Gothic
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chris Chappel, Dexter Fletcher, Gabriel Byrne, Linda Coggin, Myriam CyrPrimary Contributor: Gabriel Byrne
Primary Contributor: Natasha Richardson
Primary Contributor: Julian Sands
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-02-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Gothic
Movie Review: Both good and bad...
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd had this movie for a while, but never got around to watching it. I finally sat down to watch it (just finished it actually) and was somewhat dissapointed and pleased at the same time. There are a lot of things in this movie that I'm sure are not historically accurate (other than the ones that obviously can't be verified), but it's obvious that the director did his research when he was making this movie. The actors are all well chosen, especially Gabriel Byrne.
The movie's appeal is that it's horror is more of the psychological aspect than the ghoul & ghost variety. Just like the title, the tale is very gothic and dark, which may not appeal to everyone. Some who are expecting a movie full of shocks and gore will be very dissapointed. There are shocks, but again... they are of the psychological variety.
The movie surrounds Percy Byce Shelley, Mary Godwin (who would later marry Shelley), Claire (Mary's step-sister), Lord Byron, & his personal physician Polidori. After a few too many drinks of laudnum (a very potent drug) and a botched seance, the group begins to see various frightening images. As to whether these images are fake or real, the decision is left up to the viewer. The ending is rather interesting, but I won't reveal it here. Unfortunately for us viewers, the film wasn't retouched when they transferred the film so it's very obvious that the film was dubbed directly from a VHS copy of the film. That's a pity, since there's some GORGEOUS imagery in this movie.
For the most part I'd recommend this movie to people who are willing to sit through a slow movie for some good payoff. There are some tedious moments to the film, but they're worth watching. I'd recommend renting this first to make sure that you like it. One thing is for sure, though- it's something you should watch twice so you can catch the things you missed the first go round. There's some campyness to the film, but it's all in good fun.
Summary of Gothic
Lurid, kitschy, over the top--what more does one expect from Ken Russell, director of The Devils, Tommy, and Altered States? Gothic purports to tell the story of a night that Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and the future Mary Shelley spent at a country estate and decided to write ghost stories--a night that ultimately resulted in Mary writing the novel Frankenstein. These three and a couple of friends romp around the mansion, freaking out at shadows and the sounds of a storm, getting increasingly hysterical and hallucinatory as the night progresses. Thrown into the mix are a mechanical belly dancer, nudity, walking suits of armor, an orgy, s?ances, grotesque masks, leeches, a pig's head, stigmata, snakes, and God-awful dialogue like "We are the gods now--we have dared to call ourselves creators!" Gabriel Byrne (Byron), Julian Sands (Shelley), and Natasha Richardson (Mary) are all terrible; it's a miracle any of their careers survived. But good or bad isn't really the point with Ken Russell, who aspires to a kind of visual delirium. Gothic isn't the masterpiece of excess that The Lair of the White Worm is, but towards the last half-hour it does achieve a creepy state of disorientation entirely suited to its subject matter. Russell isn't afraid to be trashy in the pursuit of unfettered cinematic symbolism. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. --Bret FetzerArt House & International DVD Video
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