Michael Powell's controversial meditation on violence and voyeurism effectively destroyed his career when it was first released, but later generations have come to regard it as a masterpiece. Karl Heinz Boehm stars as Mark, the son of a psychologist who kept a video journal of the boy's upbringing for research purposes. The constant intrusions profoundly affected the boy, who grew up to be a photographer himself; but his principal subject matter consists of women whom he murders before the camera. He then runs the films of ...
Read More
Michael Powell's controversial meditation on violence and voyeurism effectively destroyed his career when it was first released, but later generations have come to regard it as a masterpiece. Karl Heinz Boehm stars as Mark, the son of a psychologist who kept a video journal of the boy's upbringing for research purposes. The constant intrusions profoundly affected the boy, who grew up to be a photographer himself; but his principal subject matter consists of women whom he murders before the camera. He then runs the films of his victims in their final throes so that he can study their reactions to death--a perverse extension of his father's experiments, which tormented Mark to analyze his reactions to raw fear. The British press had long been hostile to the unorthodox films of Powell and his partner Emeric Pressburger; when Peeping Tom came around, they used the film to castigate him as "sick" and tawdry. The passage of time has proven Peeping Tom as profound and accomplished as any of Powell's earlier films, and it ranks with Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958) as a landmark exploration of the links among voyeurism, violence, and male sexual desire. Powell himself plays the evil father in the flashback sequences, and his son Colomba plays Mark as a child. Hal Erickson, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Peeping Tom (the Criterion Collection) [Dvd] to cart. $41.00, like new condition, Sold by Streetlight_Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Cruz, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Criterion.
Add this copy of Peeping Tom to cart. $48.66, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1960 by Anglo-Amalgamated Films.
Add this copy of Peeping Tom (the Criterion Collection) to cart. $190.00, new condition, Sold by M3Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Wilmington, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Criterion.
So much has been written about "Peeping Tom", a 1960 suspense film which essentially cost the director, Michael Powell, his career. The film was damned upon its initial release but has gradually become renowned for its acting and its psychological acumen.
Set in London, the film tells the story of a highly disturbed young man, Mark Lewis, (Carl Boehm) who kills young women as he films them to capture the fear in their eyes. Mark, a loner who works as a cameraman and photographer, lives in a shabby London apartment and gradually begins a possible romantic relationship with a 21 year old woman and budding children's book author, Helen Stephens (Anna Massey). Helen slowly becomes aware of Mark's secret life. Through watching films, Helen learns of Mark's abusive childhood, where his father instilled fear and repressed sexuality in the young boy through use of photography and the camera. The viewer gets to share vicariously in Helen's growing understanding of Mark.
The opening scenes are the most effective in the film. Mark hires a streetwalker and brutally kills her in her room, capturing the scene on his camera. He returns the following day to photograph the police as they remove the body. Mark then reports to a small store where he works part time. An old lecher buys pornographic pictures, which Mark takes in the rooms upstairs. Mark commits two other murders of young women during the film and nearly commits others.
The film follows Mark over the course of several days as the nature of his illness becomes clear. The viewer is gradually drawn in to the film, initially as a voyeur watching Mark with the prostitute. The young man is a monster but also evokes sympathy.
The film is in garish but effective color. The scenes of London street life add a great deal to the movie. The violence and nudity in the 1960 film was toned down slightly for its 1962 release in the United States.
The movie was riveting. I was glad to have the opportunity to see it.
![Peeping Tom [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection] - Michael Powell](https://www2.alibris-static.com/peeping-tom-special-edition-criterion-collection/cover/t04446nz8oa_l.jpg)
![Peeping Tom (the Criterion Collection) [Dvd]](https://www3.alibris-static.com/cover/t04446nz8oa_t.jpg)
![Peeping Tom [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection]](https://www0.alibris-static.com/peeping-tom-special-edition-criterion-collection/cover/t04446nz8oa.jpg)
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.