This unadorned biography of playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) charts his bawdy, dangerous relationships. Alfred Molina plays Orton's brutish lover, Kenneth Halliwell, a pathetic figure who becomes horrific and then tragic before the film is over. The hilarity of scenes from such Orton plays as Loot and What the Butler Saw is evenly balanced by the bleakness of the playwright's tormented (and tormenting) off-stage existence, which ended suddenly at age 34 with half a dozen blows to the head from a hammer. Prick Up Your Ears ...
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This unadorned biography of playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) charts his bawdy, dangerous relationships. Alfred Molina plays Orton's brutish lover, Kenneth Halliwell, a pathetic figure who becomes horrific and then tragic before the film is over. The hilarity of scenes from such Orton plays as Loot and What the Butler Saw is evenly balanced by the bleakness of the playwright's tormented (and tormenting) off-stage existence, which ended suddenly at age 34 with half a dozen blows to the head from a hammer. Prick Up Your Ears is based on the book by theater critic John Lahr, who is played in the film by Wallace Shawn. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Seller's Description:
Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Frances Barber, Janet Dale, Julie Walters, Bert Parnaby, Margaret Tyzack,... Very good. Run time: 111. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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New. World-wide shipping, prioritizing customer service. "Small shop" retiree (please read my "About Seller" information). All "new" items, unless otherwise noted, are Factory Fresh/Sealed in Excellent Condition and will be mailed expeditiously.
Alan Bennett, who wrote the delightful play, "The History Boys," later filmed to international success, took a fine biography by John Lahr, "New Yorker" contributor and son of the man who created the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz," and turned it into one of the most astonishingly original biopics in the genre's history. In his introduction to the screenplay, he explains that producers in Hollywood were reluctant to take it on -- it's about the homosexual playwright Joe Orton and his murderously jealous lover -- and when one film company agreed to do it they said they'd have to take out the homosexuality. Bennett refused, and the resulting movie was one of the most in-your-face accounts of a gay man in all film. Especially as played by such an ensemble cast headed by Gary Oldman as Orton, Alfred Molina as Kenneth Halliwell, and the great Vanessa Redgrave as Orton's agent, the movie is a dazzling and disturbing account of a poisonous relationship between an artist and his shadow half. Bennett's screenplay, one of the best I've come across, is a lesson in film writing for anyone interested in the practice. First rate!
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