Gabriel ByrneGothic [Blu-ray]

This movie is one of those horribly bad must see cult classics!

There is nothing like a Ken Russell film to excite the senses and challenge the mind. He is sadly no longer with us, but his gallery of unique and eclectic films are his brilliant legacy to cinema..."Gothic" not withstanding. Russell didn't like telling his biographical films' story from beginning to end loaded with "facts" that you could just read about in a biographical book on the subject or subjects. He took the essence of their lives and their art, then he would create visuals with his camera and a music score that would convey the emotions of the person and how their "art" could move the viewer. In "Gothic" Russell takes the viewer on a phantasmagorical journey into the minds of the people attending Lord Byron's estate on that fateful night from which Mary Shelley would inevitably conjure up her horror classic "Frankenstein." The imagery Russell creates from his subject's lives (past, present and future) are some of the most haunting, disturbing, and all-out-gothic visuals to ever grace the cinema screen. The whole movie has a drive to it as it rushes from scene to scene, a madness that increases with every minute and builds to a glorious finale of horror, sadness, fear and pain. The viewer truly feels these character's fears along with them. Ken Russell's "Gothic" is a gut-wrenching, visceral thriller of a movie. If you have an open mind and just go with Russell's vision, then you will have a wonderful, frightening experience watching this demented, artful film.

I saw this film when it came out, in the 80's. At the time I was a bit of a purist concerning the Shelley/Byron Haunted Summer episode, and let's face it--Ken Russell will be Ken Russell. I.e., he doesnt always stick to the script. So this film is more "based on" than an exact retelling, but upon watching this a second time, years later, I find that the aesthete in me, and the eccentric, absolutely adored this movie! It is crazy, but eminently watchable. The set alone is worth watching it for, and the goth in me absolutely thrills at the atmosphere that's been created. You will find yourself muttering, omg wth can possibly happen next? Try it, you might like it. Especially if you have a sense of adventure. And you are not a purist.

From the land of "The Song Remains the Same," Ken Russell's own "Tommy," and Alan Parker's "Pink Floyd: The Wall," all precursors of MTV™ (basically ... ), comes this overheated fever dream of a movie. Whether you want to "see" it, of course, depends on your attitude about being able to say "yeah, I've seen that!" and live with it as part of your emotional, cognitive, and cultural repertoire. If so, and you can resist the resentment at being pulled along in the opening (Ken Russell does lay it on a bit thick, and it's "let's go!" from Word One in this, as I imagine in every *other*, Production of his ... ) you're in for a treat: sexual predilections dripping from the walls (and into the *people* ... ), soundtrack from Thomas Dolby ("She Blinded Me with Science Fiction??") and ... Julian Sands! Gabriel Byrne! Natasha Richardson! If Russell doesn't drop the ball here -- which he doesn't, once it gets rolling; it's hard to get off, so too bad -- you start with the premise that Mary Shelley's premise(s) are drawn from her environment, and work backwards from there; resentment, lust, lightning, and cross-dressing are all part of the mix (Placebo would probably like this movie, as would "Hark! A Vagrant's" Kate Beaton -- ah, those Brits.! Ah, those Canucks!). If you think Ballard, Burroughs, Pynchon, Delany, etc., are unusual in they act like sexual desires motivate a *lot* of human action, whereas most writers (and thinkers -- let alone *political* ones) think that the sex instinct in people is basically nil, and people basically politely encounter each other, and are mystified when things don't work out, and their presuppositions have to be thrown out, or, worse, papered over to account for what's happening by *denying* its having any causal factor ... well, let's just say this movie could be a refreshing palliative.(And if it wasn't a precedent for 'The Favourite,' 'The Great,' and a whole lotta others since then -- including 'Dangerous Liasons' and Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette' -- I don't know what could! It's like knowing the Cappione family of Massena, NY, near the Canadian border, goes back 8 generations pre-1970 ... that's almost a whole century pre-the Ellis Island of Sofia's dad's 'Godfather, Pt. 2' movie! Seriously, what's going *on* up there ... ?? It's good to know these things -- same as in England!!!)That's all I'm saying ... really!!!(wink);)

Mi comentario es en referencia a la calidad del blu ray en comparación con la versión en DVD. Hay una gran mejora en la calidad de imagen y sonido. Además de la nitidez, los colores son más vivos comparados con el DVD. Incluye además, material extra; cosa que no tiene la versión en DVD.A quienes tengan en VHS o DVD este título, el blu ray es la actualización de mejor calidad hasta el momento.

Tout est parfait, merci

Très bon service, mais sur le descriptif sur le site Amazon, il est écrit que le film est doublé en français. Et ce n'est pas le cas. Très déçu de ce manque de rigueur de la part d'Amazon car ce n'est pas la faute du vendeur.

Ich besitze Gothic in der alten VHS Fassung (FSK 18), als Originalfassung DVD mit koreanisch/englischen Untertiteln, wobei die englischen Untertitel durch einen Praktikanten angefertigt worden sein müssen, so grottenschlecht/amüsant (je nach Blickwinkel) sind die, es war leichter für mich bis zum Ende des Films auf sie zu verzichten. Und nun habe ich die Uncut Edition erworben und bin überwältigt, von so viel Möglichkeiten der Ton und Untertitelwahl und auch von der Bild und Ton Qualität selbst, so gut hab ich Gothic selbst im Kino seinerzeit nicht gesehen und kann hier daher nur eine Empfehlung für den Kauf aussprechen, auch wenn man einiges an Geld dafür auf den Tresen legen muss, aber wem es ähnlich wie mir mit diesem Film geht, ihn nämlich als ein Meisterwerk zu empfinden, um dann jahrelang VHS Flirren und andere Unbill zu ertragen, wird sich nach dieser Anschaffung wie im Gruselparadies fühlen dürfen: BlueRay und DVD, beide mit der Kinofassung und der Neuvertonung, wobei für die BlueRay 3 Minuten mehr Spieldauer angegeben ist als für die DVD. Mir sind beim gespannten Schauen dann aber keine zusätzlichen Szenen aufgefallen, also werde ich beide Scheiben wohl mal synchron gegeneinander antreten lassen, vielleicht sogar mit den verschiedenen Synchronfassungen (und selbst dabei durchdrehen wie die Protagonisten),egal, es scheint zur Magie dieses Werkes zu gehören immer noch mal etwas neues darin zu entdecken, selbst nach x mal schauen (ich hab mit Zählen aufgehört) und schlussendlich sei hier noch auf den Bruder im geistes von Gothic hingewiesen: Gaspar Noes 'Climax' kreiert ein ähnliches, aber neuzeitliches Szenario visuell beinah noch überwältigender (Ken Russel würde es gefallen haben, ich bin sicher)

Ciao,il film lo ricordavo ma avevo visto la versione tagliata.Coinvolgente e intriso di tensione,un Russell visionario e illuminato.Semplicemente gotico.Non vedo l'ora di vedere The Devils(sempre Russell),che già ho acquistato.