes against symmetry and he demonstrate it to us very well through this film. Everything is the opposite of what society wants us to be like. Bunuel creates these surrealistic films to raise eyebrows and for us to ask certain questions. The film was silly, shocking, entertaining and I had a great time watching it.


Bunuel is one of my favorite film makers! He is wonderful at making you think of things that seem like everyday habits. He is brilliant in this movie, it has all his normal obsessions as a film maker-necrophilia, sexuality, religion, and the question of freedom. Freedom is honestly a funny subject. Most people in the US would say that they have "freedom". But if they were to look at it under a microscope, and pick it apart, and look at it again they would realize that they really don't have freedom. Because in reality they live under a lot of social and moral rules, that restricts freedom to its very core. This movie, is surrealism down to its very core. Everything is presented in a very realistic way that could quite possibly happen in life, if someone were willing to stand the scrutiny of the greater population. This movie is definitely not normal, it is really a bunch of shorts put together, each transition is just a character followed to another scene and can at times seem confusing; because its right when that short climax's and you are about to find out, and then it switches and you are on to the next one. Most people would probably find this frustrating and rather irritating, but its exactly the point. You don't need a climax, just a point that gets across to the audience that makes us think about it. You can not watch Bunuels' films and think about them logically, his films are made of the logic of dreams. In their own insane way, they make perfect sense. But if you try to analyze it and pick it apart, you will realized that there is nothing that makes sense and as if it almost disintegrates because you are not suppose to analyze it logically. There is a crazy scene where a man goes to sleep and all these crazy things start coming into the bed room, and he looks at the clock and it appears a few hours have gone by. But in reality it is continuous time because there were no edits in that scene, it was shot as one continuous scene. Cinematic time doesn't have to follow real time, and in most films it does not. But when it does, it is for a reason. This movie is a good example of where the directors names start to become adjectives, because the director follows the same theme in their own movies, to the point where they are recognizable and distinguishable, almost expected.


Buñuel still has yet not to surprise me. I find his surrealist films putting me in one curious situation after another, and I can only wonder what went through his mind each and every time. "The Phantom of Time" exceeds our expectations of realism in a way that makes us question whether or not what he shows us can really happen. For instance, Buñuel puts us in a world where religious folk smoke and gamble, or where a convicted serial killer becomes the center of fame to the point where attaining his autograph becomes a must for the public. For myself, a particular favorite from this film would be when the professor lectures on morals and so forth, and Buñuel cuts to a sequence where the kitchen and bathroom swap roles  both brilliant and comedic!

Although these situations seem very unlikely, I believe Buñuel's overall intentions are to make the point that, despite each individual's expectations in any given situation, anything is possible. In addition, most cultures differ from one another to begin with, so differences are inevitable.


What would happen if the world were turned upside down? What if we were granted complete freedom to do anything we want? The answers to those questions are present in each of the 12 stories presented in this amazing film by surrealist master Luis Buñuel.

From the beginning, he plays with his audience, building up our expectations and when we think something might happen, he leaves us stunned and laughing, showing by way of absurdity and satire things we never would have thought possible because of the preconceptions we have demonstrating that we are not as free thinking and open as we thought we were. As he has done in several of his movies, Buñuel doesn't have a narrative thread through the movie choosing instead to connect each "tableau" to the next with the introduction of a random character that becomes one of the main ones in the following scene, creating a random series of events. Also present in "Le Fantome de la Liberté" is Buñuel's recurrent criticism of several things including the bourgeoisie (as done before in "The Secret Charm of Bourgeoisie"), the Church, police and moral beliefs, making quite clear to the viewers how much he dislikes them. This movie is a perfect example of freedom all around, from the scene where a man shoots people randomly and later is sentenced to life in jail but walks out free of the courthouse, to Buñuel himself who has the freedom of saying whatever he wants, however he wants it and in doing so, has given us a fresh perspective. Buñuel's camera work makes us feel that we are ghosts gliding through each moment of a very realistic dream thus achieving the surrealist's main goal of presenting a symbolic and rational dreamlike universe, making this movie a must see and one of Buñuel's finest works.


Luis Bunuel's The Phantom of Liberty is quite a hilarious surrealist film. Bunuel does an awesome job putting together episodes, in which each of them have such unique story lines to them. The most interesting scene to me would definitely have to be the relationship between the aunt and the nephew. Boy, do we get a shock here. Another quite shocking scene that we encounter right after the nephew scene is the scene in which the nephew enters a couple's room. As it turns out, the couple is a little bit on the wild side. We see the woman enter the restroom tidying up her exotic outfit, as her partner goes in right after her, releasing to the audience his bottomless trousers. While the guests are in the other room, the couple enters and the woman takes out a whip and whips her partner. Can we guess where? (Bottomless trousers?) We all get the point. If anybody wants to get a quick laugh, watch Bunuel and his cast pull off an amazing performance.


Bunuel is amazing the idea that all of this could be real is awesome. This movie is what i would call out there. he comes up with the most twisted ideas and yet if you think about it isn't so twisted it makes perfect sense. Everything you see in this film, could possibly happen or is happening somewhere somehow. This film is brilliantly made and has great stories and the transition from one story to the next is fantastic. This film will really make you think about the idea of freedom and what you would do if you had all that freedom. At one point or another we have thought of something so bazaar and placed it realistically in our minds, we keep it in our minds of coarse, but not Bunuel, he has mixed up reality and come out with an alternate reality.


Spoilers ahead, but who cares.

Every now and then an avid movie theater goer is bound to stumble upon something like this, but it still took be by surprise. In fact, having seen the Tomb Rider recently, and bearing in mind Girl interrupted, because of Jolie alone I had some mild expectations going to see this summer afternoon time killer. Alas, what a mistake.

A female beauty is really not a matter for discussion because everyone has his/her own taste, but I can't sway away the feeling that there is a way too much hype about Jolie's physical appearance than can be justified. A nice woman, but nothing more. As for her acting, she somehow fit into the roles of a schizophrenic or a comic/computer game type of characters, however, as la femme fatale she completely fails. Rapid transformations from a cold blooded rascal to a passionate volcano leave the sensation more of a sitcom style parody then some subtle introspective struggle of her character. Stick to Lara, Angie.

Would someone tell me what it is about Banderas that they keep hiring him over and over again? Ok, he looks good and throws that sexy broken English at us, but come on: the guy can't act. It's as simple as that nothing more, nothing less. Pass.

The story, ah the story of this 'movie', I guess there is more sense in answers to Jay Leno's questions in Jay Walking. Absolutely unimaginative and absolutely absurd and absolutely boring from the beginning to the end. If you make through it without dozing off at least a couple of times, than you're either a single lecherous 17-year old with a thing for Jolie or a bodyguard on duty. Several examples: why would a con team choose a poor Cuban clerk as their victim, as he described himself in the ad? what is the purpose of that charade with a private detective impersonation? how come they rent huge houses all over Cuba while being looked for by the police as the biggest public enemies? would a modest righteous monk agree to help a death row convict assuming serious consequences for himself, only after hearing her not-so-convincing story without any repentance? An so on, and so on, there's more, and some of it I surely missed due to the drowsiness.

Other elements of the whole project barely jut out from the swill. The soundtrack is nothing close to what it might have been given the plot time and location. The scenery is again a disappointment given the huge opportunity to capitalize on the Caribbean surroundings. Instead, we mostly get the rundown backyards of big Cuban houses. The way the supporting characters are pictured as well as the nameless Cuban natives stenches miles away of the obsolete bourgeois colonial treatment which focuses exclusively on the petty preoccupations of the lame main characters.

The end is more than annoying, not to use any stronger word. After seeing movies with tragic ending, one feels either sadness for the loss or the sense of helplessness for the inevitable. After seeing happy end movies, usually one feels relieved and optimistic. With this movie, one feels disappointed - that everyone gets away after choking the audience to death for almost two hours.

1/10


I was expecting a good story, good character development, excellent acting from Jolie & Banderas, and some great erotic scenes.

What I got was a very implausible story that zigzags from love to murderous revenge and back again, no backstory, unsympathetic characters with erratic behavior, and a weird sadistic bisexual boyfriend/pimp (Thomas Jane's character). The sex scenes seemed passionless and were barely erotic. The acting by Banderas and Jolie was good, as were the sets, locations, and lighting, but it didn't rescue the film.

Don't waste your time on this movie.


Loads of erotic thrillers do release & usually those movies have nothing much to offer, but 'Original Sin' is not only among a good erotic thriller, but also is a genuine thrilling flick. Wealthy Cuban Coffee merchant Luis Vergas (Banderas) advertises for a US wife. Julia Russell (Jolie), from Delaware, as a reply, sends her photograph & when he finally meets Julia on their wedding day, he is left breathless by her beauty & smoldering sexuality. But Julia may not be who she claims: first a private eye (Thomas Jane) shows up on behalf of Julia's sister, then the sister herself. By now, Luis has given has wife access to bank accounts, and when she runs with his cash, he pursues her, with the help of Downs, the P.I., perhaps to kill her. Nothing much can be revealed about the story & it actually is not a suspense flick, rather it is filled with thrilling moments. Director Michael Cristofer already gave the viewers 'Body Shot' & now he offers audience an erotic thriller, which has been presented in a very beautiful way. His direction is filled with emotions & thrills. The performances are good, Banderas & Jolie do share a perfect chemistry, both of them look dashing together. The performance by Jolie & Banderas is awesome. The love making scenes have been shot well & are shocking as well, & they are sensual & seducing as well. Thomas Jane was also fine, as a supporting character. The background score is very impressive & the song during the end credit is absolutely beautiful. The work of cinematography has been done in an amazing way. An absolutely fine thriller, with some sensual, seductive & thrilling moments in the movie, along with great chemistry of Banderas & Jolie.


This is one of the most tasteful romantic dramas I have ever seen I absolutely loved it the chemistry between Angelina and Antonio was superb I didn't really mind the sex scenes as much I thought they were pretty tasteful and fufilled their purpose. I also thought Angelina was perfect for the role of julia/bonnie she really captures the essence of the femme fatale and I greatly sympathized with her character she wasn't really playing a villain she was more influenced by her accomplice/lover Billy who manipulates and twists her mind into thinking that no one could ever love her.In my opinion Julia/Bonnie was struggling with inner emotions and was even more confused by what she was feeling for Luis which is why she tries her hardest to deny that Luis does indeed love her. My favorite moments in the movie is when the two Luis and Julia are arguing in the hotel and Luis goes into a rage telling julia how much he loves her and the last few scenes in the movie when Julia poisons Luis' coffee and Luis practically pours his heart out before willingly drinking the poison telling Julia he loves all of her good and bad inspite of all the hell she put him through(I even cried a little. I totally recommend this movie to anyone who isn't looking for a simple cliché love story


Banderas excels in this period grifter piece about a man's love for a woman who believes herself unlovable. Jolie pulls her weight, too, giving glimpses of just enough vulnerability to temper the extreme mean streak her character exhibits, not least when she attempts to kill her husband not once, but twice. Thomas Jane as antagonist keeps up the high-calibre acting. The script twists and turns without ever letting down its theme, the redeeming power of love. What stops Original Sin from being great is the camera-work and editing. In one scene in a brothel the 360- degree pan distorts the edges of the frame and induces nausea. Jump cuts are over-used, and seem out of place in terms of the feel and period setting of the film. Less obtrusive craftsmanship would allow the audience to give the story the full attention it deserves.


The casting was well done, but in the progress of the movie I kept thinking that I had seen this one before. Then it came to my mind that the story was the story of "La sirene du Mississippi" with Belmondo and Deneuve. The producer must have a nice sense of hummer to give his film the right title then .......... Anyway, Iliked the story (again) and I always find it an entertaining pleasure to look at Jolie and Banderas and being a European it will be quite obvious that I am definitely not offended by some modest nudity as shown in this movie. This was well acted and it seems to me that the cameraman was knew very well what he was doing.


First to say: This was one good movie, entertaining and interesting and somehow even exciting. Cast and the core of the story were really not bad....not bad..actually that's, what this movie was. But it could have been really great. It was not because the actors sometimes could not be convincing enough. Actually it was not an actor-problem, but more a screenplay- or director-problem. The adjustment of the original story with a standard hollywood-template simply was too obvious. The atmosphere was not bad, but it was not really continuous. The cuban flair and atmosphere of the setting also could have been brought to the screen in a more intense way. So it lacked the great excitement. But you always can do it better. In fact it was a really romantic, erotic, entertaining and thrilling lovestory (sorry...a story about love ;-)). Compared to the horrible standard crap-romances you could see at the cinemas the last years it was very refreshing. Watch it without great expectations and you will be surprised. 7 Stars!!


First to say: This was one good movie, entertaining and interesting and somehow even exciting. Cast and the core of the story were really not bad....not bad..actually that's, what this movie was. But it could have been really great. It was not because the actors sometimes could not be convincing enough. Actually it was not an actor-problem, but more a screenplay- or director-problem. The adjustment of the original story with a standard hollywood-template simply was too obvious. The atmosphere was not bad, but it was not really continuous. The cuban flair and atmosphere of the setting also could have been brought to the screen in a more intense way. So it lacked the great excitement. But you always can do it better. In fact it was a really romantic, erotic, entertaining and thrilling lovestory (sorry...a story about love ;-)). Compared to the horrible standard crap-romances you could see at the cinemas the last years it was very refreshing. Watch it without great expectations and you will be surprised.


Louis B Mayer would be spinning in his grave. With a cast headed by Banderas and Angelina I was expecting ORIGINAL SIN to be an emotional drama displayed in the once powerful MGM style- it was a let down.

The story had the potential to be dynamically projected but with an over abundance of soft pornography tended to lose its way.

An interesting supporting character role was provided by by Jack Thompson.

The print viewed tended to drift in and out of focus from scene to scene and the colour was a little muddy, although in some respects this heightened the atmosphere of the late 1800's.

The musical score was excellent.

The audience was predominantly in the 30 - 50 age group and generally expressed some disappointment and considered that the feature was a little on the long side.


Original Sin is a disappointing thriller starring Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, and Thomas Jane. For those of you who haven't seen it I wont say anything else about the movie except for the solid acting by most of the cast the movie failed to entertain and left me disappointed. The director does an all right job of bringing this movie to the big screen but unfortunately the pacing is slow and the film could've been a lot better. The only reason I gave this movie four stars out of ten is because of the attempt by the actors and the very steamy sex scene between Banderas and Jolie that really pushes the R rating. If you're a fan of either of the stars than you might like this movie more than me. There are a few twists and surprises you might not see coming but then again you might expect it because I for one did. Despite the talent of Banderas and Jolie who try to bring life to the characters the same can go for Jane who does an okay job with the supporting role he does have the movie itself just isn't that great. The film does have strong sexual content, nudity, language, and some violence so this is no movie for parents to see with their kids at least not until their seventeen or over. Overall Original Sin isn't that good of a movie and you're better off watching something else. Unless your a kid who wants to see Jolie featured in a graphic sex scene and without her clothes on then this is the movie for you. Otherwise skip Original Sin and watch a better thriller that's worth watching more than once.


I just happened to watch this movie on TV. After a few scenes I realized that it was a remake of Truffaut's very entertaining " La Sirene du Mississippi" ( 7.1 IMDb rating). Like all of Hollywood's remakes that I have seen so far , this one is just as unsatisfactory ( to say the least )as all the others (The Day of the Jackal, The Manchurian Candidate etc.).

All of the reviews I read ( the first 20 or so) were all raving about this in my opinion silly remake. They are too young to know that many , many years ago there were so much better originals( mostly European)which is also expressed by IMDb ratings ( for The Day of the Jackal 7.9 vs. 5.7 and for The Manchurian Candidate 8.4 vs. 6.7 )


Considering the film's title and cover I expected a type of Zalman King thriller when I rented this movie. Some nice nude scenes wrapped up in a shallow story. But I was wrong. A good script, good acting, great camera perspectives and a beautiful sphere setting made this a very compelling movie. All well directed by Michael Christofer. The chemistry between Banderas and Jolie is enthralling. It keeps the tension throughout the whole film. Banderas plays the romantic guy who falls in love with a mysterious beauty played by Jolie. The more he becomes aware of what is happening to him the more he finds himself lost in the love for her. Only the title is misleading. They should have stuck to the original "Waltz Into Darkness".


I Love this movie. And this is why. This movie is about Love. What you will do for love. Now the greedy bastard in all of you can't figure out why he bothers with her. This is why. "Love" True love, the kind you die for. This is why we watch movies. To feel the way this movie makes us feel about love. I know Bonny/Jolie seams like she doesn't deserve his love. But, you have to understand Luis/Banderas doesn't care. He loves her. Bonny doesn't understand this kind of us-selfish love till it is almost too late and then in the end, finally she figures it out. Bonny finally gives into love and trusts Luis. Please watch this movie and try not to be greedy and think about all he is loosing to be with this woman. Try to understand, he doesn't care. He just loves her and will do anything to be with her. Think of it this way, you are going to buy a new car you opt for the one that is a bit cheaper and comes with out. I don't know, let's say a rear bumper. You don't think it is important. You are going to save 1000 dollars on the car because of it. Then a week later your husband gets in an accident and dies. They tell you if you had a rear bumper the accident would have been minor. Now, if you could go back in time just for one moment and buy the bumper, but now it is 100,000 dollars (just for the bumper). Would you care? No! You would buy the bumper. No mater what it cost to save his life. You can't put a price on true love. In this movie money and wealth are not a factor. It is just about love. I hope you will give this movie a chance and watch is just in the name of love. Also watch it for one of the best love scenes ever. It is right up there with the `Legends of the Fall' love scenes. But longer! It's Great!


Hmmm.....now this is a real film. I thought these kinds of films were dead. Original Sin shows me that they are not and they are better than ever.

I tell you, I absolutely loved this picture. It grabs you from the first shot and never lets go. Its s thriller, but it is also "a story about love, not a love story." It examines love and its consequences. It will show you what love is.

The chemistry between Jolie and Bandera's is fantastic. You believe it. You believe that they are in love and will do anything to be together. Its fabulous.

Go see it. You will love it!


I am a huge Antonio fan, Angelina I can take or leave, a bit of an over actor. but she fit this part well, her role was about an actress who used her acting skills to seduce unwitting men. so I guess it required a bit of mellow-drama. I found the plot twists to be very refreshing, you never quite knew where it was going and how it was going to end. for me the ending was not disappointing. I preferred to see them end up together and not living back on the plantation that he re-built from the ground up with his "honest" sweat and blood. I rather liked that they ended up together and living the bonnie and Clyde life style. it just seemed fitting to me. a happy ending, but not too happy. I give it a solid 8


I must confess before you read this that I am truly a period costume freak, and this time period is one of my favourites.

That out of the way, I still enjoyed this movie. In fact, I had avoided seeing it after it had screened, then after it was released on video... until my best friend and I decided to give it a whirl.

I was NOT disappointed. I was even expecting to be disappointment, and was instead actually pleasantly surprised. Angelina and Antonio are both admirable actors and are not hard to look at either. Sure, it's got sex, love, period costumes and scandal... but so do a lot of other movies that aren't even half as well-made as this one. If you don't expect great things from this movie, if all you want is a decent story with some beautiful eye-candy, then this movie is great. You may even be enthralled like I was with the way the plot twists and turns, or how the power over someone is all in the mind... or the heart.

Overall, give Original Sin some credit and the benefit of the doubt. It might surprise you.


I have seen this film many times but each time i enjoy watching it, it's the best film I have ever seen, Antonio Banderas did his best , he's a Cuban man loving an American girl but there's a problem : She was such a lier girl and a thief as well .Simultaneously she was in love with another man so after a while she took all Banderas money and ran away, Banderas started to find her in order to kill her .He Employs a detective to do so but guess who the detective is : It's her lover missing her too and is searching for her.What would happen next? See the film.It's the beginning of one of the best films in the History. I recommend you if and only if ( I Like math) there's just ONE day left from your life(I'm sorry for you) GO SEE the film,don't miss it or you'll regret for it afterlife.


****Excellent

***Good

**Fair

*Poor

Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie are two very talented actors who both should have done another project that would have taken advantage of their talent. Banderas perhaps took this role to do something different from his Spy Kids role but Angelina Jolie I don't understand. She keeps on accepting roles in mainstream adult films.

The film I think had potential to be a very good erotic thriller. However, the plot and characters are underdeveloped while the sex scenes take center stage. In my opinion the only reason you may want to check out this film is to see Angelina Jolie naked. But for that you shouldn't waste your time in viewing this film.

RATING: 1 STAR


Now here is a film that that makes the most of this medium and gives it its worth beside or, if you like, above a book. The settings were so beautiful: the environments, the historical portraying, the story, the clothing and, not the least to mention, the acting. I so much admire the skill of creating such a masterpiece; it's like depicting one's dream to become reality. There has been paid so much attention to every detail, you can tell the director is a true artist. And I must say, the play of Jolie and Banderas is excellent and they fit so well in their roles! What's that with the low ratings? Have people lost their sense of beauty? Or is this site mainly used by that flat type of action lover? Is recognition of quality a dying feature? Let's not hope so; for it would be an eternal sin to be, for lack of interest, restrained of these kind of movies in future.


Angelina is one of my favourite actresses. She is of a natural beauty and grasps your attention nearly automatically. She is very professional in acting and gives herself totally for a role. I think you can see that in this movie as well. In this movie she has to play a bad person (Julia). But there is some good in the character as well. You will notice this in different parts of the movie. The mysterious beauty and serenity of Angelina are important for this role. It gives the movie character bad and good sides at the time. From the beginning of the movie, you'll know something is wrong with Julia. This is also emphasized by the way the filming has done. The whole movie is shot with great camera perspectives and good sphere setting. This is due to the good work of the director Michael Cristofer.

Antonio Banderas is also playing well. Antonio is the perfect romantic figure that the movie needed. On the other side he is aware what happens but lost himself in the love for Julia. This gives the tension between Antonio and Angelina which is an attractive aspect of the movie. Maybe you think this movie will be too romantic for some, but there is a good lot of tension in it. It's just not a simple love story. I think the acting, pace and storytelling in the movie are just right for the type of movie. If you like more than simple action movies, you like this one as well.


to all you people that thought this movie was a waste of money or had no potential then i guess you have a thing for movies like "she's all that'. this movie was very good in more ways than i care to type at the moment. some of you said that you wanted to watch it because of angelina jolie and antonio banderas as headliners. well maybe you've all learned your lessons, which would be dont judge a book by its cover. i happen to think that no other actors could have pulled this off. the plot was good but this movie couldnt have been the way it was if it wasnt for angelina jolie, antonio banderas, and thomas jane. they added much depth to their characters. i'm puzzled as to why it didnt do good at the boxoffice. i guess most of america just needs their she's all thats and maid in manhattens. well i gave this movie at 10/10. it really was great.


Antonio Banderas plays a rich Cuban man in the late 1800s-early 1900s, who orders a mail order bride (Angelina Jolie). Unfortunately, she turns out to be a load of trouble.

Horrible adaptation of a great book ("Waltz into Darkness" by Cornell Woolrich). There's some beautiful set design, exotic locations and good acting by Banderas and Jolie. None of that can compensate for the leaden pace, horrible script, laughable performance by Thomas Jane (who appears drunk most of the time) and annoyingly jerky direction by Michael Cristofer. Also, why does this take place in Cuba? The original novel is set in America.

The only reason to see this tripe is for a very steamy sex scene between Banderas and Jolie within the first half hour. After that, tune out. ALMOST worth sitting through for the real stupid ending (different from the book).

A waste of talent.


SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

First of all Antonio Banderas does a very fine job in this movie. This screenplay is quite interesting, and when Angelina Jolie leans ahead of the dead body and says "Billy, you really got what you deserved this time", you're thinking "oh, nice plot-twist". From the beginning of the movie until that moment, you are entertained. The problem is that right after that the body "wakes up", and a lot of other, less interesting plot-twists ensue. After a while, you don't really care if Banderas' character is going to die or not because his character has lost all the respect you had of it; and you don't care about Jolie's character anymore either because of what she's tried to do in the film. Such a manipulative and untrustworthy character as her doesn't draw my interest, such a weak and unthinking character as he, doesn't either. Love, to me, isn't a "trait of personality" sufficient enough in a movie character so that I care about it. Therefore, when the only thing that remains in both these characters is the love for each other, and when they have left their jobs, friends, integrity, and should I say, mental sanity (because they become guilty of murder) to stay with each other, you can pretty much guess that from there the movie can become vulgar and raw. Which it does, when Angelina turns into a prostitute again at the end - not a least bit worried by the love she says she carries for "Luis" - and offers herself to 4 or 5 men, while she already has a relationship with Luis and one with her pimp. So in the end I'd say that the film is pretty graceful - gracefully written, acted, shot, though out - from the beginning to "Billy, you got what you deserved", and after that it turns into something else, another type of movie which we could call "the-plot-twist-contest-kind-of-movie". Unfortunately for that "almost good" part of the film, Angelina Jolie was cast as the main actress of "Original Sin". Her blown-out of proportions lips invade the screen from the first seconds of the film, and sadly, her acting is proportionally emphasized. One can regret that she was chosen for the part, and while some may enjoy the view of her naked body, true film lovers will regret the choice of her for this role. Not a whisper from her, not a glance, could give a man goosebumps on his back. Everything from her, up to the register of her voice, is cold and slow. While Miss Jolie was compelling and true in a film like "Girl, Interrupted", she is nothing here but a commercial value on the movie poster. An actress with such passionate eyes as Mia Kirschner's, or with a sin-inspiring body as Sherilyn Fenn's, could have saved the part very easily. But Angelina Jolie looks in no way like the character she portrays - and maybe simply doesn't fit with period dramas. The music plays unnoticed in the action's background - no theme remains in your mind after the end credits, no lyrical moments have flashed your ears - but then again, you didn't come see the film for its music did you? The cinematography comes where needed, as needed, with as little boldness as expected. No image from this film is sheerly "beautiful" or "picturesque", but the sceneries and actions are properly lit and shot with imagination. If you hesitate between watching an old film and this, go for the old film!


I was a big fan of this series before i appeared in it. I still get letters and cards from fans despite leaving the show in 1988. Roy Clarke is one of the greatest comedy writers of his generation, he explores the British class system, old age, and the relationships between Yorshiremen and the Women they love brilliantly. The early shows were about boredom, retirement, life in Yorkshire and friendship between men of differing backgrounds. When the show was taken over by Alan J W Bell ,who produced and directed all the episodes i appeared in, the comedy broadened. Wonderful slapstick and unlikely romance became the strong central themes. In 1987 the show regularly had viewing figures just below 20 Million, and it continues to have a cult following to this day. I made some wonderful friends on the series too, Jane Freeman (who played my Auntie Ivy), Bill Owen (who i sadly miss) Peter Sallis (who taught me so much when we worked on stage together) Thora Hird (who told great stories of her early life in the Co-op as a sales assistant) Joe Gladwyn (who told me the most wonderful tales of early music hall and variety shows) to name just a few... I think one of the best qualities of this show is that anyone of any age can watch it and find something amusing, popular family entertainment is rare these days and this is a gem.


This programme is one of the best about and it certainly has been about for quite a while. Very sadly one of the funniest and most active comedians I have ever seen Bill Owen died recently, but although he was almost the main character in the show I'm certainly glad that for Bills memory that the show has continued.One of the great things about the show is that just about all of the actors in the show have made their mark in other comedy's and other shows, yet they all seem like they have been in the show from the start, for example Jean Alexander spent many years as Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street and Stephen Lewis was well known as Blakey in On The Buses. Take a look at this show and I think you will be glad you did.


This programme has been one of British televisions centre pieces since the first pilot episode. With wonderful performances from Bill owen as the scruffy, gambleing, Nora Loving, loveable Compo and Peter Sallis as Clegg a widower who is terrified of anything female, but is more immature than your average child at Christmas. Plus brilliant supporting actors like Michael Bates (Clockwork Orange), Brian Wilde, John Comer, Joe Gladwin, Jane Freeman and Kathy "Nora" Staff.

It might on the face of things seem like a comedy for older people but it's anything but, young people love to see older people being immature (e.g)Monty Python. The scripts in the early series where quite wonderful with the setting, timing and situation right it was always going to be what it is........One of the most loveable and enjoyed Sit-coms to ever be made, I know thats said a lot but with this 30 year old gem it's true.


After awhile of leaving it on between British comedies on American PBS, I grew to enjoy and like watching this television show. The characters like Compo and his relationship with Nora Batty is quite hysterical. It's great to watch Frank Thornton back in comedy again as Truelove. Of course, Thora Hird is my favorite British acting dame. At almost ninety years old, she is still beautiful, sweet, and brilliant in her role as Edie. The show is more like comedic serial than a sitcom. There is the ongoing secret courtship between married Howard and single attractive golden girl, Marina. Then there is the annoying happy marriage between Glenda and Barry. It's almost nauseating to hear Glenda speak so highly of her Barry to her mother and their friends over tea as they discuss husbands with the suspicious Pearl, the widowed Nora and Ivy. Of course, it's wonderful to watch Auntie Wainwright as an antique seller in the small town. It's a delight to watch Jean Alexander thrive in this role. In fact everybody thrives in their roles on this long running British comedy. In fact, I don't mind growing old. The show gives me something to look forward too now. I am sad about Bill Owen's death but the show still manages to go on with his son. I just wish he would chase after Nora Batty now who left. Even though the characters come and go, there are now new refreshing characters. When I go to England next time, I will definitely stop in Holmfirth, England, outside of Manchester to visit this charming little Yorkshire town.


Last of the Summer Wine doesn't come on until 11 pm on the local PBS station, but it's always worth the lack of sleep.

It's a rare comedy nowadays that can be genuinely funny without being crude. The three old men at the center of the show are constantly involved in antics worthy of Lucille Ball. The wide array of supporting characters are representative of real-life characters to be found in any small town in any country, which is probably why it appeals to me, a girl from a small town in the Midwestern United States.

It's heartwarming, funny, and for the entire family. What more could you want?


The above rating is for the mid-'70's to mid-80's shows, when 'Last Of The Summer Wine' was at its peak in my view. Brian Wilde was 'Foggy', Peter Sallis 'Clegg', and the irreplaceable Bill Owen played 'Compo'. 'Last' is the perfect tonic; the sun always shines in Holmfirth, everybody gets on well with everybody else, and nothing unpleasant ever seems to happen. No wonder its lasted thirty-three years. Its detractors seem to think its main audience are pensioners. Wrong. 'Last' is watched by children too; in fact its one of the few television comedies on now that the family can enjoy. Naturally, this makes it a thorn in the side of the 'cutting-edge' comedy brigade, who can't sit through anything for more than two minutes unless someone either swears, vomits or farts. The quality of the show might not be what it once was, but its still more enjoyable than the dire 'Little Britain'. Brian Murphy, Frank Thornton, Peter Sallis and Stephen Lewis are living proof that comedy doesn't have to be 'a young man's game'.


Let me first say that I have noted the many favorable comments here but as far as I'm concerned, to quote Fawlty Towers' outboard motor salesman: "This Wine Is Corked". Most definitely.

Last of the Summer Wine recently made it's appearance in my local TV viewing area. Accordingly, I have been watching episodes for some weeks, all the while entertaining high hopes that the humor would commence. Not a chance. Not one laugh to date.

I have asked myself: Can this be due to a generation gap? No. I am of the same age as the actors. Well then, can it be that it is a certain kind of fare that appeals strictly to the British alone? Well, I cannot say for certain. What I do know is that I find Keeping Up Appearances, Ab Fab, Fawlty Towers, Waiting For God and Are You Being Served? absolutely hilarious (superior, in fact, to anything produced here in the U.S). I have viewed the same episodes of these shows repeatedly and never tire of them. In fact, I doubt that this day will ever come.

Now having spoken my piece I think it only fair to end on a positive note. The Holmfirth countryside is absolutely enchanting.


One of the great pleasures of watching Last of the Summer Wine is being able to watch great character actors plying their craft. It is particularly enjoyable to be able to say, "He used be Captain Peacock", or "Sapphy's Gran", or "Mr Roper". The plots are pretty ludicrous and the situations repetitive, but the plots are based on the characters, and once you accept the premise that these elderly men are idle with their one goal in life being to resist being their ages, then their schemes, far fetched as many are, make some sort of sense. The women, interestingly, even unattached ones, seem to define themselves in terms of the men, either tut-tutting, sometimes collaborating, always commenting on what the men are up to. The scenery is superb, there is never violence, and money and illegal drugs are never mentioned. So, a restful, enjoyable program that always leaves a smile.


This is hilarious. True, I do prefer the earlier episodes, and it wasn't the same without Compo, but that doesn't deter me from putting on the television and relaxing for 45 or so minutes. The men's antics are a tad predictable, but they are still hilarious, like the episode with Compo dressing up as the ice cream man, with a duck-caller. Another priceless gem was when Seymour, Compo and Clegg try and help Howard escape, and their inflatable boat sinks, and all four men end up in the river. But for me, my favourite episode has to be Das(Welly)Boot. And of course, I love any episode with Foggy. The performances are first rate, especially Bill Owen as Compo. I noticed on the laughter track he got the most laughs. But Peter Sallis as Clegg, Brian Wilde as Foggy and Michael Aldridge as Seymour were a delight as well. I mustn't forget Kathy Staff as Nora Batty. The newer episodes are good, but it's not the same without those lovable characters, because Peter Sallis I think is the only one of them still alive, and over the years is subdued to cameo appearances. All in all, a hugely satisfying comedy series, that still looks good after 30+ years thanks to the amazing countryside scenery. 10/10 Bethany Cox


It's too bad that here in the states we have the option of purchasing 2 LEGAL DVD sets (I have)or watching in 10min segments on YouTube. The only other thing offered in the past was, I think in the 90's a (then)full version for about a whopping $300.00 or $400.00. Even then, I had never seen a single episode but was sure I'd like it. I guess I'm going to get player with region 2 code and buy the UK version DVDs. Mid-Sommer Murders made me want to see England but LOTSW has made me want to MOVE THERE. I have even changed my next vacation from Greek Isles to Yorkshire. I LOVE LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - what a shame that it is not shown (or available)more widely in the US. Thanks Roy Clarke!! Sally


I loved Last of the Summer Wine in the early 1990's when I was a kid and really enjoyed the mischief Compo, Clegg and Foggy got up to. Story lines also included Compo's constant attempt to attract Nora Batty which was always a laugh, but sadly in 1999, Bill Owen (Compo) passed away. Surprisingly though, the producers just continued making new series. The 'Compo's Funeral' episode was very touching but in my opinion, this should have been the show's final episode, ever since then, the show's quality has declined rapidly. Many of the other major characters have now passed away and often just replaced with other 'similar' characters, making it more like a soap than a much-loved sitcom. Even Clegg (Peter Sallis) is now only in episodes briefly.

I feel the producers are now just trying to keeps the show alive for as long as possible, but with few 'original' characters and poorer story lines, new episodes could tarnish the image of the series that was once brilliant.


Last of the Summer Wine is just one of those TV Classics. Though it has to be said, when Compo died, so did the show.

Set in Holmfirth (ten mins away from my home) a West Yorkshire village, the show started in 1973, and it was about three old men Compo Simonite (Bill Owen), Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis) and Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates). Compo being scruffy, Clegg being "NORMAL!" and Cyril being appalled by Compo's untidiness. These old men get up to the most strangest of adventures, Compo being sexually obsessed with next door neighbour Nora Batty (Kathy Staff). The trio often went to the café in most episodes, owned by Sid (John Comer) and awful wife Ivy (Jane Freeman). When Michael Bates died, the role of the "third man" went to ex military man Foggy Dewhurst (Brian Wilde). Wilde played the role for ten years, then he left, so next "third man", Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge), a mad inventor. Aldridge then left the series, so in 1990, Foggy Dewhurst returned. Wilde played the part until 1997, when he picked up an ailment, so he was forced to retire. This looked like the end of the show, but no. Who was to be the next "third man". Michael Aldridge had died in 1995, so he couldn't take over. It went to ex Policeman Herbert Truelove (Frank Thornton). This went on until Bill Owen died in 1999. That really should have been the end of the show, but the great Roy Clarke (Open All Hours, Keeping up Appearances) made a bad decision, to carry the show on. You can't have Last of the Summer Wine without Compo. Without Compo it's just "Last of the......".

Who is my favourite third man. Cyril was excellent, Seymour and Herbert were good, but it has to go to Foggy. The episodes with Brian Wilde in were great.

Best Episode: It is one of the two part episodes "The Great Boarding House Bathroom Caper" and "Cheering up Gordon", which is about when Compo, Clegg, Foggy, Sid, Ivy and Gordon(Compo's nephew) go on holiday to Scarbourgh, only to find Nora Batty and husband Wally are staying in the same boarding house.


Incredibly Last of The Summer Wine first appeared in 1973. Many hold that Fawlty Towers was so special partly because it appeared just 12 times, and that multiple seasons of the Torqay sitcom would have diluted its appeal. If a real world example was ever needed, then this tired old show is surely it.

The writing is lazy, there is no attempt at a contrived story line, or multiple events with a final scene interaction.

Insiders at the BBC are embarrassed by this show - and the discerning viewer can see why.

Apologists for this lame old show will describe it as "gentle comedy"; scripts created with a gentle sprinkling of minor laughs.

Time to retire it.


'That Which Survives' is a good, low-key, atmospheric third-season episode that has a melancholy air to it, especially in retrospect after you learn what happened to Losira and her people. I would definitely rank it as one of the better shows of the last season, though admittedly the bar is pretty low. If there's anything really odd about 'That Which Survives,' it's the dialogue. All of the characters are really snappish with each other. Sulu will say something and Kirk will almost bite his head off. Same thing goes on back at the Enterprise; Spock is more of a smartass than we've ever seen him before. Almost anything anyone says to him is met with a response dripping in sarcasm. It's quite a different approach and frankly it becomes annoying after a while, though some of his lines are funny. I don't recall any other episode of ST with dialogue quite like this. And it's all the more peculiar as the writer, John Meredyth Lucas, was a Trek veteran who wrote four shows including the fine episode 'The Changeling.' None of his other scripts display this odd approach to dialogue. Lee Meriwether is a good choice for the mysterious, lonely Losira and the scenes on the planet are the most interesting.


Spock jumps on every comment that every person says, correcting their calculations with comments like "I wish you'd be more accurate" and saying things like "We're not here to engage in gambling" when someone asks about their odds of survival (how many times has Spock himself spewed out odds of this and that in the past? His own mother had to cut him off at the knees when he did that once). I've always thought that the "folding Lee Meriwhether" effect was cool but I'm not sure the episode really makes any sense. My main problem with this episode is how annoying Spock is because he's my favorite character in this series.


For Trekkies one of the worst episodes, but for me this is the campiest of them all; not as much regarding what happens but what is being said. There are Edwoodesque dialogues here that had me in stitches.

Listed below are some lines/dialogues from TWS. See if you can figure out where the actual dialogue ends and where invented parts begin... (perhaps not that easy!).

1. Sulu: "The Enterprise must have blown up, Captain!" Kirk: "Yeah, well, who cares...?"

2. Helsmwoman: "Mr. Spock, the planet's gone!"

3. Sulu: "Captain, the ship simply disappeared! What does that mean??" Kirk: "Well, it means we're stranded here." Sulu: "But, Captain, aren't you worried about the lives of 400 of your crew??" Kirk: "I already told you: I ain't. This is Season 3, and I'm a little more apathetic about things."

4. Helmswoman: "What bothers me is the stars, Mr.Spock... they're all wrong." Spock: "There's something wrong with your head, Missy. The stars are fine just as they are..."

5. McCoy: "I wonder what killed him..." Kirk: "I don't know... But something or someone did." This is almost the same sort of exchange as in "Plan 9": "I don't know... But one thing's for sure: there's a dead body here, and someone's responsible!"

6. Scotty: "Mr. Spock, the ship feels wrong." Spock: "What do you mean 'feels wrong'?" Scotty: "The field is all wrong." Spock: "Oh, the FIELD is all wrong. I thought you said 'it feels wrong'." Scotty: "I DID say that!"

7. Losira: "I am... from this planet." Sulu: "So the planet IS hollow!" Losira: "No, Sulu, the script-writer's head is hollow."

8. Losira: "I have come for you, Mr.Sulu... I want to touch you." Sulu: "Touch Kirk! I'm gay..."

9. Sulu: "How can such evil BE, Captain?! She's so beautiful..." Kirk: "I know... Evil only comes from ugly people."

10. Sulu: "I'd rather be on the Enterprise." (Translation: "Mommy, I wanna go home!!") Kirk: "I agree, Sulu... I'd rather rest my head between Uhura's massive pillows now than be fighting aliens on this damn planet."

One of the most amazing, absurd, unique hence entertaining aspects of this wildly funny episode is Spock's atypical grumpiness, which manifests itself at least a dozen times in sarcasm(!) and put-downs(!!) of crew members. The cranky side of Spock, that we didn't even know existed until TWS, really comes into the forefront in this episode. Perhaps male Vulcans have their period every seven years?

No-one was safe from Spock's venomous ripostes. Examples:

1. When Uhura asks "what happened?", after the ship is shaken up, Spock proceeds to literally and in full detail explain the physics of his fall - like some demented robot, and without a trace of sarcasm. (He was still warming up for the upcoming sarcastic remarks.)

2. Uhura: "How did she get off the ship, sir?" Spock: "Presumably the same way she got on it." This was such a cheap shot by Spock, the kind of dumb comment one could expect from a 6th-grader!

3. Sick-bay Doctor: "Your guess is as good as mine, Mr.Spock." Spock: "I would suggest you refrain from guessing and focus on the task at hand." So the TWS Spock can dish out sarcasm, but is too dim too detect it from others, or at least to recognize a common phrase when he hears one.

4. Uhura: "What are the chances the Captain and the others are still alive?" Spock: "Lieutenant, we do not engage in gambling." This, coming from Starfleet's Annual Intergalactic Useless Statistics/Odds Champion!

Meriwether, looking vaguely Raquel Welchian, going around killing people in spite of feeling ambivalent about hurting them is a bit amusing, too. (The wishy-washiest killer of them all.) At the end, Kirk and co. even engage in quasi-slapstick, when they keep changing the order of how they stand to avoid being touched by the strange pacifistic-yet-murdering alien woman/robot.

Apart from bombarding the viewer with unintentional nonsense every single minute, TWS is also a visually high-quality episode, with great sets and wonderfully bombastic 60s colours. The Losira-gets-folded special effect is very effective.


this is my favorite episode of star trek simply because it a side story with Spock and Scotty on the enterprise and Kirk, McCoy and Sulu. very good chemistry between Spock and Scotty's (specifically the scene in the jeffries tube). i think i have seen this episode over 100 times and it never gets old to me. the last second save of the enterprise was a tension filled scene. ( even though you know it will all work out). and the somewhat corny dialog such as "i am for you Sulu" when the program comes to take her next victim. even though it is somewhat cheesy its not cheesy enough to bring down the episode. over all it is a must see for any star trek fan and if you haven't seen or heard of star trek check your pulse because you have been dead for 40 years.


I thought this was a "lost" episode for me in that I had missed one episode in my decades of Trek viewing in repeats with "Court Martial" only seeing that in the 90's (not a favorite)! I was watching this episode now and did not have a clue. However, I have seen it, it was just so bad I didn't set aside enough brain matter to remember it fully. I know I saw it because I remember the alien folding up into a nothing. What I didn't remember was the awesome scene with Scottie getting serious rad's in the jefferies tube and passing out as Spock acts like an a hole, asking why he should say thank you, that was a little over the top as Spock had shown thanks before (I think), but Spock never gave Scottie a break. With that much said, Spock would be my all time worse Captain to be serving under don't you think? "Hey Mr Spock, how about some liberty call on board that planet that loves to please?" Mr Spock answers, "The Federation is not paying you to enjoy yourself so get back to work!" Anyway, this episode is really lame in that it has no moral message like "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield", it's just a lady with superpowers and limited dialog screwing with the Enterprise, and despite Scottie's and Spock's very cool moment this episode sucks cheese whiz. 4 of 10, season three is starting to look lame like everyone said (but there were some good episodes before this one!).


There! One quick glimpse at this user-comments subject line and experienced horror/cult cinema fanatics immediately know what type of exploitation movie we're dealing with here! Wes Craven's horror landmark "Last House on the Left" spawned a copious amount of cheaply made and rapidly edited imitations (mainly Italian ones) and "Midnight Blue" is easily the most forgettable one of them all. Actually this film already righteously resides in oblivion and only crazed smut-freaks, like myself, are stupid enough to dig it back up. "Midnight Blue" features the exact same story lines as all the other revenge films, except one of the female rape victims in this film is a practicing javelin thrower so you already know beforehand which attribute she'll use to extract her vengeance. Three young girls (not the world's sexiest ones, I may add) unwisely separate themselves from the rest of their group of touring athletes to spend extra vacation time in a house near a private beach. Whilst sunbathing topless, three men approach them in the hope to score a bit of random and casual sex and they do; even though two of them are old and downright hideous looking. Numerous gratuitous sex-sequences later, one of the girls coincidentally discovers the three are in fact fugitive criminals who needed a hideout place. When her attempt to signal the police fail, the three reveal their true malignant nature. Physical abuse, violence, humiliation and  eventually  retribution inevitably ensues Not much to speak about here, "Midnight Blue" is completely mundane and by-the-numbers late 70's exploitation product. There's not even the slightest at building up tension, the cinematography looks ugly and the girls have more hair on their intimate areas than the average gorilla has over its entire body. Director Raimondo Del Balzo's input (who?) is entirely unnoticeable and none of the cast members has any other significant movie title on their repertoires. Not too hard to see why that is.


This is a cheap looking Italian drama about three girls who are taken hostage by three criminals. It really isn't that interesting, although there are a couple of enjoyable moments. The girls take revenge and kill the dudes cold, but that isn't where it ends. The final sequence is one of the only parts that leave an impression.

I stumbled on this movie by accident and watched it once. There were some lengthy sequences that did not keep my attention. It was gritty and poorly lit, and not very scenic.

It starts out kind of carefree, as the three girls are on a vacation bus with a group, but stay behind from the rest to hang out at a beach house. They meet three men and it's kind of cozy for a while. The movie changes tone midway when the girls find out the men are wanted.

I think I only watched this because it was an obscurity. There are plenty of mainstream movies that are more fun than this.


The story of a superstar singer who falls in love with her bodyguard could have been a major disaster. I remember the previews and thinking it was going to be one. However once the film was out and I actually watched it I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is a really good romance and a really good thriller. Of course its hokey and Hollywood and all of that but you get sucked in and carried along for its running time.

Trust me this is better than you think it is.

The only problem is that the film is a bit too long to do what it has to do. I think the problem is in the early part of the film where all of th e pieces are being set in motion, however once its all going its great.

Get some popcorn your honey and enjoy.


The Bodyguard is fundamentally a love story between two contrasting characters with their own idiosyncrasies. The plot is intriguing enough to carry the film through and the romance between Costner and Houston builds steadily and realistically.

With some decent action scenes, a decent cast and a great soundtrack, i found the Bodyguard to be an enjoyable movie.

Clearly this film is not for everyone, it doesn't have enough action to satisfy the action fans, it isn't thrilling enough to be a thriller and as a pure romance film it is fairly weak; but i have to admit it does balance between these 3 genres quite well without excelling in any one of them.

7/10


Frank Farmer is a top line bodyguard, formerly secret service protector to President Reagan, he is approached to guard Rachel Marron, the latest pop sensation on the cusp of Hollywood domination. After initially being reluctant to take the job, Farmer gets to the task of protecting Rachel from a potential maniac who's been sending her threatening letters. As the initial in camp hostilities die down, Frank & Rachel start to draw ever closer, but so does the person who wants her dead.....

The Bodyguard is one of those films that was long in gestation, originally mooted in 1976 to star Steve McQueen {it was written with McQueen in mind in the 60s} and Diana Ross, it was put on the back burner after McQueen fell ill to the cancer that killed him. Then it resurfaced in 1979 with Diana Ross to play opposite Ryan O'Neal, but the two stars just couldn't get on and the project again fell by the wayside. Enter Kevin Costner and his boys at TIG Productions, original choice to star alongside Costner, Maddona, ruined her chance {thankfully} of starring after being a bitch to Costner in her Truth Or Dare documentary. In stepped Whitney Houston {brilliantly diva casting}, Costner gave himself a crew cut {in homage to McQueen} and The Bodyguard went on to make $410,900,000 worldwide.

The film now seems like a myth to me because it's rating across many forums is on the low side, critics hate it and you will be hard pressed to find macho film fans readily about to own up to liking the picture. That's a shame because as undeniably nonsense as it is, it's got a great thriller heart to blend in with its romantic core, the good ship Bodyguard may dock at all the formula ports in the genres, but it's one hell of a journey getting to the end, with that song that seemed to top the charts for years {the soundtrack to the movie selling 17 million in America alone}.

In spite of the obviousness of the plot, and the general feeling of familiarity, The Bodyguard has much going for it, things that ensured it became a monster hit and had cinema goers queueing round the block to see it. Houston is something of a revelation, here she nails the diva bitch heart of gold portrayal of Rachel with astonishing ease, and couple that with a voice sent from some deity paradise far away, makes her total value for money. Costner also stepped up to the plate to win a new breed of fans as Farmer, his charm and laid back manner works well with a ruggedness that the male viewers could easily get on side with. The rest of the cast are merely playing second fiddle to the well matched up leads, and outside of Gary Kemp becoming increasingly annoying as the film progresses, they all blend in well to create what is now a sadly undervalued picture.

See it with someone you love, don't take my word for it, look at the box office take, it doesn't lie. 7/10


Oh my, what a wonderful movie. Hollywood is known for churning out a lot of sentimental mush that's supposed to pass for romance. But, thankfully, this is not one of those movies. In this movie the main characters, the bodyguard and the lady he is hired to protect, are likable and have a relationship that develops into something really beautiful and special. Moreover, the story is plausible and the movie is well-acted too, with Whitney Houston turning in an outstanding performance reminiscent of Diana Ross's in Lady Sings the Blues (which is another great movie). If you want to watch a movie with good acting and an engaging story, then this is the movie to watch.


Has everything. Whitney acts better than Costner, but great story and well made.

Loved the references to Yojimbo.

Good country scenes with the father from the Waltons. The characters rang true.

The jealousy of Rachel's sister rang true and added another dimension to the movie.

And then there is the music. Incredible. Made the best use of Whitney's voice. Most movies age, but in 2009 it still felt contemporary.

1 point dropped for Costner's acting. He is wooden in a number of scenes and doesn't seem to choose the best delivery for each line.


I am a stand-up advocate of the obvious as long as it's done well. The Bodyguard is a straightforward thriller with and entirely believable romance, told in a manner which makes you feel, er, both thrilled and warm.

Not only are there no surprises here, we are also seeing another in a long line of films made specifically to showcase the talent of one of the stars looking for a new pocket of audience for their great success elsewhere. No doubt a fair proportion of the audience that went to see The Bodyguard and bought the videos, DVDs, soundtracks and, no doubt, fridge magnets were only interested in new performance footage of Whitney Houston the (unarguably gifted) singer and a fictional dramatisation of what they imagine her fabulous, starry life to resembles.

No matter. This issue is decently integrated into the film. Costner gives us just enough ennui to translate into genuine care and Mick Jackson understands how the star and fans want to commune with it all. 4/10


I don't care if people say it's a chick flick. I don't see it that way. I think this movie was a great start for Houston's acting career. The character of Rachel Marron was complex, and her personality clashing with Fram Farmer's set the tone for this movie.

I quite enjoyed the soundtrack as well. The music as well as Rachel's performances at various stages of the plot fit perfectly with the mood. The "Queen of the Night" performance was out of control, as was the situation at that point in the movie.

What can I say about the end? A perfect ending for a chick like me, I suppose. On a more serious note, I liked how the movie wasn't perfectly happy and warm at the end. It was obvious that these two could not be together at this point in their lives, because they got in each other's way. But, that does not rule out the possibility of them finding one another again later on down the line.


Even with a weak acting performance by singer Whitney Houston, this is a fabulous film as it gives up everything: a wonderful plot, fine chemistry between Kevin Costner and Ms. Houston, the reality of finding love while on the job, and an Academy Award show never to be forgotten!

The beautiful Oscar-winning song is sung here with perfection by Ms. Houston.

As stated above, Houston's performance is lackluster through most of the film. It did pick up somewhat as the plot thickened. As for Costner, as the over-zealous agent, he was never better. What makes the film so good is the believable plot twists that are discovered. All does not seem to appear what it should be regarding a former agent as well as the woman who portrays Houston's sister and secretary. We have often heard of what happens when love blossoms in the work place and this film is no exception to that rule.


This was definitely a good movie.Everything a movie fan could ask for is in this movie. Excellent actors and actresses, a good plot, and outstanding music came from this movie. Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston made this movie. Kevin Costner plays the role of a bodyguard assigned to protect a rock singer well played by Whitney Houston. He of course saves her from several close calls. In the meantime a close relationship develops between the bodyguard and the singer. In the meantime an evil person is always lurking nearby to do the singer harm. This proved to be an excellent movie that was entertaining to watch. You will not be disappointed.


I was hesitant to watch this film. A friend had rented it and ask me to watch it.

The acting here is good by most everyone. It is also interesting how you get to see 'behind the scenes' of a person who is a mega-star. You get a little peek into the private life that you might not see otherwise.

At times the film feels lurid and soapy. But other times it is fascinating. Kevin Costner did a very good job here and looks so handsome. He really gave his character life here. Whitney Houston also does a good job and it wasn't any stretch at all to believe her portrayal of the big star singer.

Probably a film that women would enjoy more than men but despite the flaws, I did enjoy it. I don't think it ever became too sappy. I think the reason for the attacks on the star are probably the weakest point of the film.


First of all, I never really cared for Houston's singing from the beginning of her career. It was too Ethel Merman/Carol Burnett, but at least they were fun. I preferred Dolly Parton's version of 'I will always love you' for its sweetness. It's not the kind of song that needs to be belted out at full volume. Second, I don't think she is all that beautiful either with those lifeless eyes of hers and the bitchiness came way too easy for her.

Kevin Costner looks good in clothes (costumes) but has the voice of a 15 year old boy. I've never liked any of his movies or his attempts at acting.

Put these 2 together and voilà, an awful, awful mess. Was the interracial love affair supposed to be daring in the 90s? Did Whitney get threatening letters for her performance in this thing as well as the character she played? Did Kevin go to Supercuts during a power blackout? We want to know.


Whitney Houston's screen debut is a lavish urban thriller that takes itself quite seriously but never gets going. The film stumbles from one scene to another and never has any semblance of a coherent, believable story. The production values are top notch all around but the plot is utterly senseless. Houston does well in her role as a temperamental diva, is talented, pretty, bitchy and vulnerable. She fares much better than star Kevin Costner, who plays the title role. Costner seems unsure of himself and comes across as tentative and hopelessly wooden, although he and Houston do seem to have a bit of chemistry between them. Ralph Waite is fine as the bodyguard's father but the rest of the cast overacts to the point of silliness.


I don't believe it! 5.3 is score for this movie? In my opinion this is one of the best movies in which Costner acted. OK,it's not some masterpiece,but it is far,far away from being a bad movie.

I admit, I never liked Whitney too much and I would really loved if they picked another singer to act here, but directing, acting and everything in this movie was great. Here on IMDb I've seen some overrated movies,and in the other hand I've seen a lot of underrated movies - but after something like this I'm not sure I will pay to much attention on reviews on IMDb in the future. Yes,very often I really asked myself: Why Whitney?....but OK, her acting was pretty good and that's enough for me.

So don't look at this hilarious 5.3 rating,and if you haven't already, go and watch this movie because it really deserves your attention. In my opinion this is the movie for 8.5/10 grade,but after this incredibly stupid 5.3 I'll give it 10!


One of the greatest soundtracks of all time linked to one of the lamest movies of all time.

The entire premise of the movie is a bodyguard, played by Kevin Costner, out to protect a rock singer, played by Whitney Houston, and the 2 fall in love. But outside of that, there is no story. No plot. Nothing to make it watchable.

However, its soundtrack is still one of the best soundtracks to date. Especially with one of the best love songs of all time, "I will always love you." In fact without the soundtrack, the movie would have died on its first weekend. The song is the whole premise of the movie "The Bodyguard," while the movie itself is 2 hours of aimless garbage.

Without the soundtrack, the Bodyguard is at best zero out of ten. But even with the soundtrack, it still rounds out to a disappointing 2 out of 10.


I never get tired of watching this movie. I am a die-hard chick-flick fan: fluff all the way, all that meaningless dime-a-dozen stuff. But this is one movie which breaks my mold and I consider a new classic. It's a movie I have to be in the right mood to watch, but it's one that I never get tired of. It's a great drama--romance, mystery, with a spice of humor thrown in here and there, enough to make you smile and lighten up the mood but not enough to make it seem tawdry. Kevin Costner's performance makes the whole thing for me: he spins a great character without becoming bland or stony. Whitney Houston is fairly good as an actress, smiling and charming in her pleasanter days, and obviously her songs are very good--I hope no one will contest that she has an excellent voice (or did; does she even sing anymore?). Watching the little boy, Fletcher (sorry I don't know his real name), was also a treat. He's the precocious-almost-to-a-fault genre, but it was fun seeing all his antics and especially hearing the things he said.

I think this movie has gotten a much lower rating than it deserves. The plot is not extremely involved, but I was surprised by the ending. 9/10.


**POSSIBLE MINOR PLOT SPOILERS** Superstar Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) is receiving death threats and fears for her life. She hires a high-priced but excellent bodyguard Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner). They hate each other at first but naturally fall in love.

Utterly predictable and a real mess. There are so many things wrong with this movie it's hard to know where to start. First off Costner's haircut is terrible! Seriously, it's so bad you look at it in amazement. I realize he did it because Steve McQueen was originally supposed to be in it--but that's still a stupid reason. The script is just lousy--full of terrible lines and the plot really doesn't make a lot of sense. The romantic sequences between Costner and Houston are so horribly written and acted that it's almost embarrassing. Purportedly Houston and Costner got along during the filming but they don't show any sparks on the screen. The acting doesn't help. Costner plays the movie with a blank expression on his face throughout (but that DOES fit his character). Houston is a very beautiful woman and a fantastic singer--but she can't act. A few times I was actually smirking at her terrible attempts at acting. An overblown overdone mess of a movie. Very dull too.

Also if you're seeing this for the music don't bother. Houston sings four songs that all became hits (especially "I Will Always Love You") but you never hear the full versions of the songs in the movie! You might hear the beginning and middle but never the whole thing. Despite all this though audiences in 1992 loved it. It was a huge hit and was nominated for two Academy Awards (for the music). So, use your own judgment. Also Debbie Reynolds turns in a pointless cameo.


Two professionals of different kinds. One who has to cultivate an outgoing and accessible air because that's how she makes her living, and one who keeps his emotions in and tries wherever possible to stay in the background as part of his. Mutual attraction will place limits on both of their lives - if they manage to stay safe for long enough, that is...

Costner is well-suited to playing the stoic and intense action man, and casting Whitney Houston as a singer allows her a fairly comfortable start in the movies. They make an appealing enough couple and their chemistry together is of the simmering type. Some have criticised the leading female, but I believe her underplaying works well enough that we can glimpse a vulnerable dimension to her character.

The whole thing seems content to serve as a glossy potboiler for the shameless romantic - and help to shift millions of soundtrack units along the way, of course. It's something of an easy sell, I suppose, but I'm still left admiring how it's packaged. A triple handkerchief affair for some females, no doubt, but it's flashy enough in certain spots to be of moderate interest to the guys too. Cross-gender appeal is what Hollywood strives for, and they hit upon a smooth and stylish blend here.


Too long, tedious, boring, mind-numbing, poorly-written, gag-me-with-an-adolescent- fantasy piece of crap. I love many movies which are commonly referred to as Chick Flicks, but this hunk of junk is too much for me. The soundtrack is pretty good. I don't know how I can stretch my comments to 10 lines. I did read that Kevin Costner's part was originally written for Steve McQueen, and he may've been able to pull it off. Note that K.C. has Steve's haircut. This is a demonstration that celebrity in one area doesn't necessarily to talent in another area. The film needs a female lead who can act, and ol' Whitney ain't the gal for the job.


The story is enormously week. The scenes are glued together, and everything is so obvious, it's scary! It is not the acting that is bad, it is not fantastic, but it is everything this film has going for it. And then there is the soundtrack, the highlight of this flick! Thank god you also just listen to it, without this awful film!


Annoyingly stupid movie, meant to launch Whitney Houston's acting career and, apparently, Kevin Costner's fallback career as a model for terrible haircuts. Houston is, of course, gorgeous and sings like an angel, but her acting "talent" is nowhere to be seen, and her ineptness brings down the whole movie--not that it had a lot going for it in the first place. After Houston, playing a pop diva, starts getting death threats from an obsessed and obviously crazed fan, Costner--a former Secret Service agent--is hired to protect her. Instead of showing appreciation for his efforts to save the lives of her and her family, however, Houston proceeds to fight him at every turn, insulting him, mocking his attempts to turn her house into a secure area and generally making a complete ass of herself, and her attitude spreads to her entourage and hangers-on, all of whom turn on Costner. In the real world Costner's character would have told her to screw off after the first day and dumped her, but--in a plot "twist" you can see coming a mile away--they proceed to fall in love. Yeah, right.

Anyway, like I said, Houston is great to look at, her voice is divine, and Costner tries hard, but overall this movie is not much more than an extended episode of "General Hospital" or some other equally brainless soap opera, and is just as predictable and badly acted. Houston's fans will like it, Costner's fans might like it, but anyone else is strongly advised to avoid it.


TCM was showing this as part of their "Oscar" month. I ended up staying up late to watch it.

Wow, what a waste of time! The problem isn't KC or WH or their chemistry (or lack thereof), but the idiotic plot that just doesn't make any sense. I could fill pages with examples, but the one that made me really sorry that I had sacrificed my beauty sleep to watch this was when Costner's character dives into a freezing lake to knock a kid out of a boat, but for no apparent reason other than he just figure out that the bad guy is nearby. After safely out of the water, the boat stops in the middle of the lake and blows up. Since neither Costner or Houston's characters had been in the boat or shown any interest in the boat, the whole idea that someone would try to kill them by blowing it up made absolutely no sense at all.

And what about the ridiculous attempt at romance, which is obviously the whole point of the film? There is not one credible scene that explains either character's attraction for the other. None. So, the reason for no chemistry between the two is that the idiot who wrote this didn't provide any dialog or staging to provide them with any motivation.

So, my advice is to buy a Whitney Houston album so you can hear her fabulous voice without interference from all the foley noise, and then rent "No Way Out," which provides all sorts of motivation for the romance and sex scenes with an equally serious, but far more plausible performance from Costner.


I am a personal fan of Whitney Houston, and I believe she didn't cause any dishonor to her flawless reputation. Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston truly portrayed the couple of the year. What I like about this movie is its simplicity, honesty and magnificent music. I don't know why the Razzie Awards attacked the film so much, it's a truly classical love story with great performance, music and directing. Although the roll was originally for Diana Ross, I can't imagine Rachel Maron being interpreted as any other woman but Whitney Houston. If you haven't watched it, I honestly think you should, because this is a mist-see cinematographic treasure that is rare to find in today's modern chaos. It has no special effects or any computer tricks, it is as simple as it gets, and I believe that that's the secret to a great film. The outline of this movie is Frank Farmer (Costner) being an extremely serious bodyguard protecting Rachel Marron (Houston), an extremely immature person. The different points of view of both affect Farmer's way of working, causing chaos during the process of Rachel's protection.


THE BODYGUARD, in my opinion, is a great Whitney Houston movie. One of the greatest things about this movie, in my opinion, is the music. I thought that Rachel (Whitney Houston) sounded really good. My favorite song of THE BODYGUARD is "I Have Nothing." Also, in my opinion, Frank (Kevin Costner) was really attractive, strict, a good bodyguard, and business-like. I thought that Rachel looked very beautiful in the dress she wore to the Oscars and that Frank looked good in the tuxedo he wore to the Oscars. Also, if you ask me, he and Rachel made a really cute couple. In conclusion, I recommend this movie to all you Kevin Costner or Whitney Houston fans who have not seen it. I absolutely guarantee you you're going to enjoy it.


You know, I was looking at IMDb's database on romance and was pretty stricken to see that not only 'Vertigo' was rated a romance(!), but five of the top twenty were written around and before fifty decades ago. Ghost? Nope! Dirty Dancing? Ha! Try 5.3. Titanic? 9100 votes gave it a 1. Ever After? Female votes have scraped it up to a 7! Wedding Singer, Pretty Woman, GREASE of all movies. Modern romance has been beaten to a pulp, but even though the same conventions of romance movies exist in The Bodyguard, I'm not one of those people who hated it.

After missing out on Reagan's assassination attempt, bodyguard Frank Farmer is now working for-hire. When a singer hires him after she gets death threats, conflicts begin but feelings follow.

The Bodyguard plays out your basic romance and resists the urge to jerk any tears. I don't think the actors could pull it off though. There's a point in the movie, when they realize their romance, when their reactions don't make any sense, but afterward everything about the movie plays out like it should and it's well made! Although I believe people are rating the movie on what has happened to Whitney Houston in recent years, they should judge it for the performances themselves and that means it's not bad.


I saw this movie when it was first released and didn't really care for it. Well, basically I was still in grade school and didn't care for anything that wasn't loaded with action or comedy. I gave this movie another try when it came on Cinemax and recorded it on tape. It's a very impressive film that's both suspenseful and romantic, without being over-the-top. The only thing that really bugged me was the soundtrack. My cousins upstairs bought the soundtrack and would listen to it constantly, so I'm pretty much tired of hearing every single one of those songs.

Kevin Costner gives an engaging, charismatic performance. Whitney Houston is not a terrific actress, but she can pull of a dramatic line without making me burst into laughter. So I gotta give her a little bit of credit, being that this was her first performance. I've seen much worse. And it's nice to see Whitney looking very pretty, as opposed to now where she's destroying herself with drugs. And though the relationship was between a white man and a black woman, the film didn't get preachy about it.

I just think Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote the script) should've just made Whitney's character a singer, since we never see her act in this film. We never see clips of her films. All we see her do is sing. So why not make her a singer and have the climax at the Grammy Awards? Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the film. It works well as both a love story and a thriller. And unlike most romantic films, the two characters don't constantly jump into bed together and the sex is left to the imagination. We actually feel some real chemistry, through dialogue and character development.

My score: 7 (out of 10)


Costner makes a great modern day badass. Worth watching alone for his portrayal of a retired Secret Service agent hired to protect superstar Whitney Houston. As far as romantic thrillers go, this is one of the best. Highly watchable, you'll forgive the glitz if you're a fan of the genre. The soundtrack is awesome and Whitney demonstrates her awesome talent on stage, so what if she can't act. 8/10


This movie is one of the best of all time.First off the script is very good.Whitney houston is excellent with her Beautiful voice That i admire so much.i believe that This movie's Soundtrack is one of the best of all time. And of course it worthed the Oscar.Last but not least the end is not a typical movie happy end but a very good one.Thats why i think this movie has been so successful


It was a great shock to me when I found that this film is given an average of 5.7 .I think it deserves to be in the top 50 movies.It is a great movie with great directing,story,crew and great performance by Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.The songs also are incredible. I can`t see any reason for voters not to give this movie 9 at least!!


Music superstar is threatened by a twisted fan and so hires a stolid bodyguard to protect her--and quickly falls in love with him. Nonsensical rubbish served as the debut acting vehicle for real-life music diva Whitney Houston, who does passable work off the stage. Kevin Costner, on the other hand, is enervated beyond belief; his brand of low-keyed machismo isn't in tune with the general air of camp inherent in this tacky scenario--he doesn't seem to be in on the joke and comes off seeming tired and indifferent. This got by with audiences via Houston's musical numbers; otherwise it is second-string stuff, with a script that makes very little sense, tossing ideas at the screen with no point or purpose. Disappointing throughout. ** from ****


This is one of the best films that i have ever watched. it has a very strong storyline, with scenes of action and plenty of drama throughout. A film that had such a wide variety of genre, action, drama, thriller, romance. although there is romantic reference, there is not too much of it, and only refers to it I feel to strengthen the plot itself. A must-see film!


Take my word on thisTower of Evil is a MUST SEE if you're an admirer of raw, vicious and undiscovered horror. This film is so much fun I can't believe I just found out about it now! It's cheap and nasty, but very imaginative and spirited! Tower of Evil is appropriately set on a deserted island, carrying many secrets. After discovering the mutilated corpses of 3 teenagers and one severely traumatized survivor, an expedition team is sent to the island. An older sailor and a young handsome stud, both obviously keeping a few secrets hidden, guide the team. But the members of the expedition are more dealing with sexual intrigues and relational problems anyway. They encounter a savage caveman, severely decomposed human leftovers and authentic hidden treasures! Yay!! Horror with a twitch of adventure! The plot of `Tower of Evil' isn't exactly solid or logical, but director O'Connolly manages to create suspense nonetheless. Due to the isolated and raw location of the Snape Island, you feel trapped there along with the main characters. For the fans of typical 70's horror, there are several gruesome moments to enjoy as well as some ultra-sexy sleaziness. For example, one of the main actresses constantly wears a bikini-top, which ranks as one of the hottest ones since Raquel Welsh's in `One Billion Years B.C.'. `Tower of Evil' is a true gem of the ignored horror vaults and real fans can't afford to miss it!


As early 70s horror flicks go, Tower of Evil (a.k.a Horror of Snape Island) has a greater-than-expected amount of sex and gore. Unfortunately, the script is pretty stupid and the performances are generally bad, ruining what might've been a decent little chiller. Some of the lines the actors have to work with are hopelessly silly, and the number of times characters go wandering off alone (even AFTER they've established there's a madman on the loose) beggars belief. What's particularly disappointing is that the plot is just outlandish enough to have made for an unusual and effective horror yarn.

The opening sequence is actually promising. Two sailors, John Gurney (George Coulouris) and his son Hamp (Jack Watson), search around a fog-shrouded island and stumble upon several dismembered naked bodies. Then, John happens across a living naked woman, but she is so startled by his arrival that she mistakenly stabs him. The story moves forward and we learn that the surviving woman from the opening scene has been charged with the murders of her friends, but a private detective named Brent (Bryant Halliday) has been hired by her parents to find out if someone else could've done it. Brent joins an archaeological party who are about to set off to the island in search of a Phoenecian treasure. Once there, the archaeologists soon learn that their lives are in grave danger, as they are picked off one by one by an unknown killer.

Tower of Evil has become a cult film, probably because it's so bad that in some ways it's perversely good. Ther are some attempts at atmosphere and suspense, though most opportunities for a jolt are clumsily edited, lessening the shock factor. In Halliwell's Film Guide, the film was dismissed as "an unoriginal little shocker", but unoriginal is probably the wrong word (how many times have you heard of archaeologists hunting for a Phoenecian hoarde off the English coast and and being victimised by a psycho? Absurd, yes. Unoriginal, no). I can't imagine this film being of particular interest to most viewers, but if you like 70s British horror, or are interested in how sex and gore have evolved over the years in horror cinema, then it may be worth catching.