Peeping Tom (1960) 7.8
A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror. Director:Michael Powell |
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Peeping Tom (1960) 7.8
A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror. Director:Michael Powell |
|
Watch Trailer 0Share... |
Complete credited cast: | |||
Karlheinz Böhm | ... |
Mark Lewis
(as Carl Boehm)
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Moira Shearer | ... |
Vivian
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Anna Massey | ... | ||
Maxine Audley | ... | ||
Brenda Bruce | ... |
Dora
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Miles Malleson | ... |
Elderly Gentleman Customer
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Esmond Knight | ... |
Arthur Baden
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Martin Miller | ... |
Dr. Rosen
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Michael Goodliffe | ... |
Don Jarvis
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Jack Watson | ... |
Chief Insp. Gregg
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Shirley Anne Field | ... |
Pauline Shields
(as Shirley Ann Field)
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Pamela Green | ... |
Mark Lewis, works as a focus puller in a British film studio. On his off hours, he supplies a local porno shop with cheesecake photos and also dabbles in filmmaking. A lonely, unfriendly, sexually repressed fellow, Mark is obsessed with the effects of fear and how they are registered on the face and behavior of the frightened. This obsession dates from the time when, as a child, he served as the subject of some cold-blooded experiments in the psychology of terror conducted by his own scientist father. As a grown man, Mark becomes a compulsive murderer who kills women and records their contorted features and dying gasps on film. His ongoing project is a documentary on fear. With 16mm camera in hand, he accompanies a prostitute to her room and stabs her with a blade concealed in his tripod, all the while photographing her contorted face in the throes of terror and death. Alone in his room, he surrounds himself with the sights and sounds of terror: taped screams, black-and-white "home ... Written by alfiehitchie
It's difficult to imagine the effect that this film had on critics and audiences when first shown as in the 90's we have become desensitized by the violence and cruelty of slasher movies.
Yet even today this film is deeply disturbing. The lead character is portrayed in a sympathetic light, thanks to a stunning performance from Carl Boem. He is a victim of a cruel and abusive father, desperate to escape the curse that has been handed down to him. There are some memorable scenes: the home movie showing him and his father (played by Michael Powell and his own son), the shot of the beautiful model turning round and showing her hare lip and the projection of one of the murders to the blind mother, with part of the frame projecting onto the murderer.
This is a deeply unnerving film but brilliantly made. Go see.