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From Amazon.co.uk
Michael Powell lays bare the cinema's dark voyeuristic underside in this disturbing 1960 psychodrama thriller. Handsome young Carl Boehm is Mark Lewis, a shy, socially clumsy young man shaped by the psychic scars of an emotionally abusive parent, in this case a psychologist father (the director in a perverse cameo) who subjected his son to nightmarish experiments in fear and recorded every interaction with a movie camera. Now Mark continues his father's work, sadistically killing young women with a phallic-like blade attached to his movie camera and filming their final, terrified moments for his definitive documentary on fear. Set in contemporary London, which Powell evokes in a lush, colourful seediness, this film presents Mark as much victim as villain and implicates the audience in his scopophilic activities as we become the spectators to his snuff film screenings. Comparisons to Hitchcock's Psycho, released the same year, are inevitable. Powell's film was reviled upon release, and it practically destroyed his career, ironic in light of the acclaim and success that greeted Psycho, but Powell's picture hit a little too close to home with its urban setting, full colour photography, documentary techniques and especially its uneasy connections between sex, violence and the cinema. We can thank Martin Scorsese for sponsoring its 1979 re-release, which presented the complete, uncut version to appreciative audiences for the first time. This powerfully perverse film was years ahead of its time and remains one of the most disturbing and psychologically complex horror films ever made. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Product Description
Michael Powell's controversial serial killer classic. A clean-cut focus puller (Carl Boehm) at the local film studio supplements his wages by taking girly photographs in a seedy studio above a newsagent. By night he is a sadistic killer, stalking his victims with his camera forever in his hand trying to capture the look of genuine, unadulterated fear. On its initial release the film, now regarded as a masterpiece of the British horror movement, was savaged by critics and public alike. The fearsome reaction went a long way to ruining director Powell's career and the movie was unavailable for many years.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Anton
Format:DVD
At last a decent DVD release for this disturbing classic from nearly fifty years ago. Vilified and treated like a video nasty on its initial release this trip inside the mind of a pyschopath is still so fresh and refreshing. Recommended for all students of serious horror, the tale of a disturbed young mind with a blade on his camera tripod filming his victims expressions as he kills them is utterly gripping. Acting all round is top notch in a production way ahead of it's time. Recommended.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Also released in 1960, Peeping Tom disgusted the censors and outraged the British Press to such a degree that Director Michael Powell found he had to move to Australia if he wished to continue his filmmaking career! The theme of scopophilia (pleasure from watching) is at the centre of this daringly ground-breaking movie as an affected cameraman (Mark) films the fear of the girls he murders to watch again and again! As he becomes emotionally entangled with his live-in tennant, his love for her becomes confused with his sociopathic desire to film her when she becomes frightened. A dark and interesting film, Peeping Tom addresses the very nature of cinema and the viewers' apparent complicity in the subject matter.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
This DVD is a vast, VAST improvement on the VHS edition of this wonderful film.
Presented in anamorphic widescreen, Peeping Tom shows the seedy-looking cinematography in all of its glory, and the soundtrack is pin-sharp, making the most of Brian Easdale's haunting piano music.
Buy this for the film, not for the extras.
Presented in anamorphic widescreen, Peeping Tom shows the seedy-looking cinematography in all of its glory, and the soundtrack is pin-sharp, making the most of Brian Easdale's haunting piano music.
Buy this for the film, not for the extras.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A disturbing, classic.
This is not for the faint hearted although most of the violence is off camera. It is a disturbing classic which has aged well. Read more
Published 20 hours ago by Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Erm...
Nothing to say really i wanted this film for ages and it was going for a great price, the seller was quick in despatching and it plays well. Great film too if you like this genre!
Published 2 months ago by FRANCISCO L VALLE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Way ahead of its time
I purchased this movie with knowing little about it; I only knew the basic premise. The way in which this film is shot and the way it handles its subject matter is quite... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andrew Carroll
4.0 out of 5 stars
has retained its disturbing power
Peeping Tom (1960)
This is one of those films that is well preceded by its backstory. Director Michael Powell, one half of one of Britain's most famous filmmakers,... Read more
This is one of those films that is well preceded by its backstory. Director Michael Powell, one half of one of Britain's most famous filmmakers,... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Biffer Spice
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning film
It may be uncomfortable viewing at times but this is a film that has belatedly become a classic. The performances of Carl Boehm and Anna Maasey are brilliant. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Agnetha
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peeping Tom Special Edition Blue Ray DVD
This DVD was purchased for someone else as a Christmas present so I have not seen it to carry out a review. Product delivered within the stated timescale.
Published 15 months ago by Minuteman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Time capsule
21st century cinema goers aren't especially shocked by films which depict serial killers venturing into the seedier realms of society to look for their victims. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dariush Alavi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing film, good extras on this disc
Controversial on release and instrumental in severely damaging the director's career, this is now seen as a classic, and with good reason! Read more
Published 18 months ago by M. Wood
3.0 out of 5 stars
Watchable but not that special
This film is curious, and the reaction to it is equally intriguing. I wonder does it depict a film maker renouncing his art? Read more
Published on 3 May 2011 by William Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even greater after all these years
Peeping Tom, as well as Michael Powell's talent, never looked so great.
A fantastic edition, which perfectly fits in the previous BD edition of other Powell's movies. Read more
A fantastic edition, which perfectly fits in the previous BD edition of other Powell's movies. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2011 by Luca Piccirilli
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