Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

morrison-dylan-fan Recently picking up the DVD/Blu-Ray of Dracula,I started looking out for other Hammer Horror films. Taking a look to see what was on the Horror section of Netflix UK,I was surprised to spot a lesser-known Hammer title,which led to me cheating death.The plot-Paris 1890:Looking for ways to make life eternal, scientist Georges Bonnet makes the discovery but also finds one catch,that one ingredient for eternal life is the parathyroid glands of a women. Over the next decades,Bonnet kills one women every 10 years and continues to live. Moving to Paris in order to get his next locals, curious locals soon discover that Bonnet has no past. View on the film:Rushed into the movie just days before production due to Peter Cushing suddenly quitting, Anton Diffring (the only one to put on a French accent!) gives a good performance as Bonnet,with Diffring getting an easy feel of the "Hammer Gentlemen" side of Bonnet,and displaying a clear delight in leaping into the wide-eyed madness of the everlasting scientist. Despite pretty much being limited to screaming on the sidelines looking pretty, Hazel Court gives the title a quality touch of beauty as Janine Du Bois,whilst Christopher Lee gives Dr. Pierre Gerrard a considerate edge.Cut onto screens a year before the "Mad Scientist" epic Eyes Without a Face,the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster gets Hammer Horror into first place in some parts,via openly revealing the body parts Bonnet needs to survive. Based on Barré Lyndon's play, Sangster is unable to break from the stage roots,from the dialogue having a dusty atmosphere,to the limited locations draining the movie of any real shots of menace.Finding room for style in the uncompromising stage roots,directing auteur Terence Fisher and cinematographer Jack Asher heat Bonnet's madness up in a blaze of primary colours,where lines of ultra- stylised lime green dash across the screen and get under the ageing skin. Stuck in limited locations,Fisher pushes the movie open with creepy,tightly-held close-ups pulling out the deranged ideas of the man who cheated death

Woodyanders Paris, France in 1890. The ruthless and unscrupulous Dr. Georges Bonnet (well played with chilling conviction by Anton Diffring) has found the secret to living forever by using glands taken from unwilling donors. More honorable colleague Dr. Pierre Gerrard (the always excellent Christopher Lee) suspects that something is amiss with Bonnet and becomes determined to stop him.Director Terence Fisher relates the compelling story at a steady pace, offers a flavorsome evocation of the late 19th century period setting, stages the fiery climax with exciting aplomb, and does a nice job of conjuring up a reasonable amount of misty'n'spooky atmosphere in a few back alley scenes. Jimmy Sangster's smart and literate script addresses interesting issues concerning ethics, moral responsibility, and upsetting the balance of nature. Diffring brings a strong sense of urgency and even a touch of pathos to his juicy lead role, with Bonnet paying a heavy lonely and emotional price for his immortality. Moreover, there are sturdy supporting contributions from Hazel Court as the sweet Janine DuBois, Arnold Marle as the aging and ailing, yet resolutely principled Professor Ludwig Weiss, Delphi Lawrence as the bitter Margo Philippe, and Francis De Wolff as the pesky Inspector Legris. Both Jack Asher's vibrant color cinematography and Richard Rodney Bennett's rousing score are both up to par. While this film does occasionally get bogged down in too much talk, it nonetheless still rates as extremely intelligent and entertaining fright fare just the same.

ferbs54 "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" is a well-put-together Hammer film from 1959 that boasts a dream cast of horror veterans, an intelligent script and high production values. Still, I can almost predict what the film's inevitable detractors will say: that it is overly talky and builds to a climax that is something of a letdown. And while these charges do have a patina of truth to them, the picture's sterling acting from its three leads more than makes up for any deficits. In the picture we meet Georges Bonnet, a doctor in the Paris of 1890, played by German actor Anton Diffring (who had so impressed me recently in his next starring role, in the following year's "Circus of Horrors"). Though seemingly blessed with all that life can offer--including a lucrative practice and the love of society lady Janine Dubois, played by the luscious Hazel Court--in truth, Bonnet is a desperate man. Unless he can coerce surgeon Pierre Gerard (the always dependable Christopher Lee) to operate on him, and take the place of his ailing friend, Dr. Weiss, the life-preserving serum that has been keeping him alive for--HOW long?!?!--will very shortly lose its mojo. In the role of the aged Dr. Weiss, Arnold Marle almost steals the show as Bonnet's patient but increasingly appalled voice of morality and reason, and his terrific thesping is more than adequately matched by those three horror icons. Yes, the film IS talky, but never dull, and Diffring brings a chilling intensity to his role and really makes us feel the angst, isolation and desperate strait of his unique situation. And yes, though the picture ends a tad abruptly and with something of a disappointment in the makeup department, most fans of restrained, levelheaded and intelligent British horror should, I feel, be left happily grinning. In all, another winner from the great House of Hammer.

natewatson Terence Fisher, Jimmy Sangster and Christopher Lee teamed up yet again in this Hammer Films outing. This was a remake of the 1945 movie "The Man in Half Moon Street" and has absolutely nothing to do with "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Hazel Court is also on hand once again. She actually did a topless scene available in much of Europe but was cut from the US and UK prints. Anton Diffring is not at his most effective in this film. This is really only for devotees of Hammer and Christopher Lee - who has a new generation of fans thanks to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy and George Lucas' last 2 Star Wars films.