Rating: 
Summary: It's good... overhyped, but good.
Review: Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)A Very British Psycho, BBC4's amusing documentary about Peeping Tom and its writer, Leo Marks, says that Peeping Tom is the film that got Michael Powell barred from the British cinema, sent him into exile in Australia, and destroyed his career. It's not quite as bad as all that; Powell did return to make another British film (The Boy Who Turned Yellow), and his interesting 1937 docudrama The Edge of the World was updated and re-released in Britain in 1978. He also ended his life on British soil in 1990, dying of cancer. In the interim, though, he made some wonderful Australian films that were, in general, well-received (of these, American audiences are probably best familiar with The Age of Consent, starring James Mason and a young, tantalizing Helen Mirren). It is impossible, writing in 2003, to go back to 1960 and understand the effect Peeping Tom had on the British film world. Released four months before the similarly-themed American film Psycho, Peeping Tom, already cut, was pulled from theaters less than a week after its release, and remained banned for another thirty years; ironically, the version released after the lifting of the ban (theatrical premiere 16 September 1994) was uncut. To stay banned for thirty years, especially in the wake of Psycho (now considered an American classic), there has to be something pretty distressing going on. There are, in fact, two things going on that are the likely causes of the distress: Pamela Green's nude scene (according to Green in the aforementioned documentary, the first in British film history on the big screen), and the sympathetic portrayal of the main character. Either alone, and it might have slipped past the censors; the combination was enough to get it yanked. Peeping Tom is the story of Mark Lewis (German Academy Award winner for Lifetime Achievement Karlheinz Bohm), a serial killer whose particular quirk is filming the deaths of his victims and rewatching them over and over in his home theater. He works for a film studio as an assistant cameraman, but is truly of the once-idle rich; his inheritance is mostly gone, and he makes much of his money renting out rooms in the erstwhile mansion of his parents. After a chance meeting, he begins a tentative relationship with one of his tenants, Helen Stephens (Anna Massey, recently seen in The Importance of Being Earnest and Possession). Lewis struggles to keep his relationship with Helen normal while still indulging the seamier side of his nature, with the expected consequences. Lewis is a far more sympathetic character than ever was Norman Bates, and thus in many ways Peeping Tom is a superior film to Psycho in its depth of character. In every other way, however, Psycho's British older brother falls short. The cinematography, the music, the building of suspense, all are realms where Hitchcock had worlds of experience, while Powell had relatively little; Powell was in his element with the drama, rather than the thriller. And presented as a drama. with Lewis' inner struggle the center of the action, this might well have made a lot more 100-best lists than it did. It makes a few too many bows to the lurid side, however, and most of them seem somewhat gratuitous. he mystery angle, too, seems a bit overdone; it's as if the writers decided that a mystery had to be worked into the plot, and 'how can we handle this so it seems as if James M. Cain wrote it?' Still, a must-see film for those interested in the history of the thriller. Criterion's DVD leaves a little something to be desired in the sound transfer (especially at the beginning), but the picture quality is unmatched in a film with this many years on its back. And if you can transport yourself back to 1960, in those few months between the release of Peeping Tom and your first viewing of Psycho, you might even get the intended effect. ***
Rating: 
Summary: A VERY British psycho indeed¿
Review: I first saw this film back in the 80's on British television, and was completely unaware of its history and background. I found it a very striking film, which explores - using the device of a serial killer photographer - the voyeur that is, to some extent, in all of us. The film is difficult to categorize; thriller, drama, psychological horror, romance... to some extent it's all of the above, but I guess I'd say it's closest to a psychological horror/thriller film. But be warned, you'll find no unstoppable cyborg killers, no chainsaw wielding crazies, no killer aliens bleeding acid, or teenagers being sliced 'n' diced ad nauseum; if that's what you want, there're endless films, both good and bad, that will do the job. No, "Peeping Tom" deals with the desperate, abject "horror," that is born of a tortured human soul. The film certainly doesn't hang around, and gets right down to business from the opening scene, which has the main character, a film technician named Mark Lewis, played by Karlheinz (Carl) Bohm, stalking and killing his first victim, one of London's many "streetwalkers." This opening scene sets the tone for most of the rest of the film, a feeling of seedy desperation. Mark keeps it together in his everyday life, but he is horribly psychologically damaged by the "research" his father, a famed doctor of psychology, carried out on him as a child, and desperately driven to act out his own twisted revenge on those around him. Mark's father was researching the effects of fear on the human psyche, and used his own son as a clinical guinea pig throughout his childhood; now the child is grown, and driven by his own internal demons to complete his fathers work. But Mark wants to take his fathers work one step forward, not only is he obsessed with 'fear', but he is consumed with the idea of "seeing" it, of "capturing" the face of fear with his camera, as if somehow that will bring him the ultimate understanding. And so it is that he sets out to murder Women, and films their last moments as he does so, creating his own "snuff movies," that he watches over and over again in his darkened apartment, desperately looking for something that only he can see. And while he's not working in a film studio, Mark earns a little extra on the side by shooting porno pics in a room over a newsagents! This actually leads to what is probably the only deliberately comical scene in the whole film, when Mark reports for 'work' one evening, only to find an elderly gentleman in the shop perusing the special "views" that are for sale, "under the counter." There is a second scene in the film that raises a wry grin; Mark is in the street filming the police investigating his murder of the prostitute. A man walks up to him, and assuming he's a reporter, asks him what paper he works for, "Oh, The Observer," Mark replies with a knowing smile. But Mark's life is not all horror and desperation; into it comes love and happiness in the shape of a girl, Helen Stevens, played by Anna Massey, who lives downstairs in his building. Helen is an ingenue, an innocent, in every sense of the word. She lives with her blind mother, and is as far removed from Mark's worlds, both his professional one at the studio and the porn operation "after hours," and his internal nightmare existence, as it is possible to be. He opens up to her, and in a moment of trust, of empathy, shares with her a glimpse of his tortured childhood, by showing her some the film his father took of HIM, while he carried out his research! How can Mark reconcile these two worlds? Will he choose to live in the light with Helen, or will he be cast into horrifying darkness and damnation by his internal demons, driven to take ever greater risks in his quest to "see" what he so desperately needs to see; will Helen herself, or her mother, be sacrificed to this end?! Karlheinz Bohm's performance as Mark is wonderful; he's a monster, he was MADE a monster by his own father, he knows it, but he's a monster all the same, only, he doesn't WANT to be a monster! And herein lies the "problem" with "Peeping Tom;" Mark is an incredibly sympathetic character! We the audience are aware of all this, and yet we want Mark to change, to be happy with Helen, to help her with the children's book she's writing, but he's a killer of Women, and worse, he's driven to kill time and time again. There's a scene where he 'toys' with one of his victims on a studio soundstage that reminded me of the way a cat will 'play' with a bird or mouse before moving in for the kill. An incredible, cold-blooded performance by Bohm. It's difficult, if not impossible, to view the film NOW, with the sensibilities of those who watched when it came out in the early 60's. The film opened to a roaring, and unanimous, tide of disgust and revulsion on the part of the London critics, and was pulled from the cinema circuit within a week of its release. One of the worst reviews went as follows; "The only really satisfactory way to dispose of "Peeping Tom" would be to shovel up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer. Even then the stench would remain!" The film was "lost" for nearly 20 years, before being rediscovered by the likes of Martin Scorsese. This is still a somewhat uncomfortable film to watch, and the last 10 minutes or so, when Mark realizes the game is up, have lost none of their power to chill.
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT CINEMATIC JOURNEY....
Review: Michael Powell's ("THE RED SHOES") career was practically destroyed when this film bowed in 1960. Critics savaged both him and the film. They weren't ready for his view of voyuerism and the cinema. The film itself is a fine and daring piece of work detailing the obsession and madness of a young photographer who was horrendously traumatized as a child by his equally obsessed father. Mark (Karl Boehm) murders women with the tripod of his camera as he films their faces as they are dying. He then views the footage in private for self gratification. He's literally making his own "pornography". Whew. Not an easy subject matter for 1960! But what the film says to me is that we are ALL voyeurs because we watch cinema for different reasons. Some are sicker than others. This movie is a heavy statement by a renowned filmmaker who literally put his career on the line to make it. He lost. But today, the film survives as a testament to Powell's viewpoint and ideas. And we are the richer for it. "Peeping Tom" is still not for every taste primarily because I don't feel very many people can understand what is being said by the movie. For those who do get it , it is a rare treat indeed. A MUST for cinephiles.
Rating:
Summary: Classic and original psychological "slasher" film
Review: "Well, he won't be doing the crossword tonight!" "Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is ...?" This is somewhat of a landmark film in that it was well made and truly disturbing. Those two things had not really made it to films together before this gem came along. But unfortunately for the director Michael Powell, it also brought about the end of his career as a director. Make a scary movie that is effective and realistic? The nerve! Lets blacklist him and make sure he never does it again! It did however pave the way for fellow director Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho which came out a few months later. Without Peeping Tom to have blazed the trail the same fate to some degree may have befallen Hitchcock. The story is about a reclusive man, Mark Lewis (Karlheinz Böhm), who works as a cameraman for a movie studio during the day, and by night films things with his hand held movie camera. What his tastes for filming have turned to lately have been the looks on women's faces as they are being murdered. A woman in the building he lives in, Vivian (Moira Shearer), takes a fancy to him and starts getting him to go out occasionaly. They hit it off but Vivians mother, a blind woman who is so good at using her other senses that she can tell who is standing outside their window, has her doubts about Vivians new love interest. In one incredible scene there is a confrontation between her and Mark that is terrifying to watch. It almost has the feel of a who-dunnit except that we know exactly who-dunnit from the start. The detectives in the movie are putting together the clues that take them closer to Mark and and the tension that is built around them and between Mark and Vivian and her mother becomes intense as the movie progresses. The ending, although less shocking 40 years after the movie was released, still left me somewhat drained and empty. A certain amount of sympathy is built up for Mark and there are hopes that he can be redeemed. But I won't tell any more of what happens, you will just have to rent or buy the movie. This is part of the Criterion Collection and horror/drama fans and dvd enthusiasts alike will not be dissapointed. Besides the excellent subject matter there is a full commentary by film theorist Laura Mulvey and a doumentary entitled "A Very British Psycho". There is also a still gallery including behind the scenes shots and a theatrical trailer.
Rating:
Summary: ahead of its time
Review: Astonishing film from director Michael Powell.The theme of a film cameraman photographing his murder victims was incredibly controversial at the time of release in 1960.Carl Boehm delivers a marvellous performance as the troubled photographer giving us a unique insight into the mind of a misanthrope.
The transfer by Criterion is quite stunning.Another must buy disc.
Rating:
Summary: A very British/Austrian Psychotic Beauty
Review: More radical than even Psycho, "Peeping Tom" will knock your socks off. The entire movie sort of stalks along, gently pulling you to watch. Nothing will disturb you more than the amount at which you will love Karl Boehm and his sweet yet deathly voice. His austrian "S"s come across in the creepiest way. Quietly, he whispers to Anna Massey's character, "Happy Birsday," after brutally killing, and of course filming, a prostitute. I just can't get enough of the thrills this film gives me. Forget Psycho (which came out a few months after this one) and buy a film that "ruined" Powell's carreer. Perhaps even MORE engaging, if at all possible, is the documentary featured on the Criterion DVD, "A Very British Psycho." You will never regret getting to know the writer of the film, Leo Marks. Marks was a codes expert during WWII and is the most fascinating man I've ever heard talk. He even made me like poetry (not an easy task, trust me.) Buy this DVD immediately and spread the word. People deserve good things and Powell's movie deserves as much recognition as possible.
Rating:
Summary: Mark Lewis; Sick but brilliant
Review: Peeping Tom should be essential viewing for people who are planning to direct films. Directors could learn a few things from Mark Lewis, a brilliant amateur director and photographer. How can you not admire a man who takes his craft so seriously? Sure Mark is a psychopathic killer who photographs the fear on his victims faces. So what? Nobody ever said art had to be in good taste. The best artists have always been insane. I can just imagine this film being shown as a how-to guide at film schools for young filmmakers when they're starting out. I expect they would be nudging and winking at each other enjoying the subtle in-jokes Michael Powell throws at them. It may be the first time they realize what a sick hobby they have; voyerism. The critics hated this film when it first came out. They found the idea of a man who photographs the people he kills to be revolting. Poor Mark Lewis. Great artists are always misunderstood. Mark is very meticulous. He prepares camera angles and lighting. He doesn't like being interrupted. And he's a great actors director, knowing how elicit extreme fear from his actresses, even non-professional actresses. By killing them. Oh well, a small price for the perfect shot.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS SCARY?
Review: I bought this because of all of the favorable reviews saying what a classic horror film this was supposed to be.
I found it dull, even boring. The Carl Boehm character was so listless that I could hardly believe he was a killer. The picture just seemed to drag for me.
The DVD does have some nice features though even if the aspect ratio is faulty..
Rating:
Summary: Voyeurism in Technicolor
Review: As a fan of the Criterion Collection, I was intrigued by the premise of "Peeping Tom". The idea of a young, psychotic cameraman filming his victims at the moment of death while forcing them to see their reflection in a distorted mirror was definitely disturbing subject matter. If you've done any looking into the movie at all, you already know the back story: it virtually destroyed Michael Powell's career, and was regarded as "filth" upon its release. However, much of this film remained a mystery until I purchased the DVD (it's a bit difficult to find to rent), so I'll try to provide some insight to anyone who's debating buying this one. The film is bathed in 60's Technicolor, and Criterion's got this one looking delicious. It's as if Michael Powell wanted all the colors as pronounced and accentuated as possible, to give each aspect of each shot the ability to stand on its own. The sound is no different from any other movie of that era, and the piano score by Gordon Watson weaves in and out of the poignant "attack" music to the classic "crashing" chords after it's all over....almost a cliché in the horror/slasher genre. That said, however, "Peeping Tom" is not a bloody film. In fact, there's very little carnage shown. Like "The Silence Of The Lambs", it's more of a psychological "profiler"-type film. What makes Mark Lewis do the things he does? That much is made clear to us when we view the movies he presents to Anna Massey in his upstairs screening room: he's been the lifelong subject of his father's experiments on the human reaction to fear. Even though his father is deceased, he still feels the desire to carry on his father's work. But he takes it a step further when he begins committing fetishistic homicide, developing his "snuff" films for his own enjoyment. By today's standard's, "Peeping Tom" is no longer the travesty it was branded in 1960. Many movies since have followed the groundwork Powell laid, and have gone far deeper into the deeply disturbing tunnel of psychomania and murder. However, there are elements present in "Peeping Tom" which never go out of style and never get old.....those elements which, when mixed, form a spine-chilling concoction that doesn't quickly dissipate. About the DVD: accompanying the movie is an audio essay by film theorist Laura Mulvey, in which she hyperanalyzes and maps out each section of the movie, the inside jokes (one of the early scenes shows a renowned British actor, known for playing stately roles, as a purchaser of pornography), etc. Also included is a fascinating Channel 4 UK documentary providing insight on the life of screenwriter Leo Marks. This program shows the evolution of the story of "Peeping Tom", reaching back to Marks' days in the war as a code breaker. The documentary also features appearances by Karl Boehm, Anna Massey, Columba Powell and others, as well as past-and-present journalists and film critics. "Peeping Tom" is not for everyone. If you're into films about film, "PT" presents an interesting and risqué slant on the topic. If you're into blood and guts, you'll have to use your imagination on this one (though it wouldn't be hard....). But if you're into chilling, thought-provoking psychodrama presented in 60's Technicolor, "Peeping Tom" is one to check out.
Rating:
Summary: SNUFF...and stuff..................
Review: A POINTED [that's putting it mildly!] vision of MURDER, most foul! It practically ruined Michael Powell's career - just too sick at that time - but today it's 'almost' a comedy. Indeed it is rather a SICKly little piece about a Young Man and his, err... shuttered hobby ........ seeing things through a glass too darkly. Takes place in the movie Industry too - British - circa 1960 pre-Beatles, but with quite a beat of its own. Karlheinz Bohm is our [German?] British Norman Bates-ish cousin somewhat confined to his dark room - renting the rest to eager lodgers. Anna Massey is the school-girlish-lodger-girlfriend with caustic Maxine Audley in tow as the vision-impaired mama. Shirley Ann Field 'does' a delicious Monroe type [take after take after take] star-turn, with screeching consequences - NOT forgetting MOIRA SHEARER's delicious danse macabre and truncated exit. SO dialogue needs work here and there - but it is fun to watch! There's even a cameo by Mr. Powell as our hero's father! [Another quirky turn!] A welcome addition to one's "serial-collection" ala "Young Poisoner's Handbook". Don't trip over the tripod though ...........
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