Charly
by Ralph Nelson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Claire Bloom, Cliff Robertson, Leon Janney, Lilia Skala, Ruth WhiteDirector: Ralph Nelson
Brand: MGM
Cinematographer: Arthur J. Ornitz
Producer: Ralph Nelson
Editor: Fredric Steinkamp
Producer: Selig J. Seligman
Writer: Daniel Keyes
Writer: Stirling Silliphant
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-08
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Charly
Movie Review: Flowers for Charly
Summary: 5 Stars
The message of Charly (based on the David Keyes short story and novel, "Flowers for Algernon," remains as powerful and poignant today as it was in 1968 when Cliff Robertson brought the story of Charlie Gordon to television. American don't treat the mentally handicapped well. Theirs a struggle marked too often by social stigmatism that marginalizes their existence. People don't like to see those who are obviously mentally handicapped or ill. Perhaps their conditions remind us of our frailties.
Starring Cliff Robertson (who was also responsible for the made-for-tv film's production) and Claire Bloom, the film tells the story of a 38-year-old retarded man who is given one chance at normalcy. For a few brilliant months he becomes a genius through the agency of a flawed operation by a scientist whose ethics are weak. The true horror of the film is realized when Charles Gordon is able to clearly see his own approaching demise and the inevitable return to his former retardation.
Both short story and script question many aspects of America's dependence on a technology that outstrips our ability to lay an ethical foundation for its use. We forget that innocent people are hurt in our rush to scientific acclaim.
As a teacher, I was overwhelmed by the response of my middle school students to both the short story and the film. They understood the inherent dangers in what they read and viewed. For any teacher, I recommend the film and urge that it be accompanied by a study of the short story or novel on which it is based.
Summary of Charly
From the classic Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon comes this "moving" (Boxoffice) and unforgettable adaptation. Featuring an Academy AwardÂ(r)-winning* performance by Cliff Robertson and a "shrewd, talented" score (Variety) by Ravi Shankar, this timeless tearjerker is "definitely one to see" (Cue). When a mentally retarded man named Charly (Robertson) undergoes experimental brain surgery, he is miraculously freed from the prison of his own mind. As his IQ soars to genius proportions, Charly's eyes are opened to a world he's never truly seen. But when the effects of his operation inexplicably begin to fade, Charly must find a way to halt his regression before his own mind destroys his life, his newfound romance and the man he's become. *1968: ActorAdapted from Daniel Keyes's novel Flowers for Algernon, Charly must be viewed as a soap opera of and for its zeitgeist--the halcyon '60s, when "natural" was nirvana, the air hummed with the mantra "Everybody's beautiful," and all ills stemmed from institutional monoliths such as Science, Government, Education, Religion. Accordingly, Charly (Cliff Robertson) is a 30-year-old retardate whose doofus sweetness makes him superior to most able-minded folk, whether they're the bigoted dolts he sweeps floors for or the ambitious scientists who see him as the human equivalent of Algernon, a mouse they've surgically (but impermanently) smartened up. Naturally, post-op Charly, sporting a genius IQ, "sees things as they are." Trotted out as the neurosurgeons' poster boy, he stands up to the "learned" audience--shot as faceless, inhuman interrogators. He's every '60s flower child, berating his "elders" for blighting their brave new world.
The one gift Charly gets out of becoming Brainiac is sex. In a lengthy montage resembling a retro TV commercial, he and his special-ed teacher (Claire Bloom, madonna with eternal Mona Lisa smile) romp through an Edenic outdoors, their embraces hallowed by sunlight glinting through leaves, moonlight glinting on water, and sappy Ravi Shankar music. (Stylistic clichés also include embarrassing outbreaks of split screens and multiple small screens within the frame, notably when rebellious Charly turns biker.) Robertson's performance is well-meaning but hokey. Still, in the penultimate moments when Charly begins to slide back into retardation, the actor achieves a genuine tragic gravity, and he became a surprise Oscar winner for his pains. --Kathleen Murphy
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