well, it's been a while since i have done one of these posts. not film reviews as such, look you see, but a post dedicated to just one film from the past (rather than the future) which might have slipped through the collective minds of many. and in this instance it's, as the title gives every indication, The Medusa Touch. yes, as in no, this isn't one forgotten by all, but also i wasn't sure if i should classify it as another sort of post like this that i have not gone done for ages; classic.
this is a film i have seen several times over the last forty (!) years. it is one of "those" ones that has a you can watch it again and again feel to it, for some reason which may or may not being within reach of explaining. sure, lots of films have that quality for different people for a variety of reason. yet there are some, oddly usually of a "disaster" nature (see Towering Inferno or Poseidon Adventure or select Airport movies), which have this universal quality.
so, the plot of The Medusa Touch. a writer (played by Richard Burton) is found brutally beaten in his London home, but remains inexplicably alive. whilst he is tended to in hospital a French detective (there for practical reasons of the French co-financing the film) tries to establish who may have done this to him, and why. this investigation leads to the possibility, as absurd as it is plausible, that the victim had remarkable telekinesis powers, used almost exclusively for evil........
a pause is most advantageous here, for it is likely that one of them *** SPOILER WARNING *** things is wise for the rest of it. mostly. should that premise (assuming you've not heard of the film) be enough to generate interest, along with the promise - no matter what you have heard - that Burton is brilliant in this, rather go find and watch the film than read this.
oddly it was so that the first time i watched it turned out to be, as point of fact, technically or kind of the second time. in a rare instance i cannot recall exactly when i watched it the second time (first time proper), or even which side of the equator i was on. at the time i was discovering the true magnificence of Richard Burton, with me probably only have seen the excellent 1984 and the fun Wild Geese with him in. to my knowledge. whilst watching, in this instance mesmerised by it, it dawned on me. many years before (rather than after) we "found" the (actual) video of it at a friends' house, stashed in such a way as to presumably have been hidden by parents. hoping it was a vicious horror or, even better (if we are to be perfectly honest) some erotica (ahem), we sneakily put it on. and fast forwarded a lot and had every sense of boredom and disappointment. judge 10 (or so) year old me as you will.
for me this is one of them class, oddly predominantly 70s classic British films what have an insane level of rewatchability to them. there are two reasons for this. up front, the quite (rather) clever structure of the plot and the events. each and every single event supposedly caused (or created) by the Burton character could just have easily been a chance, co-incidental accident or incident. you just never know for sure, or for real (in the context of the film) if he really has that power, or has been driven insane by quasi quirky premonitions about what was to come. it is the ultimate in being pieced together by an unreliable narrator, for you only have second hand accounts of his testimony.
making all of that work, and then some, is the performance of Richard Burton. a quite lazy thing people do is dismiss just about (very nearly) all of his 70s (and even 80s) work as him accepting jobs purely for the pay (he did have a rather famously lavish lifestyle) and turning up in whatever. oh, sorry. i would also (to throw back to earlier) have been vaguely aware of him from Where Eagles Dare, a film i fondly recall watching on the tele one Christmas with Mum & Dad. but to be fair i would likely have been more interested in the Clint Eastwood element of that one.
now, where was i. oh, yes. i have no doubt Burton did do some "this will do" performances in the 70s, and i believe Exorcist II is such a case, which i have never brought myself to watch. here, in The Medusa Touch, even if it is not lofty, principled, la-de-dah "high art" stuff, he is scintillating. a particular highlight would be the scene showing him in a previous career, as a barrister (or an advocate, or other such lawyer stuff). his soliloquy is truly remarkable, showing off his natural talent, his gift, in effect all that made him one of the most cherished and celebrated actors ever. that scene alone is well worth the effort of watching this film, believe you me.
it was not so that the film was well received on release, apparently. far from it. as in the celebrated, of you will legendary American film critics Siskel and Ebert (or how you spell their names, sorry) both declared it the "worst" of 1978. no, i am not going to single out any films from that year which were worse, but have a look if you will (by clicking here), for as well as some all time classics some right proper sh!t came out then too. fortunately, or happily, it lived on in memory for some. enough, at least, for it to be discovered (and re-discovered) over the decades since it was released.
the fancy tape (blu ray disc) of it was bought on sight when i noticed it at my preferred tape seller down at a local market. just £3, all still sealed too. despite having seen it numerous times i did, oddly, watch it once more on this fancy new disc, either the evening of purchase or the day after. i suppose, then, that this is one of my "favourites", despite a serious lack of nudies or graphic violence. highly likely that i shall watch again, as and when i ever get one again it's perfect lazy sunday watching.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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