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1.1 KiB
Plaintext
1 line
1.1 KiB
Plaintext
RICHARD BURTON gets to tear the scenery to pieces as DOCTOR FAUSTUS, directing himself into a frenzy of stylized theatrical acting as though he didn't know the camera would magnify his every over-sized movement.<br /><br />Fortunately, ELIZABETH TAYLOR is only allowed to parade her beauteous face before the close-up cameras without uttering a word. Only toward the end does she have to shriek like a mad woman as Faustus loses his soul to hell.<br /><br />But Burton's histrionics are on display and I doubt whether Charles Laughton or Peter Ustinov ever indulged in such extravagant overacting. His performance is a spectacle in itself.<br /><br />And unfortunately, the other cast members are almost mute by comparison, none of them exhibiting anything more than amateurish acting.<br /><br />The sometimes imaginative staging is pretty to look at, but none of it manages to stir up more than a modicum of interest. It's all done up in garish Technicolor with sets that look as though the low budget was put to efficient use.<br /><br />Summing up: In my humble opinion, a weird sort of bomb, totally lacking any sort of entertainment value. |