Based on the novel The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson, Lifeforce is the story of space crew who find a spaceship inside Haley’s Comet where they unleash a trio of space vampires on the streets of London. Directed by Tobe Hooper and screenplay by Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby, the film is sci-fi horror film that explores the mysteries of the universe and what happens when humans come in contact with alien vampires. Starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. Lifeforce is a dazzling and enthralling film from Tobe Hooper.
A joint American-British space crew find a mysterious ship inside Haley’s Comet as they bring in a monster plus three living bodies inside a case home unaware of what they unleash as one of them in a young woman (Mathilda May) has caused mayhem around London. It’s a film that is a sci-fi horror film of sorts where space vampires have been unleashed as Scotland Yard has to find and stop them with the help of a surviving astronaut from that mission as well as a British colonel and a scientist. The film’s screenplay by Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby, with additional work from Michael Armstrong and Olaf Pooley, showcases what the American space commander Col. Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback) found as well as the mind connection he had with the vampire girl he fell for in space. With the aid of Col. Colin Caine (Peter Firth) and Dr. Hans Fallada (Frank Finlay), Col. Carlsen do whatever to find the woman but also deal with the two other vampires who had been captured but also learn exactly what they’re dealing with.
What the vampires are doing is taking away the essence of humanity in their need to survive instead of blood as they can also possess people to live. Adding to the stakes is that Col. Carlsen is infatuated with the girl as he has trouble trying to do his duty while revealing some truths about what happened in his space shuttle where his entire crew were killed by the vampires. The script also has this unique narrative that uses some flashbacks from Col. Carlsen’s perspective but also moments that has him seeing what the girl is doing. Even as his attempts to free himself from her would have some dire consequences as it relates to events in the third act.
Tobe Hooper’s direction is definitely grand from the scenes set inside the spaceship as the usage of the wide shots help play to the large scales of the scenes in space as well as what Col. Caine and his crew would discover. While much of the film is shot on location in London and other parts of England, Hooper does maintain something is grounded but also has an air of mysticism as it relates to the space vampires. The usage of the medium shots and close-ups help play into the way characters interact as well as some of the chilling moments in the film where the girl would wake up and create chaos while walking around naked. There is a bit of humor considering that the guards who are wanting to go after the girl are a bit excited considering that she is naked but are unaware of what she is capable of.
Hooper also create these moments that do play into a sense of terror where Col. Carlsen tries to find the girl in a body she has possessed as it leads to this chaotic third act where London is in a state of panic as the people are being plagued as zombies of sorts. The direction has Hooper going all out in terms of what is happening as well as creating moments that are gory but not overtly as it’s more about that air of mysticism. Especially in what Col. Carlsen has to do to save London and the world in general with the aid of Col. Caine who would fight one of the male vampires who would wreak havoc all over London. Overall, Hooper creates an exhilarating and compelling film about humans fighting space vampires on Earth.
Cinematographer Alan Hume does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from some of the interiors set in the shuttle as well as in the science building along with some unique lighting for some of the exterior scenes set at night as well as the few set in the day. Editor John Grover does amazing work with the editing with its usage of dissolves to play with some of the flashbacks as well as other stylish cuts to help create some of the rhythm in the suspense and horror. Production designer John Graysmark, with set decorators Denise Exshaw and Simon Wakefield along with art directors Robert Cartwright, Terry Knight, Tony Reading, and Alan Tomkin, does brilliant work with the look of the interior of the mysterious spaceship as well as the building interiors including the setting of the film‘s climax. Costume designer Carin Hooper does terrific work with the costumes from the clothes that many of the men wear as well as the uniforms.
Prosthetic makeup effects creator Sue Higgins does fantastic work with the look of the vampires in their decayed states as well as the humans who become infected by the vampires during the plague in the third act. The special visual effects work of John Dykstra is superb for the way some of the visuals look for some of the scenes set in space as well as the way some of the mystical moments look for the scenes in the third act. Sound designer Vernon Messenger does nice work with the sound in creating some sound effects for the moments involving the vampires taking the energies of others as well as other moments that play into the suspense. The film’s music by Henry Mancini is great as it has these amazing orchestral flourishes with the string arrangements that play into suspense and terror as it‘s one of Mancini‘s more underrated scores.
The casting by Maude Spector and Ann Stanborough is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Chris Jagger and Bill Malin as the two male vampires, Nancy Paul as a nurse the girl had possessed, Sidney Kean as a guard who tried to kill the two male vampires, and Nicholas Ball as a middle-aged astronaut who was part of Col. Carlsen’s crew that got sick early due to the first encounter with the vampires. Aubrey Morris is terrific as Sir Percy Helestine as a royal official who tries to help Col. Caine in making sure none of these events go public. Michael Gothard is superb as Dr. Bukovsky as a scientist who would have an encounter with the female vampire as he becomes aware of her powers as he helps the men of Scotland Yard. Patrick Stewart is excellent as Dr. Armstrong as an asylum doctor who has been possessed by the girl as he tries to maintain his own self despite being possessed. Frank Finlay is brilliant as Dr. Hans Fallada as scientist with an interest in vampires and mortality as he would also find a way to kill one of the vampires for good.
Mathilda May is fantastic as the girl who is this space vampire that often appears in the film naked as she is this unique presence that is just fun to watch while not saying much in the film which makes her more interesting. Peter Firth is amazing as Col. Colin Caine as a British special Air Force officer who helps Col. Carlsen in finding the alien as well as try to make sense of everything as he would also deal with zombies and vampires roaming around London. Finally, there’s Steve Railsback in a marvelous performance as Col. Tom Carlsen as this American astronaut who survives the mission as he copes with the guilt over the loss of his crew as well as being in love with the vampire where he has a psychic connection with.
Lifeforce is a sensational film from Tobe Hooper. Featuring a great cast, amazing visuals, a bombastic score from Henry Mancini, and a crafty premise. The film is definitely a sci-fi horror film that manages to be interesting as well as create something that is scary and provocative. In the end, Lifeforce is a phenomenal film from Tobe Hooper.
Tobe Hooper Films: (Eggshells) - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - (Eaten Alive) - (Salem’s Lot) - (The Funhouse) - (Poltergeist) - (Invaders from Mars) - (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) - (Spontaneous Combustion) - (I’m Dangerous Tonight) - (Night Terrors) - Body Bags - (The Mangler) - (The Apartment Complex) - (Crocodile (2000 film)) - (Toolbox Murders) - (Mortuary) - (Djinn)
© thevoid99 2016
Based on Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Tess is the story of a young peasant girl who learns that she might be connected to an aristocratic family in the hopes of inheriting some of their fortune only to endure humiliation and betrayal. Directed by Roman Polanski and screenplay by Polanski, Gerard Bach, and John Brownjohn, the film is an exploration into the world of a young woman who copes with all sorts of challenges as she tries to see if she can get a better life as the titular character is played by Nastassja Kinski. Also starring Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson, John Collin, Rosemary Martin, and Richard Pearson. Tess is a ravishing yet evocative film from Roman Polanski.
Set in the 19th Century in Britain, the film explores a young woman who learns that her family might actually be related to an aristocratic family where her attempts to get the family fortune would have in ruins as she succumbs to shame and despair despite being cared and adored by a preacher’s son. It’s a film that plays into a woman who would go through many trials and tribulations as she copes with being raped by a man who claims to be her cousin and then carry that shame with her as she tries to move on with her life. All of which plays into the name she believed that belongs to her and her family only to be ruined in many ways all because of that cursed named.
The film’s screenplay has a unique yet complex structure as it plays into Tess’ journey from innocence to ruin. The first act revolves around Tess’ meeting with the d’Urberville family that is led by Alec d’Urberville (Leigh Lawson) as she arrives to confirm rumors that her family surname might actually be d’Urberville after her father (John Collin) runs into a parson (Tony Church) who called him Sir d’Urberville setting up the chain of events. Tess is someone that comes from a simple world as she is also very strong-willed as she isn’t really interested in inheriting a fortune but rather help out her family. When Alec takes a personal interest in Tess, Tess is bewildered as the encounter ends up being one of humiliation and shame as it’s followed by tragic circumstances which would force her to leave her family.
Upon taking a job as a milkmaid for a farm, Tess would meet an idealistic preacher’s son named Angel Clare (Peter Firth) whom she had previously encountered very early in the film from afar. It is there that the film’s second act begins where Tess finds not just hope and happiness in Angel but also a life that feels much more familiar than the one before the encounter with Alec. Yet, she is haunted by her time with Alec as she wants to tell Angel her past where it would later cause many problems where the film’s third act is about Tess devolving into a state of ruin and despair as she refuses Alec’s help while being estranged from Angel who would eventually make his own return. All of which plays into exactly what Tess wants but also in how far deep she has gone into a state of unhappiness all because of the name she thought was supposed to be hers and her family.
Roman Polanski’s direction is truly intoxicating in not just the way he creates something that feels like a moment in time where things were much simpler. It’s also in how he is able to make a story about a woman’s shame and the troubles that she would go through into something that feels quite modern. Much of the film is shot on location in France through many of its different countryside locations to play as Britain during the Victorian era. Polanski’s use of soft lenses, wide shots, medium shots, and close-ups are key to the film’s first act where it feels warm and rapturous in its look as it plays to the life that Tess could have as well as a life with Angel that is very simple. Yet, there’s many constraints about what is expected for women that would play into the film’s second half where Tess is still coping with the sense of shame over her encounter with Alec.
There is a looseness to the way the camera acts for scenes shot on carriages or in the rain as it becomes much tighter in its second half. The look itself is also very bleak where it plays into Tess own state of despair. The camera isn’t as shaky in some parts while the compositions are much broader to showcase how detached Tess is with herself and the help that she needed as it sort of plays into how stubborn she is. Even as she would reluctantly meet Alec in its third act as it plays into what she needs but also in what her family needs in the wake of everything they’ve been through. The film’s ending which also involves Angel plays into not just Tess’ desire for happiness but also all of the trouble she had encounter all because of the d’Urberville name as well as the role that is expected for women in those times. Overall, Polanski creates a very mesmerizing yet harrowing film about a woman’s troubled journey over a family name that she was connected with.
Cinematographers Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet do incredible work with the film‘s very gorgeous and ravishing cinematography where Unsworth‘s work is spent on much of the film‘s exterior scenes in the fields to play into its beauty as well as the scenes at the d‘Urberville estate while Cloquet goes for more low-key looks and natural settings for much of the film‘s interiors as well as the exterior scenes in the film‘s second half as the photography of Unsworth and Cloquet is a major highlight of the film. Editors Alistair McIntyre and Tom Priestley do excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward in some parts while creating some unique jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts to play into the drama as well as some of the intense moments in the film. Production designer Pierre Guffoy and art director Jack Stephens do amazing work with the look of the d’Urberville estate and its other features as well as the look of the places that Tess and Angel would encounter including the house where they would spend their wedding night.
Costume designer Anthony Powell does brilliant work with the dresses that Tess would wear in her journey from the simple yet plain dresses early in the film to something more lavish as it progresses with elements of wear and tear to play into her despair. Sound editors Herve de Luze and Peter Horrocks do superb work with the sound to capture the sparse textures in the way the carriage sounds as well as some key moments into the machines that are emerging during those times. The film’s music by Philippe Sarde is fantastic for its lush, orchestral score that plays into the many emotions that Tess would go through in her journey as it has elements of somber strings and woodwinds to help create a sense of emotion throughout the film.
The casting of Mary Sewell is great as it features some notable small roles from Suzanna Hamilton as a milkmaid who pines for Angel, Tony Church as the parson who would inform Tess’ father of his namesake, Sylvia Coleridge as Alec’s mother, Arielle Dombasle as Sunday school teacher that Angel knew, Caroline Embling as another milkmaid Tess meets in Retty, David Markham and Pascale de Boysson as Angel’s parents, and Richard Pearson as a local vicar who tried to help out Tess following a tragic event but is constrained by his own laws. Rosemary Martin and John Collin are excellent as Tess’ parents with Martin as the more sensible mother and Collin as the father who is desperate to gain something from the family he’s related to.
Leigh Lawson is brilliant as Alec d’Urberville as a man who lives a privileged life despite not really owning up to everything he has as he tries to take control of Tess and buy her off as well as her family as he represents a symbol of capitalism and entitlement that Tess despises. Peter Firth is amazing as Angel Clare as a preacher’s son who is fascinated by Tess as he falls for her while later coping with her past as he tries to erase it only to go into his own foolish journey which would lead him back to Tess. Finally, there’s Nastassja Kinski in a remarkable performance as the titular character as a young peasant girl who would endure an incredible journey of growth and awareness about herself and the world as it’s truly intoxicating to watch as it’s a real breakthrough performance for Kinski.
Tess is an exquisitely glorious film from Roman Polanski that features a radiant performance from Nastassja Kinski. The film is definitely one of Polanski’s finest films in the way he explores morals and destinies as it relates to a young woman in the 19th Century as she is constrained by them. Armed with a great ensemble cast, gorgeous photography, sublime music, and all sorts of amazing technical work. The film is truly one of the finest and most compelling films about a woman who deals with rules and what is expected of her as she is shamed into ruin. In the end, Tess is a magnificent film from Roman Polanski.
Roman Polanski Films: Knife in the Water - Repulsion - Cul-de-Sac - The Fearless Vampire Killers - Rosemary's Baby - Macbeth (1971) - (What?) - Chinatown - The Tenant - (Pirates) - Frantic - Bitter Moon - Death and the Maiden - The Ninth Gate - The Pianist - Oliver Twist (2005 film) - The Ghost Writer - Carnage - (Venus in Fur) - (Based on a True Story) - (An Officer and a Spy) - (The Palace)
© thevoid99 2015
