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Amazon.co.uk Review
Stanley Kubrick's 1961 version of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov's notorious 1953 novel, prompted a scandal in its day: even to address the issue of paedophilia on screen was deemed to be as perverted as the hapless protagonist Humbert Humbert. James Mason plays Humbert, the suave English Professor whose gentlemanly exterior peels away as quickly as his scruples once exposed to Sue Lyons' well-developed teenage beauty. In order to be close to her, he marries her mother, the lonely and pathetically pretentious Charlotte (Shelley Winters) only for her to expire conveniently, leaving Humbert free to embark on a motel-to-motel trek across America with Lolita in tow, evading suspicions that theirs is more than a father-daughter relationship. Peter Sellers, meanwhile, gives a Dr Strangelove-type tour de force performance as Clare Quilty, a TV writer also in pursuit of Lolita, who harasses Humbert under several guises, including a psychiatrist.
As a movie, Lolita is flawed, albeit interestingly so. The sexual innuendo (a summer camp called Camp Climax, for example) seems jarring and pointless, while Sellers' comic turn detracts from any sense of guilt, tension or tragedy. It's as if the real purpose of the film is to offer a sort of silent, mocking laughter at the wretched Humbert and systematically divest him of his dignity. By the end, he is a babbling wretch while Sue Lyons' Lolita is pragmatic and self-possessed. It's Mason and Lyons' performances, which lift the film from its mess of structural difficulties. Decades on, their central relationship still makes for pitifully compulsive viewing.
On the DVD: Few extras, sadly, though the brief original trailer is excellent, built around the question, "How could they make a film out of Lolita?". The original black and white picture and mono sound are excellent. --David Stubbs
Special Features
1.66 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\Italian
English\Italian
English
Region 2
Mono English French Italian
Mono
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Trailer
Arabic\Bulgarian\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Portuguese\Romanian\Spanish
DVD 9
French\Italian
English\Italian
English
Region 2
Mono English French Italian
Mono
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Trailer
Arabic\Bulgarian\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Portuguese\Romanian\Spanish
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Regardless of the hidden (or even obvious) peversion of James Mason's character, I felt this film was brilliantly acted and beautifully shot. Sue Lyon's portrayal of the teenage Lolita is spot on, whilst Shelley Wintar's manical and irritating mother role is painfully real. Peter Sellar's does his usual good job of injecting a little humour into the otherwise unpleasant storyline and of course James Mason is as always perfect in his role. Whether it is an insult to say he is perfect for the part I do not know, but he certainly fits the character as though the part was made for him. Watch if you want to be unhinged from normal everyday topics and taken for a little while into the taboo, dark side of unnatural relationships, at the same time enjoying the great music and awesome camera work.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Lolita: that "lovely, lyrical, wilting name". After Nabokov's novel and Kubrick's film adaptation, the name Lolita has, unfortunately, become synonymous solely with sexual precociousness. Really, we should add 'vulgar' and 'brash' to that synonymy - the real Dolores Haze (Sue Lyon) is brusque, and anything but wilting. She's known by two names; she leads two VERY different lives.
Given the reputation that follows the tale of Lolita around, it's sometimes easy to forget how funny this first (and best) film adaptation is. With Kubrick, we're in the hands of a master satirist. So when Lolita is shipped off to the hilariously named 'Camp Climax', her emotional farewell embrace with Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is cut short with what amounts to a snappy "see ya" before the camera swoops over our troubled anti-hero as he gazes longingly over the banister, full of yearning and repressed passion, while melodramatic music swells like something out of Gone With The Wind.
Humbert is an amusingly sardonic sort when he knows he's going to get what he wants; he's stroppy when he can't. So, while we're never offered any backstory to help us build a psychological justification for Humbert's infatuation, we can clearly see that his passion brings out the teenager in him: fickle, randy, playful and obstreperous.
Shelley Winters marvellously over-plays Dolores' lonesome mother, the actress's alleged poor treatement by the director pre-dating Shelley Duvall's by almost 20 years - and, similarly, it could be argued the performance is improved accordingly.
This was Kubrick's first collaboration with Peter Sellers (who plays the writer Clare Quilty). Like Dr Strangelove, there's an exhilarating unpredictability whenever the chameleonic Sellers occupies the screen. This was the first time Kubrick encouraged improvisation - it's partially this, I believe, which elevates the film to the status of the first true Kubrick classic. Paradoxically, with Lolita we're able to see the control Kubrick would wield thereon; he arrests the image, moving the actors with the precision of chess grand-master, shooting everything from the beautiful to the banal with sublime artistry.
Given the reputation that follows the tale of Lolita around, it's sometimes easy to forget how funny this first (and best) film adaptation is. With Kubrick, we're in the hands of a master satirist. So when Lolita is shipped off to the hilariously named 'Camp Climax', her emotional farewell embrace with Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is cut short with what amounts to a snappy "see ya" before the camera swoops over our troubled anti-hero as he gazes longingly over the banister, full of yearning and repressed passion, while melodramatic music swells like something out of Gone With The Wind.
Humbert is an amusingly sardonic sort when he knows he's going to get what he wants; he's stroppy when he can't. So, while we're never offered any backstory to help us build a psychological justification for Humbert's infatuation, we can clearly see that his passion brings out the teenager in him: fickle, randy, playful and obstreperous.
Shelley Winters marvellously over-plays Dolores' lonesome mother, the actress's alleged poor treatement by the director pre-dating Shelley Duvall's by almost 20 years - and, similarly, it could be argued the performance is improved accordingly.
This was Kubrick's first collaboration with Peter Sellers (who plays the writer Clare Quilty). Like Dr Strangelove, there's an exhilarating unpredictability whenever the chameleonic Sellers occupies the screen. This was the first time Kubrick encouraged improvisation - it's partially this, I believe, which elevates the film to the status of the first true Kubrick classic. Paradoxically, with Lolita we're able to see the control Kubrick would wield thereon; he arrests the image, moving the actors with the precision of chess grand-master, shooting everything from the beautiful to the banal with sublime artistry.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The subject matter of Lolita naturally poses some problems for a director, but this adaptation has ultimately gone down as a victory for the censors. The original novel was almost entirely focused on the character of Humbert Humbert, his flamboyant obsession with a young girl and the increasingly ridiculous lengths he goes to in an effort to keep the object of his affections. The genius in Humbert's character was that despite the hopelessly immoral nature of his actions, the reader could always sympathise with the position he found himself in.
In the film this dimension is ultimately lost. James Mason makes an admirable attempt to play Humbert and Shelley Winters is perfect as the naive Charlotte, but divorced of its finest material the tale becomes a rather dry affair and were it not for the odd suggestive phrase now and then, you would be forgiven for thinking that Humbert was simply an overly conservative father figure. Worthy of mention is Peter Sellers who plays an amusing cameo-esque role, but it speaks volumes when the humour which was such a vital part of the novel is provided by a bit-part character (as Quilty was in the novel) and some rather absurd slapstick elements including a decidedly galling scene involving a fold out bed that could have come straight from Charlie Chaplin.
Overall, there are some good performances on display, but the film neither captures the genius of the novel nor does it provide any other motivation for the viewer to become engrossed in the plot.
In the film this dimension is ultimately lost. James Mason makes an admirable attempt to play Humbert and Shelley Winters is perfect as the naive Charlotte, but divorced of its finest material the tale becomes a rather dry affair and were it not for the odd suggestive phrase now and then, you would be forgiven for thinking that Humbert was simply an overly conservative father figure. Worthy of mention is Peter Sellers who plays an amusing cameo-esque role, but it speaks volumes when the humour which was such a vital part of the novel is provided by a bit-part character (as Quilty was in the novel) and some rather absurd slapstick elements including a decidedly galling scene involving a fold out bed that could have come straight from Charlie Chaplin.
Overall, there are some good performances on display, but the film neither captures the genius of the novel nor does it provide any other motivation for the viewer to become engrossed in the plot.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Service
Great to get this hard to find film at last, very promt service and I will use this site againand recommend to others
Published 4 months ago by Foordy
Lovely and lyrical.
" How could they make a film of Lolita" This was on everyones lips in 1961 when it was announced that Stanley Kubrick was to make a film out of Nabokovs infamous book which deals... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. G. Robinson
A subtle version of that the book blatantly demonstrated
While the original novel was somewhat graphic, blatant and incredibly perverse, Kubrick found a way (grudgingly, so I believe) to make this film without turning it into something... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dismal Angel
Quantly entertaining
Very kitsch, fairly outdated, slightly weird (it is Kubrick after all) but a very entertaining film.
Published on 11 Jan 2010 by Eg Voysey
Easy
Ordered the dvd without going out to the shops and it came in two days! Very good contidion,had never been used! .... yaaaaay
Published on 15 Oct 2009 by Brid Kirby
KUBRICK DESERVES HIS REPUTATION
I have this in a box set with 7 other of his films and a documentary. I really like Stanley Kubrick and his films so it's a pleasure to watch them and last night I watched Lolita... Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2007 by PSN: Funeral-Bringer
Lolita?
Firstly one should credit Amazon with having the good sense to quote Dave McCoy on the main page. Thanks to his review there is not much else one can add except to give two points... Read more
Published on 20 April 2006 by Andrew W
Stick to the book!
Though not the worst film I’ve ever seen (I have unfortunately seen The Avengers) this is a considerably flawed movie. The main problem is Sue Lyons does not convince. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2006
very good movie
I personally really like this movie, the re-make of cult film Lolita. The acting in it is of a very high level, making the emotions very believable. Read more
Published on 20 July 2005 by D. E. Jager
Sellers makes this film
The book is excellent and beyond compare but this film is a flawed adaptation that loses the main themes that make the book so special, and gains nothing in its place. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2003 by N Taylor
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