The Fallen Idol (The Criterion Collection)
by Andy Kelleher, Carol Reed
Our Price: $33.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $19.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bobby Henrey, Denis O'Dea, Michèle Morgan, Ralph Richardson, Sonia DresdelDirector: Andy Kelleher, Carol Reed
Brand: Image Entertainment
Producer: Andy Kelleher
Producer: Carol Reed
Producer: Alexander Korda
Writer: Graham Greene
Writer: Lesley Storm
Writer: William Templeton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-07
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Summary of The Fallen Idol (The Criterion Collection)
FALLEN IDOL - DVD MovieIn the impressive filmography of British director Carol Reed, The Fallen Idol is sandwiched between Odd Man Out and The Third Man--the second of three consecutive masterpieces (adapted by Graham Greene from his short story "The Basement Room") by a filmmaker at the peak of his artistic powers. Of those three, The Fallen Idol is the most delicately subdued, but it's a flawlessly plotted thriller that achieves considerable tension through the psychology of its characters. By telling the story through the eyes of a child, the plot gains even greater urgency as a variation on the theme of "the boy who cried wolf," as young Phillipe (Bobby Henrey)--the 8-year-old son of the French ambassador to England--struggles to clear his beloved embassy butler Baines (Ralph Richardson) from being wrongfully accused of murder.
Baines is burdened with a shrewish, overbearing wife (Sonia Dresdel) whose rigid, disciplinarian control of Phillipe sets the stage for suspense; when Mrs. Baines dies in a terrible fall on the embassy staircase, her husband (who has been having a secret affair with an embassy typist) is the prime suspect. Phillipe, caught between his love for Baines and his suspicion of the butler's guilt, tries to convince investigators of Baines's innocence. But the boy's pleas are ignored, and The Fallen Idol expertly plays on the child's good but woefully misguided intentions. In Reed's visual strategy, a simple paper airplane can become the focus of almost unbearable suspense, and as incriminating evidence builds a strong case against Baines, Reed maintains that suspense to the final moments of the film. Low-key and yet still highly effective, the film received Oscar nominations for Reed's direction and Greene's adapted screenplay. --Jeff Shannon
Pierrot le Fou (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $49.24
The White Sheik (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2003-04-29; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Peeping Tom (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 1999-11-16; Published: 1999-11-01; DVD
Best price: $19.45
Price in other shops:
Essential Art House: Tales Of HoffmannImage Entertainment; Release date: 2009-09-15; DVD
Best price: $12.66
Price in other shops:
Le Trou (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2001-10-16; Published: 2001-10-01; DVD
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops:
Quai des Orfevres (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2003-05-27; DVD
Best price: $34.25
The Small Back Room (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $18.34
Price in other shops:
Port of Shadows (The Criterion Collection)GABIN,JEAN; Release date: 2004-07-20; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Trafic (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-07-15; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Contempt (The Criterion Collection)Release date: 2002-12-10; DVD
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: