Tödliche Visionen

What can you say about a film in which you can hear the director call "Cut"? This should give one a taste for how the film is put together. The editing is off. The sound is off (notice the foley work that does not match the actions on screen). The work is like a working print, rather than a polished film.

A moderately amusing thriller with a comic edge. The (little known) director often uses distorted camera angles to portray the hero's slow "degeneration into a state of madness" (that's how he describes his condition at one point) and the script is clever enough to keep you guessing and wondering whether Malcolm McDowell (in a great performance that gives class to the production) is simply having "vivid" hallucinations or is driven to insanity by someone else. There are some impressively shot scenes in this movie, but it is marred by an inconclusive ending, which doesn't fully resolve the plot. (**)

I think this movie was totally underrated. Malcolm McDowell's performance as Dr. Russell was brilliant. His personality transition during the course of the movie added a wonderful level of humor. I enjoyed the story line and found that the whole plot wasn't given away too early. To me, the movie was just what I think it was intended to be--light entertainment. Also I felt the Geoffrey Lewis's part as Michael added much to the overall story. He was the "straight man" and pulled of some great deadpan lines. One other bonus is that the movie shows that very fine line between sanity and insanity. I could watch this production a second time and be just as entertained.

I first saw this film a few years ago when I was viewing Dom d Louise's early works, and became interested in other actors who had once had their names written in the stars, but were now little more than B-vehicle and up-staged stars of bad sit-coms.

Malcolm, of course, was one of the first to make the leap from a rather desperate film career to mediocre sit-com, and has since been followed by such lights as: Cybil Shepherd (Cybil), Joan Cusak (Joan), Bette Midler (Bette), and Courtney Cox (Friends).

I hadn't realised this was his first film sporting the future-villain hair-style, but this only adds to the value of my ex-rental copy of the film.

Much has been said of the camera work in this film, as a sort of a chart of a man's descent into madness, but few people mention the shot that, I feel, is the key to the entire film. When one of the patients exposes himself to a nurse, we get a - filmically - rare penis POV. I have never seen such a thing attempted in a movie, and if you add this to the tremendous whirling tracking-shots, you end up with a film that I think proves beyond doubt that Scorsese owes more to Winkler than he dares reveal.

Brilliant, and standing up to multiple viewings, I have seen it several times, and truly covet my copy of this obscure American classic.

BTW, watch out for the genuinely "disturbing" scene, after the closing credits, where Malcolm "interferes" with the camera, raising all sorts of philosophical questions on the nature of madness, the truth of film, and Crossing The Line (on several levels). Once again, Brilliant!

obviously doesn't understand about mind-trip movies. This movie was completely awesome and the suspense and visual mastery of this movie is superb. A 6 thumbs up!!! (me and 2 of my friends.) Watch this movie...watch it lots...