Peeping Tom
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Peeping Tom
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1960 Starring: "Well, he won't be doing the crossword tonight!" "Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is ...?" This is somewhat of a landmark film in that it was well made and truly disturbing. Those two things had not really made it to films together before this gem came along. But unfortunately for the director Michael Powell, it also brought about the end of his career as a director. Make a scary movie that is effective and realistic? The nerve! Lets blacklist him and make sure he never does it again! It did however pave the way for fellow director Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho which came out a few months later. Without Peeping Tom to have blazed the trail the same fate to some degree may have befallen Hitchcock. The story is about a reclusive man, Mark Lewis (Karlheinz Böhm), who works as a cameraman for a movie studio during the day, and by night films things with his hand held movie camera. What his tastes for filming have turned to lately have been the looks on women's faces as they are being murdered. A woman in the building he lives in, Vivian (Moira Shearer), takes a fancy to him and starts getting him to go out occasionaly. They hit it off but Vivians mother, a blind woman who is so good at using her other senses that she can tell who is standing outside their window, has her doubts about Vivians new love interest. In one incredible scene there is a confrontation between her and Mark that is terrifying to watch. It almost has the feel of a who-dunnit except that we know exactly who-dunnit from the start. The detectives in the movie are putting together the clues that take them closer to Mark and and the tension that is built around them and between Mark and Vivian and her mother becomes intense as the movie progresses. The ending, although less shocking 40 years after the movie was released, still left me somewhat drained and empty. A certain amount of sympathy is built up for Mark and there are hopes that he can be redeemed. But I won't tell any more of what happens, you will just have to rent or buy the movie. This is part of the Criterion Collection and horror/drama fans and dvd enthusiasts alike will not be dissapointed. Besides the excellent subject matter there is a full commentary by film theorist Laura Mulvey and a doumentary entitled "A Very British Psycho". There is also a still gallery including behind the scenes shots and a theatrical trailer. |
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05 Oct 02 (rev 05 Feb 03) |
