Seven Faces of Dr. Lao

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Summary: "Sometimes you see yourself here . . ."
Review: Welcome to Abalone, Arizona, population: strange, and about to get stranger.

And who IS the stranger, riding to town on a yellow jackass? We know that he's Chinese, and he arrives just as the townspeople are deciding whether to spend thousand of dollars on a new water pipe, or simply sell out and move on.

This, by the way, is the last sane moment which you will experience until the final scene.

I won't try to describe this through-a-dusty-looking-glass film, nor the novel from which it came. I first saw it in the theater with my parents, and was blessed enough to share this with my children, when that time came.

Production qualities are pretty crude by today's standards, but back in the early 1960s they were state-of-the-art, thanks to George Pal and Ray Harryhousen. Featuring a stable of stars-to-be, this film has depth and an unforgettable lesson.

It's great to see this on DVD, rather than fading to . . .oblivion . . !

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Summary: Run, do do walk, to the Circus of Dr. Lao
Review: "The whole world is a circus, if you look at it the right way."

This film is a absolute gem. If you have never seen it, you are in for an extraordinary treat. The DVD release is an event which, I hope, allows the film to reach a far greater audience. A number of film enthusiasts regard this as a cult classic, a belief that I firmly share. Hopefully, you will, too.

"A circus is like a mirror. You see yourself in it sometimes...sometimes someone else."

A mysterious Chinese gentlemen appears in the midst of Abalone, Arizona, after the turn of the century. The town is facing a crisis which threatens its future. Many of the town's inhabitants are also facing individual challenges. Dr. Lao invites them to his travelling circus and promises a show which "not even the experience of a lifetime spent in Abalone could conceive of." And he delivers! Characters from mythology, dreams, and nightmares populate his tent. Each sideshow offers something that touches and changes the lives of attendees...and quite possibly, the town as a whole.

The film will engage children and adults alike. The closest parallel I can make is to a film like Wizard of Oz. Both films offer moral lessons in terms that children can grasp, while reminding adult viewers of the importance of listening to their "inner child."

While the philosophy contained herein may strike some as overly simplistic, and the production values may leave something to be desired, the circus is an event not to be missed.

"Every time you stop and think 'I'm alive, and being alive is fantastic!' Every time such a thing happens, you are part of the Circus of Dr. Lao."

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Summary: Quaint & Classic
Review: This is a wonderful film with Tony Randall shining as the mysterious Dr. Lao and much of his fantastic crew of seers, wizards, monsters, and Greek gods. This film works for both adults and children and was easily director George Pal's best work. Some people may complain of the somewhat "Cheesy" qualities in the production, but they really enhance this story of a sleepy Arizona town visited by Dr. Lao, whose circus makes the townfolk reconsider their small-minded ideas of life. Highly recommended!!!

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Summary: Real Meaning Concealed in Naivete
Review: Let's get this out first and foremost. I recoiled when first watching this movie. Tony Randall plays Chinese? How insulting, I thought. But after Joel Hodgson referred to this film in "Mitchell," his parting episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I had to continue.

And after I got through it, I thought about it. I had to overlook the Chinese stereotype(which in the end isn't really belittling--more positive or manneristic racial profiling), but once I got through that superficial detail, I saw a beautiful film.

This movie really has a perspective unlike any other, and though I've seen little else of his, I must say it makes George Pal a great director, worthy of historic note, because directors make perspectives more than anything else. This man created childish wonder before Spielberg was paid for anything he created.

See this movie. It possesses a sense of joy and wonder which every children's movie to follow shares. But this was the first.

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Summary: Possibly One of the Strangest Movies Ever Made
Review: The comment in the title above is not meant to be detrimental to this fine, if offbeat, movie. "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao," with excellent stop-motion animation from Harryhausen, is an unusual blend of Eastern mysticism (Hollywood-style), Old West myth, psuedo-Freudian psychology, Old World fantasy, and 60's film storytelling. With a great Tony Randall performance, the sight of a pre-Jeannie Barbara Eden, and a most unique transformation from fish to reptile, the movie is a lot of fun. Not just for kiddies, "Lao" may not be a classic, but it is one that still holds up after all these years.

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Summary: Can a movie affect your life?
Review: Quite simply, when I saw this as a child, it impacted me in a very strange and wonderful way. It made me want to be different, it made me want to look at the world in a slightly different way. To this day, I still get tears in my eyes when I see the boy juggling the balls, saying "I can do it, Dr. Lao, I can do it!"

I'm 43 now, and haven't been as different as I wanted to be after seeing this movie. But, still, the movie makes me thing about life, and to think about what affect I have on people.

Cheesy? Sure. A bit over the top? Absolutely. But if you watch this movie with the innocence of a child, it continues to be profound.

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Summary: A Classic Movie
Review: This is an excellent, excellent movie! All the actors are superb. A movie you will watch over and over again!

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Summary: Ho Chi Minh Lookalike Teaches America a Lesson
Review: To understand the importance of Hollywood, one has to understand the vital function it has played in enriching American culture with foreign influences. Basic American culture stems from British puritanism, WASP arrogance, and a down-to-earth pragmatism natural to farming communbities. However, as America developed in complexity, it has constantly needed to enrich its culture from older, wiser civilizations.

7 Faces of Dr Lao is a parable illustrating this point. We have a parochial little Arizona town wrapped up in its petty concerns. Money and petty-bigotry are the dominant forces. Into this situation, however, enter Dr Lao, the embodiment of foreign wisdom, playing, in a sense, the role of Hollywood.

Easily side-stepping the slow-moving prejudices of the yokels, he establishes his mysterious circus on the outskirts of town and proceeds to enrich the lives of the locals. The circus brings the wisdom of ancient China (Dr Lao himself), mythical Greece (Pan & Medusa), later classical civilization (Apollonius of Tyana), medieval Britain (Merlin), and the Old Testament (the Serpent) to this remote Western town. In different ways these influences impact on the lives of the narrow-minded townspeople, liberating and enlightening them.

Although most praise the wonderful acting of Tony Randall who appears in a variety of guises including the title role, much of the character of the movie comes from Arthur O'Connell's portrayl of Clint Stark the complex and ultimately likable villain of the story.

I've watched this movie several times, but there are so many ways to view and interpet it that I've never been bored. If any movie deserves to become a belated cult classic, this is clearly it!

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Summary: Do YOU know what wisdom is?
Review: This is a simple movie, yet it explores so many complex themes. Life, perception of beauty, prejudice, wisdom, greed, love, guilt... it steps around them all artfully and tastefully.

Sure, this is a movie directed at kids, but I saw it with a child's eyes and love it today as an adult. I still always get tears in my eyes at the end scene.

"I can do it..."

Watch this film with the eyes of a child, and you will forever remember it fondly.

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Summary: Best movie we've seen.!
Review: While cosmetically, the "Seven Faces" (as our fan club affectionately calls it) is not polished, the film's appearance does not reflect upon the deeper issues revolving around Tony's performance. When one considers Tony's roles, consider his first words - "Excuse please" This is nothing other than brilliant. Tony is simply apologizing for presence as a big star in a small town performance. He is the big goldfish in a small bowl. Even his name is small - it is "low" -not l-OW! as others call him.

Some people don't understand Seven Faces. They think it stinks. They think the acting is horrific and the sets are from a local middle school. They also don't understand the plot (especially the part about the family and the snowman). The humor does fade at times.

!Excuse! They are wrong. Tony is superb. The film shows off his assets very well. He can be Pan, he can be a snake, he can be a woman, he can be Merlin. This is important.

Why was this movie made? We don't know, but we are glad that it was. The dragon is bigger than all of us. Tony is better than all of us. Dr. Lao is older than all of us. Understand? Neither do I! Tony explains, then dances.

In fact, Dr. Lao is a seven ring circus that makes viewers dance. Not only does Dr. Lao save the town he also saves our soul. He captures our imaginations and prevents us from falling into the pitfalls of modern materialism for we ARE the townspeople and we must not sell our lives inorder to promote business!

Tony takes on many roles, as many as it takes to show us our souls and urge us to look deeper than we've looked before. What man is not changed after seeing the despised snowman or the pitiful Merlin who can no longer produce the same magnitude of magic. Merlin is despondent because of youth's reluctance to believe, the plight of the downtrodden Indian, and the villains belief that man is a miserable evil creature. But Dr.Lao is bigger than all this. Simply put it is a showcase for Tony's talent. This movie glorifies Tony's ability. The greatest actor in the modern arena.

Seven Faces defies categorization. In a video store, where do you find it? Academy Awards section? (It won one!) Horror? Drama? Mystery? Cult classics? Adult? NO: FANTASY. It is beyond the average film in all ways. it is fantastic. it is lao.

Don't forget the time of Communist rule - the discussion of "dictators" and capitalists at the beginning of the film and the fact that Lao is from China. "Seven Phases of Chairman Mao?"

"Who You? Who You?" I am Randall - greatest of all magicians. No sight is sadder than Tony alone amongst the crowd during the circus performances. he has no peers. he has no friends. he is alone with himself and shall always know only his own magic.

The Tony Randall Fan Club