Rating: 
Summary: Heavy stuff, but really good.
Review: 'Death and the Maiden' is a searing account of a woman who wants both revenge and closure on a rape that she went through many years ago. She ties her rapist up (after coincidentally finding him years later) and forces him to admit what he did. Sigorney Weaver is just the actress to be in this movie. It is absolutely fantastic, and gut-wrenching.
Rating:
Summary: Two stunning performances in a harrowing story of torture
Review: a nameless South American country. During the reign of a recently deposed dictatorship, she had been tortured and raped. Gerardo (Stuart Wilson), her husband, has been appointed to head a commission that will investigate the atrocities of the previous regime, but they are looking at only those cases that resulted in death. Being raped and tortured is not enough to receive justice. But then one day, Fate intervenes. Gerardo is given a ride home by a stranger, Robert Miranda (Ben Kingsley), a local doctor. Suddenly, in her own home, Paullina, who had been blindfolded during her torture, recognizes the voice of her main torturer. Instantly, Paulina knows it is time for payback. She ties up Miranda, stuffs her panties in his mouth, and begins a long attempt to make him confess."Death and the Maiden" tries to play up the ambiguities of Miranda's character. After all, perhaps Paulina is mistaken. But Robert Polanski is directing this film, adapted from Ariel Dorman's stage play, and the director's voyeuristic instincts are not going to work in a story that leaves room for doubt. As an audience we are caught up not only in what Paulina is doing to strip away Miranda's mask, but in the revelations of what happened to her in the past. But what is past is prologue, and it is the way Paulina strips away the layers from her tormenter, turning the lies into denials before finally giving way to the truth, that makes this film more than a sadomasochistic story. This is because however stagy and contrived the script might be, the performances by Weaver and Kinglsey elevate the story. When you finish watching this film you wonder what besides some stupid concert for political correctness kept these two from being nominated for Oscars. Quite simply, Weaver and Kinglsey have never been better. At the end, the reason why an ordinary man turned into such an evil fiend will chill you. This is much more than a simple exercise in revenge. Be warned: watching this film will drain you.
Rating:
Summary: A tense thriller to test one's resolve ..
Review: After I had bought the tape of this movie I realized that I had seen this movie some time ago, and, although I raley watch most films more than onec, the perfomances by Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley are outstanding. This movie is almost like an emotional play, we have one scene, an isolated house on the cliffs of the seashore, and three characters. Period.... It's probably for that reason that you won't see this film cut on DVD because I don't think it was a project for the masses but probably a project of the director, Polanski, and the actors to show their fabulous range of acting skill. In the case of Sigourney she shows us a lot more than we got in her Alien movies since she does appear totally nude ina bedroom scene from the wait up. Even that scene was critical for us to note the cigar burn scars on her left breast...... Ben Kingsley's acting as the wicked DR is absolutely superb (I mean do you expect any less of him) and, although he never managed to convince me of his possible innocence, his acting made everything seem so much like real life .... Weavers portayal of Pauline, the revenging rape victim is electric from point one. Her resolve to make the evil dr Miranda (Kingsley) confess to the torture and rape, while having to listen to her lawyer husband, Stuart Wislon, implore her to be reasonable, is incredible and probably one of her strongest perfomances ....
Rating:
Summary: AWSOME!
Review: All parts acted out so real! One of the best suspensful movies that keeps you guessing! No ONE should be disappointed with this FILM and if they are they have NO TASTE!
Rating:
Summary: Death & The Maiden
Review: Based on a play (by Ariel Dorfman ) which why most of the action takes place almost completely in the house. Might make some people feel "claustrophobic" (not me) Signourney Weaver plays Paulina a woman who had suffered torture and rape by a doctor, during the revolution, when she worked for an underground newspaper and was "arrested" She refused to tell the name of her leader, the man that is now her husband The movie is set in "A country in South America, after the fall of dictatorship" Paulina is seen preparing for the arrival of her husband Gerardo Escobar ( A lawyer & civil right activist), making dinner and listening to the radio. A story on the news concerning a formation of a commitee on human rights violations that'll investigate acts of tortures commited between 1975-1980 comes on, she looks uncomfortable and goes to switch it off, then hears her husband is being considered to chair the commitee (news to her) and rumor has it that he has accepted. The power goes out, and she continues to wait for Gerardo, an unfamiliar car pulls up to the house, she runs around blowing out the candles and grabs a gun. But it's just Gerardo, their car had a flat and he hitched a ride with a doctor (Roberto Miranda) who also has a house nearby. They fight about the comission. Paulina thinks it's whitewash, and 'dignifying a betrayal" "What'll happen to the men they can prove were on the death squads?" she askes "the evidence will be turned over to the courts" says Gerardo, Paulina scoffs "Maybe over the judge who told Maria Bautista, no her husband wasn't tortured, he just ran off with a younger woman." It'll only involve cases that ended in death for the victim, Gerardo says he has get the president to change the rules, but to Gerardo it's a job worth doing. A car again pulls up to the house, and Paulina wakes Gerardo, they hide in the dark looking out the window. Someone knocks on the door, it's the doctor again, Gerardo has forgotten to take his tire, he also wanted to tell Gerardo what an honor it is to meet him. "But do you know to know the truth, the real real truth?" The doctor asks, Paulina is listening from the bedroom and gasps when she hears him, his voice, his laugh (he snorts when he laughs) and 'the real real truth"
She finds other things, like his smell, he likes to quote Neitzsche " I think it was Neitzsche..." and he has a tape of Schubert's Death and the maiden in his car. The music which "the doctor" played during the torture and rape. Is he the doctor, or not? Receives great direction from Roman Polanski, great preformances from Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley & Stuart Wilson. A well done mystery that'll leave you guessing till the end.
Even with the knowledge of the outcome, it is still a movie I can enjoy watching over and over. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Death & The Maiden
Review: Based on a play (by Ariel Dorfman ) which why most of the action takes place almost completely in the house. Might make some people feel "claustrophobic" (not me) Signourney Weaver plays Paulina a woman who had suffered torture and rape by a doctor, during the revolution, when she worked for an underground newspaper and was "arrested" She refused to tell the name of her leader, the man that is now her husband The movie is set in "A country in South America, after the fall of dictatorship" Paulina is seen preparing for the arrival of her husband Gerardo Escobar ( A lawyer & civil right activist), making dinner and listening to the radio. A story on the news concerning a formation of a commitee on human rights violations that'll investigate acts of tortures commited between 1975-1980 comes on, she looks uncomfortable and goes to switch it off, then hears her husband is being considered to chair the commitee (news to her) and rumor has it that he has accepted. The power goes out, and she continues to wait for Gerardo, an unfamiliar car pulls up to the house, she runs around blowing out the candles and grabs a gun. But it's just Gerardo, their car had a flat and he hitched a ride with a doctor (Roberto Miranda) who also has a house nearby. They fight about the comission. Paulina thinks it's whitewash, and 'dignifying a betrayal" "What'll happen to the men they can prove were on the death squads?" she askes "the evidence will be turned over to the courts" says Gerardo, Paulina scoffs "Maybe over the judge who told Maria Bautista, no her husband wasn't tortured, he just ran off with a younger woman." It'll only involve cases that ended in death for the victim, Gerardo says he has get the president to change the rules, but to Gerardo it's a job worth doing. A car again pulls up to the house, and Paulina wakes Gerardo, they hide in the dark looking out the window. Someone knocks on the door, it's the doctor again, Gerardo has forgotten to take his tire, he also wanted to tell Gerardo what an honor it is to meet him. "But do you know to know the truth, the real real truth?" The doctor asks, Paulina is listening from the bedroom and gasps when she hears him, his voice, his laugh (he snorts when he laughs) and 'the real real truth"
She finds other things, like his smell, he likes to quote Neitzsche " I think it was Neitzsche..." and he has a tape of Schubert's Death and the maiden in his car. The music which "the doctor" played during the torture and rape. Is he the doctor, or not? Receives great direction from Roman Polanski, great preformances from Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley & Stuart Wilson. A well done mystery that'll leave you guessing till the end.
Even with the knowledge of the outcome, it is still a movie I can enjoy watching over and over. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: DISAPPOINTING
Review: Given the talent involved, one would presume that this tale of past avenging would be something special. Unfortunately, it is merely a big-name performance of the Ariel Dorfman play upon which it is based. The use of only one setting has much to do with this. So (disappointingly) does the static performances and Polanski's unconfident direction.
Rating: 
Summary: I really enjoyed this one.
Review: I first saw this movie on Bravo, and after that I went right out and rented it. The acting is good, the camerawork is good, and I like the fact that it all takes place in one little area. The only reason it does not get five stars is because, at one point, Weaver is topless.....it is......well, disgusting.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films of '94
Review: I just recently saw this film and thought it was snubbed out of so many awards.It should have been nominated for Best picture,best director,best actor Ben Kingsly,best actress Weaver,best cinematograpy,the list goes on.If you want to see a damn good movie rent or buy this.
Rating: 
Summary: Intense and disturbing
Review: I would not recommend this for most people. It is painful to watch and artificial, very stagy (not surprising since it was adapted from a stage play written by Ariel Dorfman), and ultimately not redemptive (as the video jacket claims), but perverse and depressing. Sigourney Weaver gives a raw-edged performance almost entirely in one key. She plays a woman (Pauline Escobar) who was raped and tortured by a Nazi-like doctor named Roberto Miranda played by Ben Kingsley in some unidentified South American country. Since Dorfman is from Argentina, we'll assume it's Argentina. Certainly this sort of thing happened there during the time of the "Disappeared." The other member of the three-person cast is her husband (Gerardo Escobar) played by Stuart Wilson. Roman Polanski directed. The title comes from Franz Schubert's string quartet of the same name which was played by the doctor as he tortured Pauline. This is a polarizing film. Women who have ever suffered anything at the hands of men will identify with Weaver's character and may find the film brilliant. Most men will not even be able to watch it. There is some ambiguity in the ending, as to whether Roberto really was guilty as charged. My opinion is that he was without doubt. The final scene (which I can't describe since it would give away too much) is really a statement about the nature of horror and how it can live on amidst the most familiar settings, a man patting his son on the head, some people attending a concert. I thought Wilson gave the most balanced performance. He had the most difficult role since it required subtlety and that he walk a fine line between accepting something monstrous in his presence or disbelieving his wife. He also had to be a weak sister, as it were, to the dominating presence of Sigourney Weaver who played most of the film with a gun in her hand. Yet he had to provide the strength of character and to symbolize the sense of justice. Kingsley looked very much the part of a sneaky little man, and his usual caged intensity was much in evidence. Bottom line: any film that exposes the atrocities committed by the right wing dictatorships that dominated South and Central American during the Cold War is on the side of the angels; however most viewers I think will find this too intense and disturbing. Beware of some crude sexuality.
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