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Prick Up Your Ears [VHS] [1987]
 
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Prick Up Your Ears [VHS] [1987]

VHS ~ Gary Oldman
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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4 new from £9.58 11 used from £0.20 3 collectible from £1.29

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Product details

  • Actors: Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Frances Barber, Janet Dale
  • Directors: Stephen Frears
  • Writers: Alan Bennett, John Lahr
  • Producers: Andrew Brown
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: ITV DVD
  • VHS Release Date: 10 May 1999
  • Run Time: 105 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CJRR
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 17,559 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on John Lahr's biography of the same name and co-written by Alan Bennett, Prick Up Your Ears charts the 16-year relationship between the monstrously talented but deeply selfish playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman), author of West End farces such as Loot and What the Butler Saw, and his neurotic but nevertheless wronged lover and collaborator Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina). Halliwell introduced Orton to art, literature and gay sex only to see his protégeacute; outstrip his mentor with innate and rampant talent for sexual conquest. By turns hilarious and excoriatingly painful, it's as much a tribute to an anti-hero of our times-Orton's ruthless frankness and anarchic mindset helped form the basis of what's called the "queer" sensibility today--as it is a portrait of the Swinging 60s just after the reform of anti-homosexuality laws irrevocably changed society. The modern-day framing device has Lahr (Wallace Shawn) researching his book through interviews with Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave), Orton's agent and the diary he wrote, a nimble device which ends up drawing a provocative parallel between Orton and Halliwell's relationship and that of Lahr and his wife (Lindsay Duncan). Director Stephen Frears, fresh off the back of the also-gay-themed My Beautiful Laundrette, nimbly balances our sympathies for both the protagonists while the leads give what may in retrospect look like the standout performances of their careers: Oldman was never more feral and charming, while Molina, foppishingly fretting over his wig and decrying that his lover "even sleeps better than I do" is simply heartbreaking. --Leslie Felperin

Synopsis
A celebration of British playwright Joe Orton's irreverant and charismatic talent. It tells the story of Joe's rise from a working class boy to peer of the Beatles and cult figure of London's Swinging 60s. The story is told through the eyes of his agent and of his best friend and murderer, Kenneth Halliwell.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad but true, 14 Mar 2000
By A Customer
This true story, based on John Lahr's biography of the playwright Joe Orton, is not for the squeamish. Orton (author of 'Loot' and 'Entertaining Mr Sloane' and real-life friend of Kenneth Williams) is played brilliantly by Gary Oldman, while his partner, the less successful and thus increasingly bitter Kenneth Halliwell, is recreated by Alfred Molina. Fond of picking up men in the public toilets of London, Orton lives life to the full, knowing no self-control whatsoever. His rise to fame is meteoric, while Halliwell - portrayed as possibly the better artist - is never recognised. Orton's brutal murder at the close of the film is a heart-stopping shock - but it's portrayed as it actually happened - he was beaten to death with a hammer by his lover, before Halliwell took his own life with an overdose.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, disturbing, but great acting!, 24 Sep 2002
By H. Trivass "snuffle007" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
All I can say about this film is summed up in 5 words:

Dark, Disturbing but great acting!

Wonderful, but disturbing at times. Gary Oldmans finest performance ever.

Just wish he'd done more films like this so he can show everyone that he is the great actor I know he is!

This film isn't to everyones taste, but the true story behind it is worth watching, to see how such a talented playwright was untimely struck down and how his gay lover was found naked and dead in his room.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Have you pricked up your ears?, 2 Oct 2004
By A Customer
This film i would recommend to any orton fans. Oldman at his best and Molina just superb as the 'billious queen' Haliwell.
I didn't think i would enjoy it as much as i did but i watch it many times.
If you want to see the life of Orton in his last 6 months then check this out.
The death scene very tame but generally shows what happened
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but flawed
This is a great film that is really best seen on the big screen. It was a revelation to see it recently in the cinema since you can see all the detail of the collage in the Noel... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Thomas N. Orchard

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
With a nod to Oscar Wilde, this is one of the best British comedies of all time. How Joe would have loved that. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2007 by PM

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