I used to watch this when I was younger. Anyone else seen it? Love it, hate it, middle of the road?
shareI wasn't impressed... but I only watched it once a long time ago. I should watch it again. I bought the DVD out of the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart.
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I absolutely love this film, I've seen it countless times. Though in no way the horror film it was marketed to be, it succeeds on so many other levels- as a romantic fantasy, buddy movie, and social commentary (prejudice, sexism).
Sting is alright as the doc, but there's no depth to the character. Beals looks fabulous, but seems a little stilted and wooden. The real stars are Rappaport and Brown, their relationship seemed genuine. I cry every time I see this movie!!
I gotta tell you, I love this movie. The imagery, the acting, Jen Beals stark naked.
But, at the risk of sounding like a jackass, I can't help but crack up when Rappaport (Rinaldo) falls fromt he cieling and through the bleachers.
>>I gotta tell you, I love this movie. The imagery, the acting, Jen Beals stark naked.<<
Sorry to break it to you but according to the DVD commentary Jen Beals didn't do that scene. Apparently she didn't want to, so they used a stand-in actress/stunt woman which I guess is why you can't see her face when she walks into the room.
THIS MOVIE WAS ACTUALLY TWO -- A TALE OF TWO CITIES -- OR AS PYTHONESQUE WAGS MAY SUGGEST IN THE CASE OF BEAL'S BODY DOUBLE -- A SALE OF TWO TITTIES..... THE DWARF --RINALDO AND VICKTOR -- WAS A SUPERB BUDDY FILM.. THE STING AND BEALS SECTIONS --- A VICTORIAN PERFUME COMMERCIAL GONE HORRIBLY-HORRIBLY WRONG.......
shareI'm so looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes in...it should be coming in this weekend.
Rinaldo's gonna make me cry, I know it!
I love David Rappaport!
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"
i liked the frienship between the two men that never really had a chance in life.
shareI just watched the whole thing on DVD today. For years it used to be on cable countless times but I always joined it in progress.
I was surprised from the credits to see that Quinton Crisp was in it. Too bad his role was very short. By the way, for those that don't know Sting's song "An Englishman in New York" was written about Crisp. Crisp is also in the video. What a thrill that must have been for the poster who had lunch with him.
Despite the title, for me this movie is all about Viktor and Renaldo. I wish there would have been a seperate movie just all about them.
Beals is decent in her role especially when she shows most of her emotions with her eyes at the start of the film. At times she really made me suspend my belief that she was a person really looking at the world and others for the first time.
Sting was terrible but at the time it seemed he was the one who was billed as the "only" big star name in the movie. When he would shout at people it made me laugh because he sounded like he shouts when he's singing. He's always had the rep. of being arrogant and impatient with others so it doesn't surprise me that he may have had Beals in tears at times. (To Sting's credit he was great as the scary yet "hammy" smart ass conman in "Brimstone&Treacle".)
By far David Rappaport was the best actor in the whole movie. Articulate, witty, funny, and heartbreaking all in one. I always thought he was a great actor and an under rated one. Years ago I was watching a TV show that had a dwarf storyline. I think it was Picket Fences but not sure. At the end it said "In memory of our dear friend David Rappaport". I was saddened that he had passed. I assumed it may have been due to a health condition but I see in his bio page that he killed himself!
Clancy Brown is real good too but the Frankenstein monster character here reminds me more of Lenny from "Of Mice and Men" rather than a classic horror character.
I watched this movie over and over when I was a teenager. Always wondering about the end. And so I wrote my own ending which began my writing interest. Which has grown nearly out of control this past year (20+ years later)! I always wondered what Viktor saw in Eva LOL.
shareI agree that David Rappaport is the best actor of this film. I also was very saddened when I read that he ended his own life leaving behind a son.
shareI really loved this film. I was expecting something horrendously cheesy but I thought the film's atmosphere--clearly a tribute to the old Hammer classics--was excellent. More magical than scary.
I thought it was a very sweet love story, and adored the acting from all the leads. The relationship between Reinaldo and Victor was really good and the best part of the story, but Sting and Beals weren't bad either; Sting was good at being an arrogant nobleman and Beals was quite mysterious.
I'm actually very surprised at how low a rating the film has on IMDB. I'd think that at least a 6.5 or 7.0 would be fair enough.
This movie is one of my favorites. Sting did an excellent acting job and Jennifer Beals was absolutely stunning as well as excellent acting! It was made in 1985 and I still watch it.
sharequite enjoyed this film and liked the parallel of the education of Eva and the education of Viktor. They both learn how to be "human" with different teachers. For Eva, there's Baron Charles and for Viktor, there's Rinaldo. The contrast of compassionate teaching in a way that is organic and teaching in order to mold someone into an ideal was incredible to me. How many lives started out like this. I can identify with this film and how human it is.
The acting was great, in my opinion. Sting, David, Jennifer and the gentleman playing Viktor (sorry I can't remember) gave wonderful performances. I hated the character of Charles because Sting played him well as a controlling cad and in contrast, I loved the character of Rinaldo because David played him as a gentle soul who accepted life without bitterness and was willing to share his experiences and teach without judgment. I was drawn into Viktor and Eva's discovries of life. The actors held my interest for this entire film.
If you couldn't tell, I loved it!
Yes...Dragon Wars sucked! and I'm STILL bitter.
Sting was decent, but Clancy Brown and David(RIP) Rapapport were the true standouts in this film.
Beals was basically pretty wallpaper.
I loved this movie! I ordered it from Amazon on DVD!
It's not one of the best movies I've ever seen or anything.. but definitely worth the watch.
Clancy Brown and David Rapapport were amazing in this!! So if you're a fan.. you should really see it!
My only complaint would be that they didn't do much with Frankenstein and Eva.. I really would've loved to see Sting in some rompy sex scene.. but it never happened! There wasn't any chemistry between the 2 of them either!
I have nothing new or insightful to bring to this conversion, but all I can bring is my experience.
I just saw the movie for the FIRST time yesterday, and I must say that it was much better than I expected. I bought the movie, in a discount rack, for $3 dollars. I thought it would be really terrible. You know? The movies that are so bad that they are funny. Trust me, this movie has its share of cheesy moments: Beal's "YOU DIDN'T MAKE ME!" line seems really contrived. But, the movie was actually decent, IMO. I guess its because my expectations were so low to begin with. It definitely doesn't deserve a score below 6.0. I mean, trust me, its not a GREAT MOVIE, but its not THAT bad either. It was worth the $3 dollars I spent on it.
I found it funny that Sting & Beals are shown predominantly on the DVD cover and in the movie's trailers. This is interesting because they are hardly in the movie at all, but this is a good thing because they scenes with them in them are the least interesting.
COME NOT BETWEEN THE DRAGON AND HIS WRATH
"I loved the character of Rinaldo because David played him as a gentle soul who accepted life without bitterness and was willing to share his experiences and teach without judgment."
Couldn't have said it better myself. Rinaldo is my favorite character in this whole movie, and I love David Rappaport.
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"