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Bookmark this pagePeeping Tom (1960)
Director: Michael Powell
Movie review
From Time Out London
You can see why the knives were out for Michael Powell, already a veteran of masterpieces such as ‘The Red Shoes’, when he released this still-shocking essay on childhood trauma, voyeurism and murder in 1960 – even if its sly avoidance of gore is comparable to Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ of the same year. With this tale of Mark (Carl Böhm), a loner, film assistant and porn photographer, Powell managed to offend guardians of decency with scenes of killings, semi-nudity and easy chat among prostitutes. But more troubling, original and daring are the film’s suggestions that we, the audience, and he, as part of the film industry (of which the film is a comic satire), are complicit in seedy invasions of privacy for entertainment and that filmmakers are predatory, even life-sucking creatures. The film’s psychological underpinnings (Mark as a victim of his father’s experiments) feel a little dated, if appropriately mid-century, but most wondrous in this restoration are the film’s colours, especially the scenes at night around Charlotte Street and those with Moira Shearer at Pinewood.Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 2100: 16 – 24 November, 2010
User reviews of this film
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- Godfrey Hamilton said...
- Posted on Dec 27 2010 05:54 I am corrected; imdb.com confirms the rating is now '15'. But my point remains.
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- Godfrey Hamilton said...
- Posted on Dec 27 2010 05:50 Apart from confirming the utter idiocy of the critics (most of them dead or in their dotage now) who, 50 years ago, effectively destroyed Powell's career, it is worth noting that the film still is rated '18', suggesting it has lost none of its ability to disturb and shock. Actually the element that feels most dated is Ms Massey's deeply irritating upper-middle-class accent, which almost (but not quite) makes you long for a bit of Estuary.
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- s ford said...
- Posted on Nov 19 2010 19:37 Saw this film at the cinema today. Great film. Not much else to say!
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- Mickey Finn said...
- Posted on Nov 16 2010 19:16 Go see it you lucky people. Then treat yourself to The Archers back catalogue for some of the most magical and profound moments in cinemas history,
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Cast & crew
Director: Michael Powell
Producer: Michael Powell
Cast: Karl Böhm, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley, Moira Shearer, Esmond Knight, Michael Goodliffe, Shirley Anne Field, Brenda Bruce full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Rated: 18
Duration: 109 mins
UK Release: Nov 19 2010
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