On my Timothy Dalton phase, I decided to watch The Doctor and the Devils. Frankly, it was a very informative film with the unfortunate reality of the lower classes during the setting of the early 1800s.
I, of course, had seen the 1945 The Body Snatcher with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell so the plot was not really surprising to me.
The Doctor and the Devils gave good representation on how the murderers came to be and their motivation in killing. Timothy Dalton's character, Dr. Thomas Rock, was the disappointment. He was given very little in the film to examine his character and complete motivation behind why he wanted/needed "fresh bodies" to dissect.
We are given a few speeches which gives an inkling behind the doctor's motivation, however, we are not shown what happens when the doctors do not have the proper "materials" to examine. We are given only a brief contact with the doctor's wife, but the viewer understands the feelings and inner spirit of the doctor's sister better than the doctor almost.
The viewer should also have been given more in depth into Dr. Rock's attraction to his students. There was only one less than thirty second shot of Dr. Rock presenting to his students a "sheep's" kidney and how entertaining it was.
As in many historical movies as such, I researched the background for this movie and learned that it was based on the true story of William Hare, William Burke and Dr. Robert Knox. It was more or less close to the actual facts of the case (except the assistant's obsession with a prostitute) - not excluding that William Hare was released as were the two women conspirators.
However, this movie dealing with such a subject could have concentrated more on the life of Dr. Knox before and after the events of 1828 rather than of the portrayal of the debauchery of the murderers and their lifestyle.
It was not a murder mystery; it was not a scientific study in the development of medical research; it was not even very interesting once you knew the set up (hence why they included the subplot of the doctor's assistant and prostitute). And what it lacked the most was the opportunity for Timothy Dalton to shine in more passionate scenes as a dedicated doctor and more interaction with patients that he could not heal for lack of research opportunities.
Too bad. What a great REAL story that needed better script and direction. I will go back to The Body Snatcher. Henry Daniell's inner torture and final mental breakdown, even as a talented physician, was amazingly done!
I, of course, had seen the 1945 The Body Snatcher with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell so the plot was not really surprising to me.
The Doctor and the Devils gave good representation on how the murderers came to be and their motivation in killing. Timothy Dalton's character, Dr. Thomas Rock, was the disappointment. He was given very little in the film to examine his character and complete motivation behind why he wanted/needed "fresh bodies" to dissect.
We are given a few speeches which gives an inkling behind the doctor's motivation, however, we are not shown what happens when the doctors do not have the proper "materials" to examine. We are given only a brief contact with the doctor's wife, but the viewer understands the feelings and inner spirit of the doctor's sister better than the doctor almost.
The viewer should also have been given more in depth into Dr. Rock's attraction to his students. There was only one less than thirty second shot of Dr. Rock presenting to his students a "sheep's" kidney and how entertaining it was.
As in many historical movies as such, I researched the background for this movie and learned that it was based on the true story of William Hare, William Burke and Dr. Robert Knox. It was more or less close to the actual facts of the case (except the assistant's obsession with a prostitute) - not excluding that William Hare was released as were the two women conspirators.
However, this movie dealing with such a subject could have concentrated more on the life of Dr. Knox before and after the events of 1828 rather than of the portrayal of the debauchery of the murderers and their lifestyle.
It was not a murder mystery; it was not a scientific study in the development of medical research; it was not even very interesting once you knew the set up (hence why they included the subplot of the doctor's assistant and prostitute). And what it lacked the most was the opportunity for Timothy Dalton to shine in more passionate scenes as a dedicated doctor and more interaction with patients that he could not heal for lack of research opportunities.
Too bad. What a great REAL story that needed better script and direction. I will go back to The Body Snatcher. Henry Daniell's inner torture and final mental breakdown, even as a talented physician, was amazingly done!