★★★★☆If the medium of film is to be considered a legitimate art form then this memorable BBC period piece from 1979 is probably as close as you can get to a living painting on screen. Schalcken the Painter, a seldom-seen horror story set in 17th century Holland and newly released by the BFI as part of their Gothic series, has earned cult status over the years as much for its scarcity as its ability to shock. Though Leslie Megahey's short television movie is unsettling in its content, it's the production's visual style and overall appearance as much as any physical horror which lingers in the viewer's mind long after it's finished.
- 12/11/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
From Nosferatu to Twilight, gothic films have explored what frightens us – and why we are willing victims of our fear. A few days before Halloween, and as the BFI begins a nationwide season, Michael Newton is seduced by horror, sex and satanism
Beyond high castle walls, the wolves howl. The Count intones: "Listen to them! The children of the night! What music they make!" And those words usher you into a faintly ludicrous cosiness, the comfortable darkness of gothic. For gothic properties are altogether snug, as familiar as Halloween costumes – a Boris Karloff mask, the Bela Lugosi cape, an Elsa Lanchester wig. So it is that many of us first come to the form through its parodies; I knew Carry On Screaming! by heart before I saw my first Hammer film. And yet, within the homely restfulness, something genuinely disturbing lurks; an authentic dread. And watching these films again, we...
Beyond high castle walls, the wolves howl. The Count intones: "Listen to them! The children of the night! What music they make!" And those words usher you into a faintly ludicrous cosiness, the comfortable darkness of gothic. For gothic properties are altogether snug, as familiar as Halloween costumes – a Boris Karloff mask, the Bela Lugosi cape, an Elsa Lanchester wig. So it is that many of us first come to the form through its parodies; I knew Carry On Screaming! by heart before I saw my first Hammer film. And yet, within the homely restfulness, something genuinely disturbing lurks; an authentic dread. And watching these films again, we...
- 10/26/2013
- by Michael Newton
- The Guardian - Film News
Miramax is getting predictable. The Disney-owned distributor is known for bringing to foreign-film-deprived Yanks sexy, sophisticated fare from foreign shores, battling the ratings system and asking journalists not to reveal surprises in films.
The French-English co-production ''The Advocate'' is the latest such entry, written and directed by talented Brit newcomer Leslie Megahey and starring Colin Firth as a medieval attorney immersed in murky crimes and defending unusual clients in a French town.
Unique, fascinating in its details of the period, well-cast with the likes of Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm and Nicol Williamson supporting Firth, relevant in its heady exploration of how medieval society functioned, ''The Advocate'' is too dark and arty for wide acceptance. But a national release after New York and Los Angeles exclusive engagements ought to benefit from good word-of-mouth for a healthy run on limited screens.
Set in 1452 -- when the forces leading to the Renaissance are beginning to challenge the overall ignorance and common superstitions, and the Black Plague is a constant threat -- Megahey's well-researched, fact-based scenario illuminates a twisted milieu of randy priests, peasants cavorting with she-asses, a cynical lord with two bizarre offspring and some mighty strange ideas about the practice of law, which is to say that animals and inanimate objects were frequently accused of crimes or called upon as witnesses.
Bucking up against the lordly Seigneur (Williamson) and his prosecutor (Pleasence) over the murder of a Jewish boy, and the unlikely perpetrator brought to trial, Richard Courtois (Firth) and his clerk (Jim Carter) are frustrated, frightened and threatened. Courtois also has a good time with the ladies, including a true love clinch with a gorgeous ''little Egyptian'' -- i.e. gypsy -- played by the beguiling Amina Annabi.
Miramax lopped off seconds from a raucous barnyard-awakening tumble between Courtois and a friendly servant-prostitute (Sophie Dix in her film debut). There is more group nudity of the Peter Greenaway variety and plenty of suggestive dialogue, but the overall atmosphere is more like ''The Name of the Rose'' than ''The Devils.''
Firth (''Valmont'') has one of his best roles and skillfully injects enough modern idiom and attitude to make the complex, intelligent story line user-friendly to current audiences while not sacrificing the illusion of authenticity.
THE ADVOCATE
Miramax Films
CiBy 2000
BBC Productions
Director-writer Leslie Megahey
Producers David Thompson, John Smithson, Claudine Sainderichin
Executive producer Michael Waring
Director of photography John Hooper
Editor Isabelle Dedieu
Art director Bruce Macadie
Music Alexandre Desplat
Costume designer Anna Buruma
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Richard Courtois Colin Firth
Samira Amina Annabi
Mathieu Jim Carter
Pincheon Donald Pleasence
Albertus Ian Holm
The Seigneur Nicol Williamson
Maria Sophie Dix
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
The French-English co-production ''The Advocate'' is the latest such entry, written and directed by talented Brit newcomer Leslie Megahey and starring Colin Firth as a medieval attorney immersed in murky crimes and defending unusual clients in a French town.
Unique, fascinating in its details of the period, well-cast with the likes of Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm and Nicol Williamson supporting Firth, relevant in its heady exploration of how medieval society functioned, ''The Advocate'' is too dark and arty for wide acceptance. But a national release after New York and Los Angeles exclusive engagements ought to benefit from good word-of-mouth for a healthy run on limited screens.
Set in 1452 -- when the forces leading to the Renaissance are beginning to challenge the overall ignorance and common superstitions, and the Black Plague is a constant threat -- Megahey's well-researched, fact-based scenario illuminates a twisted milieu of randy priests, peasants cavorting with she-asses, a cynical lord with two bizarre offspring and some mighty strange ideas about the practice of law, which is to say that animals and inanimate objects were frequently accused of crimes or called upon as witnesses.
Bucking up against the lordly Seigneur (Williamson) and his prosecutor (Pleasence) over the murder of a Jewish boy, and the unlikely perpetrator brought to trial, Richard Courtois (Firth) and his clerk (Jim Carter) are frustrated, frightened and threatened. Courtois also has a good time with the ladies, including a true love clinch with a gorgeous ''little Egyptian'' -- i.e. gypsy -- played by the beguiling Amina Annabi.
Miramax lopped off seconds from a raucous barnyard-awakening tumble between Courtois and a friendly servant-prostitute (Sophie Dix in her film debut). There is more group nudity of the Peter Greenaway variety and plenty of suggestive dialogue, but the overall atmosphere is more like ''The Name of the Rose'' than ''The Devils.''
Firth (''Valmont'') has one of his best roles and skillfully injects enough modern idiom and attitude to make the complex, intelligent story line user-friendly to current audiences while not sacrificing the illusion of authenticity.
THE ADVOCATE
Miramax Films
CiBy 2000
BBC Productions
Director-writer Leslie Megahey
Producers David Thompson, John Smithson, Claudine Sainderichin
Executive producer Michael Waring
Director of photography John Hooper
Editor Isabelle Dedieu
Art director Bruce Macadie
Music Alexandre Desplat
Costume designer Anna Buruma
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Richard Courtois Colin Firth
Samira Amina Annabi
Mathieu Jim Carter
Pincheon Donald Pleasence
Albertus Ian Holm
The Seigneur Nicol Williamson
Maria Sophie Dix
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 8/19/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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