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Carol (Catherine Deneuve), a young French girl living in Sixties' London, is repelled, yet fascinated by men. Her radiant beauty attracts the opposite sex, but she shrinks from their advances. Her days are spent in an intensely feminine atmosphere: working in a beauty salon, and clinging to her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux) for love. Things start to unwind however when Helen goes away with her married boyfriend (Ian Hendry). As Carol incarcerates herself in her sinister, shadowy flat, men begin to invade her dreams night and day, mixing her terror with delight as bizarre hallucinations take hold of her mind. The walls start to crack, literally, before her eyes. Finally, racked and depraved through her delirium, she is left with only one instinct towards the men who invade her life - that of a killer... SPECIAL FEATURES: Brand New Widescreen 1.85:1 HD Transfer Enhanced for 16x9 TV s. Restored Original Mono Soundtrack. Audio Commentary with Roman Polanski & Catherine Deneuve. Clive James Meets Roman Polanski Documentary. Interview with Stand-in Cinematographer Stanley Long
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was Polanski’s first English language feature, financed by a company whose previous output mostly consisted of soft porn! It showcases the director’s talent as a creator of menacing atmosphere, following a beautiful young French girl (Catherine Deneuve) as she descends into madness after being left alone in her flat by her sister. The central theme is fear and hatred of sex, but this is a claustrophobic and haunting film, not an academic treatise on female sexual paranoia. Polanski observes the descent into madness because it is an interesting and disturbing thing to watch (at least when seen through his eyes/lens), not because he wanted to make a point about psychology. It has aged well, and during my viewing of it the only bit that seemed dated was the strange sixties music that plays as Denueve is walking round the streets of London. However, even this has its charm and is not off-putting. The masterly direction ensures that the slightly stricter censorship of the day does not diminish the power and horror of some of the more unsettling scenes (I won’t go into details because I don’t want to spoil the plot if you haven’t seen it) The extras are interesting, including some retrospective interviews, which are always nice. Truly, it is disturbing, voyeuristic entertainment at its best.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This film charts the slow descent of a French girl, Carol, played by Catherine Deneuve, into madness and horror. The acting in this film is superb, and especially by Deneuve, who brings to her part a delicate balance of vulnerability and strangeness. Right from the start, there is a sense that this beautiful, introverted, seemingly harmless girl, is not 'quite all there.' Give her a slight push, and she will tumble into total madness. As a performance, it is reminiscent of Anthony Perkins in Psycho.
The camera is on Carol all the time, and we see events unfold through her paranoid and schizophrenic mind. We feel her isolation. The mundane is amplified -the ticking of a clock, the sounds of the street outside, the toiling of the bell from the next door nunnery-and made to seem menacing. She is dependant on her sister to such an extent that when her sister goes to Italy on holiday, leaving her alone, she loses her lifeline on which to grasp for human contact. Her isolation is so intense that other people become a threat. Those who are a menace to her, such as her landlord, are treated in the same manner as those who wish her well, such as her boy friend. She can no longer tell the difference. The madness in her mind is made manifest on the screen: Huge cracks appear in the wall symbolising the cracks appearing in her mind. Hands come out of the wall and touch her. Her nightmares torment her with physical contact of men, the one thing that horrifies her, and which are made utterly believable by the vagueness of the camerawork and the silence on the soundtrack-how very much like a real nightmare. The structure of the film is marvellous, as is the cinematography. There is not a shot or a frame wasted as every scene, every shot, builds up to show Carol's loosening grasp of reality.
One of the greatest films of the 20th Century. On every level, this film not only works, but works brilliantly. Roman Polanski is a genius, and this film is his cinematic masterpiece.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Even on her good days, Carol lives on the edge of sanity; she stares endlessly at sidewalks cracks, feels things crawling on her body, and doesn't respond to people. But when her sister leaves her alone for two weeks, Carol loses her grip on reality and goes completely mad.
Roman Polanski's first English language film is almost a silent movie with just a bit of dialogue. The action is mostly in Carol's mind, as she sees, hears, and feels the things that go bump in the night, fears many have felt at one time or another, but she loses herself in her horror. Twenty-two year old Catherine Deneuve also made her English language debut in the film and gives a stunning performance. Her fragile beauty contrasts with the ugliness and brutality of her hallucinations and the audience is swept along on her journey.
This is not a movie to watch at night if you're afraid of the dark or of being alone. A very effective thriller.
Roman Polanski's first English language film is almost a silent movie with just a bit of dialogue. The action is mostly in Carol's mind, as she sees, hears, and feels the things that go bump in the night, fears many have felt at one time or another, but she loses herself in her horror. Twenty-two year old Catherine Deneuve also made her English language debut in the film and gives a stunning performance. Her fragile beauty contrasts with the ugliness and brutality of her hallucinations and the audience is swept along on her journey.
This is not a movie to watch at night if you're afraid of the dark or of being alone. A very effective thriller.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Classic!
Classic movie! I will never get bored of it. I was searching for this movie on DVD for quite a while because most shops tried to charge me rip off prices for it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by I. McEntaggart
Wrong language
I may have mis-read the original product description but as this DVD has the menu instructions in Czech I have decided to return it. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Chris Williams
A disturbing study of mental illness.
A beautiful Belgian manicurist has serious mental health problems in sixties London. That is the premise for Polankski's harrowing and voyeuristic study of psychosis-related... Read more
Published 15 months ago by ric03
Classic Polanski
Catherine Deneuve is brilliant in this early Roman Polanski psychological horror film. She plays Carol a young French woman living with a her sister in a small claustrophobic flat... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Maritzburggreg
Repulsion
Repulsion [1965] [DVD]
I was very happy to have found this old film! It is, obviously, very dated but a good trip down memory lane - if you are as old as I am!
I was very happy to have found this old film! It is, obviously, very dated but a good trip down memory lane - if you are as old as I am!
Published on 2 July 2009 by L. Scrivener
Film making by a film maker's film maker
An astonishingly notable and memorable piece of film making. It is also an exceptional lesson in real film craft. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2009 by Lou Knee
A masterpiece!
I've seen "Repulsion" quite a few times over the years, and it never gets any less absorbing to watch in spite of knowing the outcome. Read more
Published on 12 July 2008 by Music Lover.
Eerie, sad and authentic
This is part of Polanski's trilogy on the horrors of apartment living in the city. Having lived in a very old Paddington flat furnished in the 60s, I found this film full of... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2008 by William Cohen
Not exactly light viewing, but you finish it believing you've seen...
This incredibly insightful film is far more than a character study, although it is an extremely compelling, frighteningly realistic looking character study. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2008 by Lou Knee
Not really 'Horror' IMO, but good nonetheless. Bats.
I didn't find this very frightening and I don't think it's typical horror fare, but I did enjoy it. I found it sucks you in quite well. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2008 by Pallus the Phallus
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