Customer Reviews

Diabolique [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Despite criticism that the film is monotonous and boring, I rented the video and was pleasantly surprised. Sharon Stone seems to be getting better every film she does. The chemistry between Stone and Isabelle Adjani is great. Chaz Palminteri is the perfect bad guy and Kathy Bates was a great detective. Listen close, Bates has some of the best lines. I really enjoyed my first viewing. I liked it enough to watch a second and third time!! Big thumbs up to the entire cast for a job well done. I would recommend this movie to anyone.

The only reason I originally went to see this movie was because Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani are two of my favorite actresses. Sharon Stone is at her best when she is playing the bad girl and in the remake of Les Diaboliques she is perfectly cast. I feel that I was somewhat fortunate to see the 1996 version of the movie before the "Don't mess with my classic" crowd poisoned my mind about the remake.

Diablique isn't perfect but the original version had its flaws too(I saw the original after I saw the 1996 remake). For instance, I felt that in both movies that the two schemers went through way too much trouble in trying to manuver poor, fragile-hearted and weak Mia to croak over on a heart attack. Didn't anyone ever hear of the word, "Boo"?

My biggest complaint about Diabolique is that Chechik didn't take more advantage of the sexual tension between Adjani and Stone, which probaly would have made the plot more believable.

This movie totally rocked! I rented it while I was in Florida on vacation. I thought it was very well laid out and acted. I usually don't like Sharon Stone, but in this movie she was great. She and Kathy Bates had the best lines. And her wardrobe was totally to die for. Everything I read about this movie said it sucked, but I think the stupid critics who were supposed to be watching this movie were actually sleeping! I liked it so much I ordered my own copy of it. Diabolique is a definite must-rent, folks!

Hollywood version of the french masterpiece 'Les Diaboliques' is a disaster. Both actors and production are awful, the movie is full of cliches and Chechik tries to save something from the wreckage by a useless bloody end. There is no suspense of psychological tension in it, Clouzot's version was built on a subtle climate of anxiety and terror. Here there is only a bad mixing between buffoons characters (like the female inspector) and sentimental situations that could fit into a Reader's Digest dramatic story. This movie (can we really call it like that ?) is representative of the Hollywood (Holy-money) remake industry trying to make money on classics masterpieces (the remake of Psycho is another example). Don't even waste your time to see it, go directly to the original version of Henri-Georges Clouzot. 'Ce film est un vrai navet !'

Don't listen to those critics who are still so in love with the ancient French version they can't see the merits of this brooding, sexy remake. Yes, the plot has holes (Who shot those crucial photographs?) and a blooper or two (someone who's supposed to be making a U-turn ends up on the same side of the road, heading against traffic). Nonetheless, it's well worth watching for its clever plot, top-rate performers, haunting atmosphere, and most especially the glorious Sharon Stone. She's like a modern day Joan Crawford here: forthright, vampy, alluring, and not to be trifled with!

With an all-star cast including Sharon Stone and Kathy Bates in addition to an increased budget, it would seem that Jeremiah Chechik's 1996 remake of the French classic DIABOLIQUE had all of the right ingredients to make it a success. While it often comes close, the film just slightly misses the mark in the end. DIABOLIQUE finds a wife conspiring with her husband's mistress to kill the man that has wronged them both, but when his body disappears from its watery grave, the two must find a way to absolve themselves of the crime and avoid suspicion. Noticeable cuts and changes have been made to eliminate some of the slower dialog and exposition early on, which have clearly been made to hurry along the pace for an impatient 90's audience. After the expedient set-up, most of the interest and suspense are lost as Chechik puts on the brakes in the second half to make up for the rushed beginning. He finally caps it off with a dramatically over-the-top ending that is way too forceful for the otherwise smooth suspense thriller. Chazz Palminteri is perfectly suited to play the womanizing Dr. Baran with a commanding power and authority, but while Isabelle Adjani offers a strong lead as his anxious wife, Sharon Stone barely squeaks by with a coldly-read performance that only provides a few enjoyable moments. This updates version makes no attempt to mask the film's homosexual undertones, which are unnecessarily overstated in several key sequences. Outside of a few apparent lapses in logic and uneven pacing, DIABOLIQUE holds up as a modernized remake with enough tension and atmosphere to appeal to most thriller fans.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

I had been wanting this movie in my collection for a long time and I was pretty disappointed when at last I was able to procure it from Amazon. It is not the film but its print that leaves a lot to be desired. It,definitely, is NOT AN "A-ONE" print and one tends to see the haziness/lack of contrast in the disk. I will now try to procure this movie from other source as the film is a very good one (good suspense, good thrill, good stuff altogether)and I want it in my own personal library. This product, however, -- NO VALUE FOR MONEY.

I think people judge this movie too harshly. What? Did people actually expect a remake to outshine the original? If so shame on you. That being said, I thought this remake was done quite well. The cast played their parts well, Stone, Adajani, and Bates were in top notch. These ladies individual and unique were strong in their rolls. I was really impressed with the acting over all. Palmentiri totally put the word "prick" to shame. Over all the movie was thrilling and full of tension. I agree that Adajani and Stones relationship could of been pushed more but that aside, the movie was done well. This isn't as great as the classic, though separately I think it was still a good movie.

I have always loved this movie and when I saw it for the price I had to have it. I received it before I expected, in perfect condition. I love this website.

A good film but not as good as the original French version of "Les Diaboliques" by H.G Cluzot