![The Comfort of Strangers (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91vNQ5NAb0L.jpg)
Adapting the acclaimed novel by Ian McEwan, playwright and screenwriter Harold Pinter lends his trademark unnerving dialogue and air of creeping menace to this spellbinding study of power, control, and the frighteningly thin line between pleasure and pain. Rupert Everett and Natasha Richardson are the prey, a beautiful British couple working on their relationship while on holiday in Venice; Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren are the hunters who draw them into the sinister web of their opulent, old-world palazzo. What plays out is an unsettling, sadomasochistic seduction imbued with an atmosphere of sumptuous dread by the elegantly gliding tracking shots of cinematographer Dante Spinotti, lush score by Angelo Badalamenti, and carefully controlled direction of Paul Schrader, who choreographs a mesmerizing pas de quatre of sustained erotic and emotional tension. DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Dante Spinotti • New interviews with Spinotti, director Paul Schrader, actor Christopher Walken, and editor Bill Pankow • Interviews from 1981 and 2001 with novelist Ian McEwan and actor Natasha Richardson • Trailers • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by critic Maitland McDonagh
J**N
Very well done.
I’ve seen a couple thousand films. That’s a crazy amount of films and time. I work in the film festival industry. I have to watch every festival submission. Most of the submissions are terrible. It’s painful to watch them. Many people think it’s easy to get into a film festival, it is not. I have a trained eye and ear. Everything has to be just right in order for me to OK a film for a festival.That said this particular film is excellent. Trust my judgment and watch it. If you have any problems with sexuality, perversion and or violence this film may not be for you.
A**R
Un film algo controversial.
Bastante oscuro y siniestro. Tiene ese sabor agridulce y toxico que casi nos compromete llegar hasta el final. Christopher Walken hace de su personaje algo para recordar. Hay que verla de principio a fin. La musica de fondo complementa la imagen.
T**Y
HIDDEN GEM
Not what you'd expect to see CHRIS WALKEN in. Or Helen Mirran for that matter. Filmed in Italy.... directed by Paul Schroeder..... definitely puts a dark spin on the story like no other... must see.
B**O
Disappointed
I was let down by this movie, despite its incredible cast and concept. The leading characters make illogical decisions; which frustrated me. I won’t give away anything more because it will spoil the plot. I love Walken and Mirren, they aren’t used enough in this film.
B**S
If you are looking for a film that Insults your intelligence, this is it! I
Great actors, beautiful cinematography in Venice BUT NO real story here. If you enjoy languid travelogues where at the end someones throat is slit so a couple can make love and get off while the victim bleeds out you may want to watch this. The pace of the film is slow and mind numbingly slow. The dialogue is banal and boring. So much wasted talent here. There is no thrill or eroticism to be had. Script could have been written by a disturbed 8th grade boy with a taste for sensationalism. I'm guessing everyone involved had a great vacation in Venice leaving a stinker of a time wasting film for the audience. Check out Poor Things if you want to see a creative, clever intelligent film.
E**.
There is a reason you’ve never heard of this film
Great cast but a waste of time. Absolute waste of time.
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