Lolita

Rating:
Summary: always a tortured soul
Review: what made this movie so intriguing to watch was of course jeremy irons...a directer seems to know who to pick for such passionate, tortured souls...i enjoy watching him as in all of his movies fight to contain that monster within which always escapes anyway, then he becomes all sad and pissed off ..with that,"i should have not gone there" look on his face...i love this point of revelation in his character...always jumping into the deep end every single time....always manic over the wrong female whether she is a child or adult...remember Damage?...French leutinent's woman? each layer of his characters revealing the degree of his torment and passion....in fact this cast was great, melanie griffith was not raunchy or paunchy enough to be that "fat cow"...although i which drew barrymore was a generation younger to play the role of lolita...then the seduction would have been erotica at its finest to watch!!!

Rating:
Summary: Me, a pedophiliac?
Review: If you don't think there's a bit of pedophilia in yourself, try watching this movie. You might be surprised to find out just how much you may have in common with these so-called sicko teachers, coaches, day-care givers, and Asian sex junket tourists who "prey" on cooperative lovely young girls. This movie is provocative, will inspire you to think, and maybe even ruin your straight-laced life! See it and be forever changed.

Rating:
Summary: Great Features
Review: I won't bother talking about the film itself, assuming that if you are interested in the DVD you have already seen the film and are simply curious about the DVD features.

First off, the qualities that make DVD so much more interesting are wonderfully exploited for this video release. The style and tone of the film are carried through to the various feature menus, making it a real treat even before watching the movie again. Overall, a real classy presentation.

The features itself are plentiful, including the screen test for one of the more powerful scenes in the film. Very interesting for those curious about the acting and directing process. Also included are eight scenes which were deleted from the final cut, a featurette on the making of the film and audio commentary from the director.

If you aren't sold on DVD, releases like this will make you change your mind.

Rating:
Summary: Long Overdue Tribute to Nabakov a Masterpiece
Review: The novel of "Lolita" has justly been called one of the best works written in the English language since Shakespeare. The fact that its author was not a native speaker of English makes his achievement all the more amazing. "Lolita" simply must be read, and any attempts to convert it to the medium of film must inevitably suffer in comparison. That said, Adrian Lyne's film is as close to perfect a translation from book to screen as one could hope to find. The performances are pitch-perfect: Dominique Swain, in her first film role captures the essence of Nabakov's creation, at once gangly and seductive; endearing, infuriating and a definite "starlet". The viewer, like Humbert, is quickly wooed and won. Melanie Griffith gives her small role as Charlotte a tarnished dignity and a weary grace, and Frank Langella does what he can with the enigmatic, barely-seen Quilty. But Jeremy Irons simply carries the film. Known for plumbing baser human emotions in all his films, he embues Humbert Humbert with a simple humanity that is heartbreaking to watch. To admit to liking Humbert even a little is uncomfortable--it means empathizing on some level with the force that drives him, even as we may be disgusted by his actions, but it is impossible not to be charmed. Irons drops his customary reserved demeanor to mine the humor in the role, and his voice-overs of dialog straight from the book are most effective.

This film version succeeds where Stanley Kubrick's 1962 version failed in remaining true to the spirit of Nabakov's vision. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's just a shame that the self-serving hypocrisy of the studio heads involved prevented its American theatrical release when so much commercial swill packed with violence and degradation of all kinds passes for entertainment in this country.

Rating:
Summary: I loved the novel and now I love this film!!!
Review: I have always appreciated the novel Lolita as a literary masterpiece and now I have the same appreciation of this film. Extremely well made...the lighting, the attention to detail, and the SCORE are superb. But the performance of Jeremy Irons is the most spectacular aspect of this film...he is absolutely perfect, I can't imagine any other actor in this role (although I actually think I have said that about every role Jeremy Irons plays!) The makers of this film stayed very true to the novel (although they did alter the most notorious sex scene). The only flaw I found was the casting of Melanie Griffith, who is, I believe, much too young, slim, and attractive to portray the "fat cow" of the novel. Anyone who has actually read the novel will appreciate this wonderful film and will "get it". I loved this film so much so that I also purchased the CD of the musical score and the 8 hr. books-on-tape verbatim reading of the novel by Jeremy Irons (an incredible treat for the ears!)I would recommend this video to any mature adult.

Rating:
Summary: best movie i've ever seen
Review: this was by far the best screenplay of a book i have ever seen. nabakov's a genius, and nothing was lost in the translation from paper to film(assuming anyone who has seen this will have read the book first- if not, i recommend it strongly). Casting was amazing, words cannot describe how wonderful this film was, and im not doing a very good job of it either so i'll leave you to your own devices.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I saw this movie when it premiered on the Sundance channel. I read the book first, I think that one of the reviewers would do well to read the book to answer his questions. The film is shot beautifully. I have been a big fan of Jeremy Irons for years, and now I can't imagine anyone else doing justice to the sentimental foreigner. Miss Swain was at one time innocent and at another all too knowing. This is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen in my life! I recommend it to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: A must see. Incredible directing, & exquisite performances.
Review: I have seen Stanley Kubrick's version of the film. Although, I consider the late Kubrick to be one of the finest directors the film industry ever had, I think that the time in which his version was made governed how the picture turned out. Now, in the nineties, since we are more accepting of diversity and encourage free speech (ya right!!), I think Lynn did the book more justice. The directing is amazing, you just have to pay attention to all the small details. Frank Langella's pedophellia is made clear in the scene in which he first appears. He holds the dog leash using his middle finger, thrusting his middle finger back and forth while talking to Lolita. Jeremy Iron's character's foot fetish is made apparent by the camera's emphasis on feet in most of the love scenes (if you can call it that). There are a lot of other small details like the above. The film makes a lot of social commentary about pedophillia and rehabilitation. The viewer is not sure though if Jeremy Iron's character is really a pedophile (he looks at the girls at the swimming pool) or if he just happened to fall in love with this 14 year-old girl. Are you not born a pedophile? Does your childhood have anything to do with it? (Jeremy Irons' character says he fell in love with Lolita because she resembled the girl he fell in love with when he was 14) Basically, the question is: nature or nurture?? The film is very disturbing, but it is also very sad in it's own special way. I did not feel sorry for the Jeremy Irons' character, but that's because I couldn't in any way relate to him. Dominique Swain's performance is not bad, I guess you can't expect more from her. Jeremy Irons is great, and so is Frank Langella.

Rating:
Summary: Superlative Story, Well Told
Review: I completely agree with xombie15. Everything that reviewer said is right on the mark. I think the sexual subject matter of the book fooled people into believing they hated the book before they ever read it. It is extremely sensative and sad. This 1997 film version absolutely floored me. When it was over I felt like I was cast adrift on a sea of conflicting emotion. Ultimately, the book and the film are a tribute to Nabokov's affection for the English language; he is very precise and creative in his use of words and phrases. This alone should make the book a must-read for anyone interested in literature.

The ending of the film (and of the book) is the weakest part as Humbert and Quilty play out their sad stories. I have an ongoing debate with my cousin who thinks that Quilty and Humbert are the same person.

Rating:
Summary: A true love stroy
Review: I read the book first, myself, which I recommend you do as well. Adrian Lyne truly captures the spirit of this book. I couldn't have picked a better person to plays Humbert then Jeremy Irons. I, myself, am surprised that he would partake in such a "controversial" although I am glad that he did. This film is not that explict. There is no direct nudity from Irons or Swain, who plays Lolita, although there is from Frank Langella, who plays Clare Quilty, but it is only for approx. 5mins. This movie is spellbinding, and the characters are brilliantly carried out. I was expecting more from Melanie Griffith myself but Dominque Swain truly captures Lolita. Kudos to her for her first feature film. A MUST SEE!