Gothic

Rating:
Summary: Ensemble Cast Excels In Surreal Wonderland
Review: All in all, exeptionally strong character acting by all- Byrne, Sands, Richardson, Cyr, and Spall seem totally in communion, and in their most shall we say, flamboyant element. Surrealism abounds in this film, from the fish flopping about in the bone dry bird bath on Byron's lawn, to each character's own unique hallucinations while reading the ghost story.

That is really what Gothic is about, it is a great, albeit intellectual, ghost story. It may not be easy for the average Joe to follow, and that's okay, but many artisitic types may find that they might enjoy a haunted weekend at Lord Byron's little Den of Iniquities.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting, if bizarre, film
Review: An intriguing interpretation of the now legendary summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent in Switzerland with Lord Byron, et al. I found some of the horror aspects a bit overdone, but the acting was quite impressive, particulary Gabriel Byrne. This is a film that draws you in, weaving fantasy and reality together in a nightmarish manner--very appropriate, really, for the birth of Frankenstein.

Rating:
Summary: Sex, Drugs and Rotten Roles
Review: Attempted as a hip, spooky and atmospheric docu-drama of the fabled summer in 1816 when the poets Byron and Shelley first met, "Gothic" fails to deliver where it matters most. The premiss has the Shelleys, Lord Byron, his personal physician, John Polidori, and his mistress Claire experimenting with opium and brandy one dark and stormy summer evening. The sexual overtones are prolific and the search for the meaning of life are the impetus for Mary Shelley writing her gothic masterpiece "Frankenstein". The nobility of staying true to history is sacrificed for hipness and mood with very disappointing results. For starters, the film stars Julian Sands as Percy Shelley. Never was Mr. Sands more out of his league and out of touch with true acting ability. Brandinshing a strained and wide-eyed gape throughout most of the film, he is (putting it kindly) the fifth wheel on the axel of the production. The female characters of Mary and Claire (protrayed by Natasha Richardson and Myriam Cyr respectively) are bland and cartoonishly forced (again, respectively). Gabriel Byrne is almost unrecognizable (not meant as a compliment) as Lord Byron. His sloping shoulders, sunken chest and intermitant limp are distracting to say the least, and yet he is still the most watchable character in the movie. The story is a borrowed from history and has some ring of truth to it, embellished though it may be. Yet the dialogue is trite and alliteration is rampant. The sets are very convincing and eerily lit and do more for the limited success of the production than the acting ever could. To put some perspective on the feel of the film, imagine that Pink Floyd were around in the early 1800's and instead of lasers they used lightening to enhance the effect. Creepy at times, just plain dumb in others, "Gothic" will appeal only to true anglophiles and fans of David Lynch films.

Rating:
Summary: Words cannot express my thoughts on this film about writers.
Review: But I'll try. Inspired by an English literature class which had steered me through the pages of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I couldn't help but be tempted to pick up a scary movie about the night that she began to write it. I should have resisted temptation. This movie was overblown to a fault. I have a degree in theatre and a degree in psychology. One would hope that they would enable me to sort out the literary symbolism and psychological mish-mash that populated this film. They didn't. The plot of the movie was actually a sparse skeleton on which the director attempted to hang every cliche that can be created about the world of Romantic literature. The cast was fully packed with whining, egotistical self-innebriates. I hope that the real people were not so annoying as their pretenders were. Lord Byron (as portrayed in full hystrionic glory by Gabriel Byrne) makes (usually succesful) sexual advances on every other individual in the house; his wife Clara was as nutty as a fruitcake, finally ending up crawling in the mud with rats; his "friend" (no one treats him very well)the doctor tries to bleed himself dry by piercing his hands with a broken crucifix; Percy Bysshe Shelley sees "something" in the barn which drives him to the brink of sanity, and his wife Mary is inexplicably terrified of something that is never fully clarified. I try to always find something positive in a film. Unfortunately in this case, the most positive thing that can be said about this trainwreck of a film is that the cinematography was appropriately moody--even if that meant that you could rarely see what was going on. Perhaps that was for the best. If the sound had made it difficult to hear the dialogue, we would have had a much better movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Film With A Life Of Its Own
Review: Despite some of its unnecessary sexual depictions of perversity, this film is wonderful for anyone who wants to really KNOW what the heart of the Romantic Spirit is (that is, English Romanticism in particular and the horror offshoots in England and Europe). Very surreal, dark (but intellectually so), and very psychologically probing. When I watched this film it made me "high" each time. Something about the way the characters, especially Sands, get involved in the hysteria of the plot is just.......very unusual to see.

Rating:
Summary: Way off the wall and WOW!
Review: God, this movie is weird. (But I love it) Every time I watch it I understand something new about the symbolism that is everywhere in it. If you're looking for a reasonable attempt at unravelling unknown segments of history, look somewhere else. If you are looking for a wild ride that will make your pulse pound and make your little grey cells work harder, see this film: the first time I saw it I was still thinking about what it all meant for days.

Rating:
Summary: A Master Piece
Review: Gothic is one of Ken Russell's best films. Of course his work isn't for everyone, and I know some people just hate his movies, and complain about their content and self indulgence. But for me, these are some of his strong points, being prepared to experiment with his subject matter, and produce his own unique vision. Gothic tells of a meeting, in Switzerland, between: Byron (Gabriel Byrne), Shelly, Mary Shelly (Natasha Richardson), and two lesser known figures: Clair Clairmont and Dr Polidori. The beginning and end of the film both look like period piece dramas. What comes in between is Ken Russell's unique vision. The characters, during a stormy knight, invent stories and create a monster of their own imaginations. These involve all of Ken Russell's favorite images for film (and hence the self indulgent criticism): Religion, vampirism, sumptuously films sets, a plot that verges on the fantastical, and nudity. Of interest though is the way the narrative deals with death, as there is an interesting sequence where Mary Shelly has visions of the demise of all the principles in the film. Of course it all ties in with the Birth of one of English literature's most memorable books: Frankenstein (by Mary Shelly). Gothic is a Master Piece from Ken Russell, one of his most interesting films that challenges the viewer immensely. Sadly, however, not all will get it.

Rating:
Summary: A frightfully good time
Review: How's this for a premise: five people are trapped indoors during bad weather and decide to tell ghost stories as a way to relieve the boredom.

Interesting, but rather dull. Now imagine that two of those pople are Lord Byron and Percy Shelley and the third is Mary Shelley. Now things become more intriguing.

Ken Russell takes a look at one of the most famous gatherings in English Literature, and the results cause you to ask the question: Is fear an external or internal condition?

Rating:
Summary: Ken Russell's Highly Underappreciated Masterpiece
Review: I can honestly say that I've never really been a fan of Russell's films, for some reason, the incoherent strangeness of his works never appealed to me; however, in <i>Gothic</i>, this combination of surreal weirdness works perfectly.

The movie is basically about one night that poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Godwin (author of <u>Frankenstein</u>), along with Claire Clairmont, spend together with poet Lord Byron and his doctor John Polidori. In the course of the evening they decide to "raise the dead" and this idea haunts Mary, inspiring her to write her famous story about creation and the destruction of one's creation (it also inspired Polidori to write the excellent short novel "The Vampyre.") So, there is a cerebral element to this film which will probably not appeal to the average moviegoer.

I have the suspicion that this movie probably is well-loved by most intelligent Goths and well-read people with a love of Gothic literature to begin with, so if you're expecting the usual blood and gore of traditional horror films, please move on. This movie is haunting because it deals more with the psychological demons of the mind, and this is portrayed by the various images that haunt the characters of the films, as their fears "come to life."

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Gothic literature, or just English literature to begin with, as well as anyone with elegant tastes who is tired of the cheap horror movies that abound these days.

In sum, I will add that Ken Russell's <i>Gothic</i> is highly unappreciated, and in my opinion, deserved accolades.

Rating:
Summary: Ken Russell's Highly Underappreciated Masterpiece
Review: I can honestly say that I've never really been a fan of Russell's films, for some reason, the incoherent strangeness of his works never appealed to me; however, in Gothic, this combination of surreal weirdness works perfectly.

The movie is basically about one night that poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Godwin (author of Frankenstein), along with Claire Clairmont, spend together with poet Lord Byron and his doctor John Polidori. In the course of the evening they decide to "raise the dead" and this idea haunts Mary, inspiring her to write her famous story about creation and the destruction of one's creation (it also inspired Polidori to write the excellent short novel "The Vampyre.") So, there is a cerebral element to this film which will probably not appeal to the average moviegoer.

I have the suspicion that this movie probably is well-loved by most intelligent Goths and well-read people with a love of Gothic literature to begin with, so if you're expecting the usual blood and gore of traditional horror films, please move on. This movie is haunting because it deals more with the psychological demons of the mind, and this is portrayed by the various images that haunt the characters of the films, as their fears "come to life."

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Gothic literature, or just English literature to begin with, as well as anyone with elegant tastes who is tired of the cheap horror movies that abound these days.

In sum, I will add that Ken Russell's Gothic is highly unappreciated, and in my opinion, deserved accolades.