- Joined: March 2001
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I just watched the Adrian Lyne's film of Lolita for the first time ever last night.
First off, I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
Though I'm likely to draw some flame for this, I have to tell you that in all honestly it is a far superior film to Kubrick's version. While Kubrick made a good film of the novel, Lyne made a great one.
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Anyway, what I am wondering is how the 2 DVDs of this film compare. I picked up the newer Lion's Gate Signature Series version and I guess I just want to make sure I picked the right one. Usually the newer version is of better quality, but it's not always the case.
Has anyone seen both and compared the transfers?
"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
- Joined: December 2000
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Quote:
| Though I'm likely to draw some flame for this, I have to tell you that in all honestly it is a far superior film to Kubrick's version. While Kubrick made a good film of the novel, Lyne made a great one. |
Absolutely.
Stanley Kubrick is probably my favorite filmmaker (after Lars von Trier) and I love every film he's ever made except Lolita. When I first saw it, I was sickened by the fact that it was such a bastardization of Nabokov's brilliant novel. Kubrick seemed to be making some sort of comedy, instead of the lonely tragedy Nabokov wrote.
And I do know Nabokov is the credited screenwriter, but if you read his original script (found in
Vladimir Nabokov: Novels 1955-1962: Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire, Lolita: A Screenplay
) you can see it has almost no resemblance to Kubrick's film.
On later reflection, I realized Kubrick's film is not so terrible, I was just angry that there were so many deviations from the novel. But even considering that, I must still conclude that Lyne's film is a much better dramatic work, perfectly capturing the feel of what some consider the best novel of the twentieth century.
8 Ball gave it a 9:
Yo, Martin and Will are my boys, you know what I\'m saying? They make jokes I understand. The car chase is dope! I give it a 9 but I\'m still 8 Ball.
-user review of Bad Boys II from Metacritic.com
guzzlefish
- Joined: March 2001
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Lyne's film is not without some terrific dark humour as well.
I agree with Rob's point....Kubrick was usually less interested in following the source material to the letter than he was in making the adaptation into his own vision.
However, I've never read the novel, so I am only comparing the two films...with no regard to which one is more faithful to the book.
"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
- Joined: March 2001
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I thought Melanie Griffith was far more effective than Shelly Winters.
Ditto for Irons vs. Mason and Swain vs. Lyon.
The only thing to "miss" in the newer version of Lolita is Peter Sellars. And while his performance in the original film is fun, it's also a bit distracting.
In Lyne's version, Frank Langella, despite having very limited screen time, makes the character of Quilty his own, delivering a terrific performance.
To me, Lyne's film packs much more of an emotional wallop than Kubrick's.
But to each their own. 
"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
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Eric Peterson
- Eric Peterson
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I agree completely with Rain. In my opinion the Lyne version is much better than Kubrick's, but that is probably also due to the time in which it was made. Kubrick had his hands tied by the censorship of the early 60's. I did love Shelly Winter's performance in the original, however it went a bit over the top at times, which I found distracting. My SE of the Lyne version should show up in the mail today, and I can't wait to watch it again.
"Shoot a few scenes out of focus. I want to win the foreign film award."
Billy Wilder
"This business has come a long way in the last 30 years, but why should I depress you"
I.A.L. Diamond on the Movie Business (1986)
I actually think of Lolita as Kubrick's bow to Hitchcock... it just FEELS like a Hitchcock film to me.
