I first encountered this film upon its initial release in 1978. I’ve always admired Richard Burton (even in disasters like BLUEBEARD) and would go to see Lee Remick in anything. The two of them along with Franco-Italian actor Lino Ventura made for some pretty strange casting yet somehow it works. The major selling point is the story from a book by Peter Van Greenaway (not the filmmaker) about a misanthropic author (Burton) who comes to realize that he possesses the power to create disasters.
Lee Remick is the psychologist treating him and Lino Ventura the international cop trying to piece the disasters together. Old pros Harry Andrews and Michael Hordern add weight to the proceedings by simply being in the film. Director Jack Gold (THE RECKONING) keeps things moving along while veteran cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson makes the most of the meager budget with his creative use of lighting. Only the Cathedral finale disappoints but you’ll have to watch it to see why.
The film did not fare well upon it’s intial release by Avco Embassy and when that company went down so did the rights to most of their films keeping them off of video for years. Having had fond memories of the film, I purchased it on VHS many years ago and have been waiting for its DVD debut and now here it is coupled with a Blu-Ray as well. I and my companion at the time adored the writing which is very clever (plus having that cast deliver it certainly doesn’t hurt) and that was unaffected by the VHS release but unfortunately the picture quality was.
Transferred in the wrong ratio with oversaturated colors, it certainly didn’t look the same as it did in the theater. That has all been corrected in this Hen’s Tooth release that puts everything back the way it’s supposed to be so we can sit back and enjoy the sights and take in the rich dialogue without distraction. A great film? No, but it’s one of those movies that sticks with you once its done and that’s a movie worth watching more than once.
The Capsule Critic 