The reflecting skin streaming video the seattle public. It is not surprising that writerdirector philip ridley has also published books for children, since watching the reflecting skin is a lot like reading a young adult novel, albeit a horrific one. If a terrence malick like film was directed by david lynch, then the unsettling, disbursing, haunting look about dark natures within a childs mind like this would be something like it. Philip ridleys the reflecting skin 1990 cagey films. Reflecting skin i have really come to this conclusion really succeeds and how fantastically it does. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The reflecting skin is not your average vampire movie. The reflecting skin 1990 philip ridleys surreal psychological thriller restored and resurrected on bluray. The reflecting skin is a horror film from 1990 that i first saw a couple of years ago now, and it still regularly pops into my mind at random moments. The obscure 1990 feature takes the prairie gothic aesthetic made famous in paintings by the likes of edward hopper house by the railroad, 1925 and andrew wyeth christinas world, 1948 and renders it into a surreal world where delirium is the inevitable harvest of a place sowed. This film deals with dark psychological territory that some viewers may find disturbing. Presented from a childs strangely warped pointofview, this film should be appreciated by.
Every single person in the reflecting skin seemed to have mental problems or some issues they were dealing with. The reflecting skin streaming video king county library. Philip ridleys atmospheric film made serious waves on the film festival circuit upon release, taking home multiple awards from locarno, stockholm, and sitges. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. He was born july 12, 1917, on the 100th anniversary of henry david thoreaus birth. Seeing the reflecting skin for the first time, the 1990 film by philip ridley, starring viggo mortensen and lindsay duncan, one cant help but wonder how the hell the thing ever got made. Terry gilliam tried with tideland, and he had to step in and attempt to explain the film. The reflecting skin is, by far, the best film i have ever seen. Andrew was the youngest of the five children of illustrator and artist n. Im not even sure if it is a vampire movie, nor am i sure the movie knows what it wants to be. Id previously never even heard of the flick, surely a testament to my lack of knowledge about late century ukcanadian co. The reflecting skin is a 1990 britishcanadian horror film written and directed by philip ridley. Set in a 1950sera american heartland of sprawling wheat fields and lonely old houses, the reflecting skin is british director philip ridleys fascinating and very strange investigation into the horrors of childhood innocence and fantasy. The reflecting skin sometimes terrible things happen quite.
Drama thriller film geregisseerd door philip ridley. Jun 26, 2016 the reflecting skin begins with a scene of startling cruelty, in which three young boys mutilate a bullfrog on the road while a woman from town wanders nearby. Its palate and performances collide in ways that seem unique decades on. The reflecting skin is a pastoral film,but underneath the beauty is genuine menace.
Jun 22, 2007 the reflecting skin 1990 theatrical trailer. Its definitely not to all tastes, and certainly not for people expecting a traditional horror film. The films mixture of gruesome subject matter, morbid sexual perversion. Over on the imdb they listed as the movie of the day a film called the reflecting skin. Reflecting skin is the kind of film a director manages to do perhaps just once during his career. The reflecting skin 1990 directed by philip ridley. The reflecting skin is a film directed by philip ridley with viggo mortensen, lindsay duncan, jeremy cooper, sheila moore, year. He must deal with an abusive mother, a father with a charge of molestation, a band. The reflecting skin as mysterious deaths plague a small prairie town in 1950s idaho, eight yearold seth jeremy cooper comes to believe that dolphin blue lindsay duncan, the reclusive english widow living next door, is a vampire. The reflecting skin 1990 in the 1950s, a young boy living with his troublesome family in rural usa fantasizes that a neighboring widow is actually a vampire, responsible for a number of disappearances in the area. He came closer to succeeding than others, but, oh mercy, this is not a film for everyone.
The reflecting skin skillfully weaves together the threads of childhood innocence, smalltown eeriness, the legacy of war, and romanticgothic dread. Philip ridleys the reflecting skin on film movement blu. Mr turner, this very strange, very surreal coming of age film caused a. The reflecting skin 1990 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The reflecting skin is available on blueraydvd on march 15.
Its narrative or the even point of the film are never entirely clear what it appears to be is a film about the trauma of growing up told in a series of oblique images. Described by its director as a mythical interpretation of childhood, the film weaves elements of vampirism, surrealism, black comedy, symbolism, and religious zealotry. No film has so fully explored the horrific possibilities of this place as the reflecting skin by philip ridley. Nov 28, 2015 in fact, there was a time that the film was going to be called that. Newell convers wyeth and his wife, carolyn bockius wyeth. After his father tells him stories of vampires, he becomes convinced that the widow up the road is a vampire, and tries to find ways of discouraging his brother from seeing her. Philip ridley was inspired to write the screenplay for the reflecting skin after completing a sequence of artworks titled american gothic whilst. The film tells the tale of a little boy amidst the 1950s idaho wheatfields who believes the english widow living nearby is a vampire, with tragic.
In philip ridleys 1990 debut film the reflecting skin, distrust and questioning rule the small town where the imaginative, naive seth dove, played by jeremy cooper the gingerbread man 1998, dangerous crosswinds 2005, lives and plays with his closest friends. Sample the new hd restoration of philip ridleys the reflecting skin with the shocking opening that stunned audiences at the cannes film festival in 1990 and still packs a wallop to this day. Beak 1987 and the universe of dermot finn 1988 these are subtitled in english sdh, like the main film. Set in grassroots america of the 1950s film was shot in canada, story describes how a young boy persecutes and catalyzes the death of a young widow whom he thinks is a. Presented from a childs strangely warped pointofview, this film should be appreciated by anyone looking for films far outside the mainstream. If you like weird movies then this is the movie for you. Growing up in 1950s smalltown idaho, 8yearold seth and his friends play a prank on the town recluse, a mysterious english widow named dolphin blue. After his father tells him stories of vampires, he becomes convinced that the widow up the. There is also a dark sense of humour that runs through the film, starting with the very first scenes that include a prank with a frog. Film movement has released a remastered edition of the reflecting skin. The reflecting skin first 5 minutes out now on bluray. A young boy tries to cope with rural life circa 1950s and his fantasies become a way to interpret events.
The reflecting skin also takes place in a small town. Stephen kings children of the corn film franchise now in its umpteenth sequel of releases straight to video attempts to do what ridley accomplishes here with style and panache. The reflecting skin, a britishcanadian production, was made backtoback with the canuck comedy perfectly normal, which was widely thought to be superior. The reflecting skin 1990 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Overview of reflecting skin, the, 1990, directed by philip ridley, with viggo mortensen, lindsay duncan, jeremy cooper, at turner classic movies. There is almost no way to completely figure out the reflecting skin. I have to say, right after finishing it for the first time, i didnt really like it all that much, but as its continued to fester in the. This article is within the scope of wikiproject horror, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to fictional horror in film, literature and other media on wikipedia. Ill admit, theres a great film in there, and im sure many others see that, but i dont. The reflecting skin, the feature directing debut of the krays scriptwriter philip ridley, is a prime example. Written and directed by philip ridley, whose only previous film experience was writing the screenplay for peter medaks the krays, the reflecting skin unfolds almost entirely from seths pointof. The reflecting skin 1990 posters the movie database tmdb.
Adored by some and criticised by others as an unevenly acted exercise in style over content, its a film that i first caught on its theatrical release and all these years later am still not sure quite how i feel about it. Philip ridley, as both writer and director, made the same attempt with his film the reflecting skin. Image quality is of vhs resolution for the first one, and standard definition for the second. Although some critics were outraged by the film s abnormal situations and morbid characters, among the more prominent admirers of the film was roger ebert, who said it reminded me of blue velvet and the other works of david lynch, but i think its better its not really about america at all, its about nightmares, and im not. The reflecting skin sometimes terrible things happen. The reflecting skin is a striking, unusual film, marking the filmmaking debut for philip ridley, a british playwright, author, and screenwriter. Met viggo mortensen, jeremy cooper en lindsay duncan. It tries to reach the top which is so high, it is almost impossible to succeed or at least succeed more than once in subsequent films. Ac as well as for links to four other essays published at filmmaker. Quite simply, it is the most beautiful 2k restoration i have seen this year. Click here for an interview with the books editor, dr. Why i love frogblood splattered lindsay duncan in the.
Sitting somewhere between the twin influences of malick and lynch, the reflecting skin is a visual wonder, equally as obsessed with the landscape in which its characters reside as it. However, i do recommend you watch this film as it shows how a childs imagination can be extremely overactive, and also, it shows just how cruel the adult world can be. Reflecting on albertas strangest movie, 1990s the reflecting skin back to video. The reflecting skin is a strange, at times wonderful film, one that leaves more questions open than answers. The reflecting skin looks stunning on this bluray release, but its hard. One can lose themselves in ridleys version of 1950s idaho. After his father tells him stories of vampires, seth becomes convinced dolphin is a vampire, stealing the souls of his neighborhood friends one by one. I read some stuff about it on the user comments page, became interested with it so i called around and found a copy of it at of all places blockbuster. Aug 30, 20 lindsay duncan in the reflecting skin, wearing frogs blood there are many reasons to love philip ridleys stunningly beautiful film the reflecting skin, a gothic masterpiece that is often. A celebration of 101 underrated and overlooked fright flicks. Unit 731 fucking children, the whiny cunts, they ruin absolutely everything. The reflecting skin is a 1990 britishcanadian dramatic horror film written and directed by philip ridley and starring jeremy cooper, viggo mortensen and lindsay duncan.
An exquisite british take on american gothic from director philip ridley, the reflecting skin has been notoriously difficult to see in recent years, having been denied an official british dvd release. The reflecting skin is not a film that is easily able to be pigeonholed. Starring viggo mortensen, lindsay duncan, jeremy cooper, sheila moore, duncan fraser, david longworth. The following essay appears in the new horror film anthology, hidden horror. Described by its director as a mythical interpretation of childhood, the film weaves elements of vampirism, surrealism, black comedy, symbolism, and religious zealotry throughout its narrative about the perceptions and. The reflecting skin 1990 letterboxd your life in film. It appears to be a film about the trauma of growing up and more.
When it comes to performances the casting is very good for the reflecting skin, especially jeremy cooper as seth dove. Unfortunately fans of the film have had to put up with a lot of mistreatment over the years. Actually from what i saw i was almost convinced that all characters in the movie except the three boys the movie starts with are crazy or something. Although most people easily label it a psychological horror film, the reflecting skin is not a film that is easily pigeonholed. While david lynch is often off the deep end on the strangeness factor, the reflecting skin has drowned in it. The reflecting skin was released by miramax during its predisney period in the same year they unleashed the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover. A gorgeously scenic yet profoundly grim and disturbing 1990 film that, in direct contrast to most movies of the period, has improved with age. Mar 11, 2016 reflecting on albertas strangest movie, 1990s the reflecting skin back to video. This newly remastered version emphasises the film s beautiful cinematography by oscar nominee dick pope. They illustrate some common thematic elements with the reflecting skin. The reflecting skin downloadable video jefferson county. The reflecting skin not your average vampire movie. Nightmarishly promising, the reflecting skin had the potential to be something truly special in its symbolism and vampirism, but is never truly executed to its full potential.
What director philip ridley did in this case, in a small canadian film that no one saw and even fewer reference today, is build walls around his subjects that played like the confines of an iron maiden, consistently piercing the defenses of those we observe without seeming to give them the space or. The reflecting skin 1990 theatrical trailer youtube. The reflecting skin dvd 1990 shop our classic dvds. Mar 15, 2008 the reflecting skin also takes place in a small town. Watch the reflecting skin 1990 movie trailer instantly, no need to login. But no viewer has direct access to all the decisions and processes that went into the film. Seth does something horrible to a frog and then some really bad things happen to seth,involving a mummified baby,his neighbor a woman named dolphin blueand a pack of teenagers in an ominous black car. Described by its director as a mythical interpretation of childhood, the film weaves elements of vampirism, surrealism, black comedy, symbolism.
If you would like to participate, you can edit one of the articles mentioned below, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and contribute to the general project discussion to talk over new ideas. An instant cult classic when it premiered to sold out screenings at cannes in 1990, the reflecting skin is a darkly humorous, nightmarish vision of the. The reflecting skin is a strange, at times wonderful film, one that leaves more. The reflecting skin is a 1990 britishcanadian dramatic horror film written and directed by. Mar 10, 20 scene from the film the reflecting skin, 1990 director. Two earlier short film of the director are also included.
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