Customer Reviews

Haunted Summer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best films I have ever seen, and one few films I would love to own a copy of. I was amazed by the depth of these characters and the actors skill in portraying them. Frankly I was inspired and wanted to learn more. The very next day I went to the library and began to research information about Byron, Percy and Mary. After learning more about these poeple I felt that the director did a excellent job in capturing their true essence. Exposure to their lives and work has helped to improve my own. In the years following my first exposure to this film I have found it increasingly difficult to locate. If I could only find this in DVD my life would be complete and I would live happily ever after.

The story of how Mary Shelley came to write Frankenstein is, in my humble opinion, so much better than the book she wrote. And the only reason I say this is because what we see in Haunted Summer is true, and this kind of truth always makes for great entertainment for the artist and romantic among us.This movie has only one serious rival, that being Ken Russell's Gothic, which mixes fiction in with fact. Percy Shelley and Lord Byron are among the second generation of English Romantic poets, and their meeting in Switzerland in 1816 leads to many stormy nights in Byron's house, where Shelley, Byron, Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont and Dr. John Polidori experiment with free love, drugs and ghost stories, all eventually leading Polidori to write The Vampyre (the most popular undead story before Dracula) and Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein. If you enjoy studying English Romanticism, then you must see this movie. I give this movie four stars, and would give it five had Byron's suggestion that they each write a ghost story not been missing.

You can just feel the creativity spark and sizzle in this movie. It's the summer of 1816, and authors Lord Byron, Mary Godwin (later to be Mary Shelley) and Percy Shelley escape repressive England for Lake Geneva. That part is historically accurate, although how much of the rest is true, who knows? They have many discussions about life and art, use drugs medicinally and non-medicinally, cavort in the bedrooms, get frightened by a storm, and play mind games on each other. All this adds up to an ecstasy for creation, with a realization of the dark side of man's urge to control the natural world. Alice Krige is excellent, passionate and thoughtful as Mary Godwin, who got her inspiration for Frankenstein that summer. Her parents were early feminists and she definitely doesn't simper or believe herself inferior to the men.

The scenery and costumes are all glorious and the other leads are good, including Eric Stoltz as Shelley, and Laura Dern as Byron's lover.

...P>I also loved how uninhibited these people were. They have many of the values that many in our society have today, but they lived almost 200 years ago. They loved to push the limits of mans ability to experience life, all in the service of their art. I wouldn't want to live the way they did, but I'm glad they did, so they could report back to us in their poetry and stories what the "other side" is like. Our culture wouldn't be what it is today without the Romantic visionaries of the 19th century.

"Haunted Summer" is one of those films that fell through the cracks & sadly was overlooked by most viewers. Being intrigued by the story's premise after seeing Ken Russell's similar film "Gothic" (which is also a wild ride to see in it's own right), I gave it a shot at the video store. Although I enjoyed it then, it only got better with repeated viewings. Each viewing invites thoughts of what the real life meeting between these characters of Lord Byron, Percy & Mary Shelley, Dr. Polidori & Claire Clairmont must have really been like. I think I most enjoyed it's quiet peaceful moments, most notably the serene boat ride the main characters take while Laura Dern's character Claire sings her lovely song. Also of note is the appropriately haunting & incredibly beautiful score by Christopher Young. This amazing soundtrack is also sadly out of print at the moment. Hopefully this hypnotic film will be released one day soon on DVD for all to experience & enjoy. Anyone interested in this subject matter can also check out the film "Rowing With The Wind" (with Hugh Grant & Elizabeth Hurley) which is yet another take on this storyline. All 3 films ("Haunted Summer", "Gothic" & "Rowing With The Wind") have points of interest for anyone exploring the subject matter, but sadly "Haunted Summer" which is the loveliest, is not yet available on DVD.

VOTE FOR IT'S RELEASE ON DVD! Go to tcm.com, search for "Haunted Summer" & then click the "vote" button to vote to get this classic finally released on DVD!

I discovered this wonderful little film during my period of indentured servitude at Sound Warehouse and it looks like I should have stolen it while I had the chance. I have been combing the planet for the past 10 years looking for a copy of this movie. (OK, so I was only casually looking for the first five, but my fervor was fuelled every time I walked away empty-handed.) It's good to see that I am not alone in my love for this film. (Most people I mention it to have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. I was starting to think I'd imagined it.) Haunted Summer is writen with all the poetry its main characters command, with superb fledgeling performances from Eric Stoltz and Laura Dern. (I apologize for being unable to recall the names of the other two main actors, or Keanu's "Bill and Ted" counterpart, but all put on a great show.) If you can find it at a video store, rent it - it is so worth your 2 hours.....just make sure you remember to bring it back...

I first saw this film shortly after it was released on VHS. About 10 years later, I began using it in teaching a college British literature survey course. It is an historically accurate portrayal of the summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Byron at his Swiss chateau. During that summer, the three writers undertook a challenge to write a horror story. Only Mary Shelley completed the work of horror, resulting in Frankenstein, the first science fiction novel ever written.

The film is brilliantly acted in a breathtaking setting. But it is the dialogue that makes the film so useful in literature classes. The conversations represent some of the issues confronted after the French Revolution and the dawn of the Age of Enlightment changed the structure of government and the essence of thought for all time. Furthermore, it accurately depicts Percy Shelley's optimism and Byron's pessimism about the nature of man and the possibility of eradicating evil. It also explores the discussion of scientists' responsibility for the knowledge they uncover, a discussion that Mary Shelley reflects in her novel when Frankenstein flees after discovering that his creature is alive and leaves the creature free to escape the laboratory and wreak havoc -- an irresponsible scientific reaction that no film version, not even Brannaugh's, has accurately depicted.

But the film is much more than a series of pedantic discussions. It is generously and accurately spiced with free love and drug use, both of which Byron and the Shelleys endorsed. In fact, one of the reasons it is useful in teaching college lit courses is that it shows students that the British Romantics were not old, stuffy men but were the Jm Morrisons of their time.

Entertaining and historically and intellectually accurate, Haunted Summer is an excellent film for both film buffs and literature students. It's too bad it was never released on DVD.

Deborah M. Okey

Haunted Summer is a movie about the summer of 1816, when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. It is the story of a few months in the lives of Percy Shelley, George Gordon, Lord Byron, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Claire Clairemont, and Dr. John William Polidori. Byron gives all the members of the household a challenge. They must write a ghost story. Polidori wrote The Vampyre (not Bram Stoker) and Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. The movie shows us the relationship between all these people. Shelley believes in free love, as do the sisters with whom he has eloped, Mary and Claire. the poetry teacher that showed me this movie wanted to leave me with something, she certainly has. I have come to agree with this philosophy and embrace it as my own. Watch the movie.

Haunted Summer is an amazingly obscure film given that it was so well filmed and acted. All four of the leading roles are spot on with historical knowledge and these actors show a true brilliance which allows the viewer to fall right into the summer of 1816. I can't help but ponder the similarities between the lives of many English romantic poets and the hippie culture of the late 1960's. This film is a true gem for many reasons, entertaining and far superior to "Gothic" which was fictional and dark. Someday we may all have the ability to own Haunted Summer on DVD, let's pray.

The film "Haunted Summer" was one of the few films I have viewed that portrayed Byron and Shelley as young men struggling to make sense of the world rather than middle-aged one-dimensional poetic zombies. Age makes all the difference, for age is an excuse for the results of our flaws, inexperience. The actor who played Shelley earned his character sympathy for his "inappropriate" behaviors by showing naivety combined with a sweet gentleness. His respect and kindness to the two young women gave an aspact of sincerety for his strange lifestyle. The actor who played Byron on the other hand was not exactly what I would consider as Byronic. He acted well and his voice was commanding, but his eyes revealed a man who is innately sinerster rather than a victim of poor childhood, which I believed the movie tried to portray. The actress who played Mary did an excellent job and gave her a quiet dignity and intellegence, which also benifited her poetic friends, for only such a "sane" lady as herself would be in the company of eccentric genuises rather than lunitics. Claire was very fun to view, she gave a comedic feel, but I would have chosen an actress who was obviously younger than the others, such as the actor who played Polidori. Yes, the envious Dr. Polidori was played by not only a young man, but a man obviously younger than the rest. The other movies I have seen often casts an older man to play the youthful real life doctor. The directing and camera shots were excellent, especially during the redundent scenes (kissing in bed) and the wonderfully light, gentle, and airy music accompanied the film brilliantly.
The only problem I had with the film was the excessive emphasis on drug use. The whole story revolved around smoking opium and the viewers may have not been aware that there was a revolution going on at the time. I did love the ending with the Shelley character quoting the sweet poetry that sums up the entire meaning of the movie.
This film is not for everyone, but if you are a fan of these romantic poets, then you will be pleased with this interpretation. But if you know nothing of these poets, I advice you to go read a authentic biography to supplement this film.

A friend recommended this film to me in the beginning of my college years - years I am still weathering. I have rented it many times, and have recently purchased it.

The pacing left a little to be desired, and while the film dances a little too closely at times to that line of young actors pretending to be famous writers from centuries ago, the film is, in the end, worthwhile and genuine.

The scene where they are in the boat and listening to the hills is exquisite. And the singing of Lasso's 'Mon Coeur Se Recommande A Vous' is as tender as anything I've ever seen or heard. Setting us up perfectly for the poetic ending - a poem of Shelley's and the distant cry of a sea bird. I cried as deeply in those last few moments as I did at the end of 'Dead Man Walking' and the first time I saw 'Titanic.'

Too close to being a film student's first film out of school, but obviously made with care and a gentle heart. Being the critic while watching it might hinder the viewing experience. Just listen and love the first time you see it.