Customer Reviews

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's amazing how poor, alcoholic, destitute Poe could write about Paris in 1889. The fog made it appear eerily like London. Perhaps he lived in Paris, the beautiful City of Love, before ending up as he did in Baltimore (America).

Young Val Kilmer played the understated Philippe who has fallen in love with Claire but tries to prove that her fiance is innocent of the murders. As he and her detective father discover who (or what) the murderer is, he uncovers the truth about Claire's fiance (also engaged to other wealthy women). Alas and alack.

George C. Scott does a commendable job as the French retired police detective who comes alive again. Sometimes, you might imagine that he is the one! The ending has a twist which is so Edgar Allen Poe, it surprises the viewer just the same. And I've been a fan of Poe's 'Ligeia' since 1960.

Rebecca DeMornay was perfect as Claire. The way the murderer is trapped makes you wonder if it could possibly be a cover up for the real one. With Poe, who knows?

Edgar Allan Poe's classic detective story has been filmed so many times that the identity of the murderer is known before you watch the film. So the key ingredient in a successful translation of this story is how well it is presented. Unfortunately, this made for TV production is so methodically dull, no suspense can be generated, and the final scenes become unintentionally hilarious. Directed with little imagination by NIGHT GALLERY stalwart Jeannot Szwarc, MURDERS offers us George C. Scott in a painfully inept performance as the disgraced detective; a young Val Kilmer strutting his stuff in a completely useless role; and Rebecca DeMornay as Scott's level-headed and spirited daughter. Emmy winner Ian McShane (Deadwood) plays Scott's nemesis, the precept responsible for Scott's disgraceful banishment from the force. The murders are staged haphazardly and the whole production is ultimately embarrassing to all involved. Fans of Poe's story will be disappointed in this lifeless movie.

This movie gave me nightmares many nights after seeing it as a teenager. Yikes! I've never quite figured out why some people like to get scared out of their wits! Some things are so frightening, there is no pleasure to be found in the experience.

When I saw George C. Scott's name my expectations for the movie increased, usually Scott turns in a convincing performance and this was what I expected from him this time too. Although his presence made a contribution to the overall effect, it could not help pull this one out of the fire. There are altogether too many contrived "scary moments" in this one used to influence viewer perceptions and try and create the necessary atmosphere of mystery and suspense.

The characters are all too frequently overdone with exaggerated responses that really go over the top. There are a few good moments but they are more than offset by the larger number of overdone, overacted moments. I watched the entire movie with some interest but found the exceedingly contrived ending to be almost unbearable. I will not say more but heartily recommend watching this movie before you buy it. I do not regret having seen it once but have no desire to see it again.

VERY WELL WRITTEN . I ENJOYED GEORGE SCOTT ACTING AND STORY TELLING. vAL KILMER IS GOOD IN PUTTING ACROSS THE LOVE HE HAS FOR THE DAUGHTER. ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I wasn't really expecting greatness out of this 1986 Made-for-TV adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's classic story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," but I was definitely expecting more than what I got here.

Aside from the title, the character names and the nature of the killer, this "Murder on the Rue Morgue" has very little to do with Poe's story. There is still a double-murder, with one body stuffed up the chimney and another nearly beheaded, but that's about it. With that launching point we have the story of a retired police detective and his daughter getting caught up in the affair when the daughter's fiancé is wrongly accused of the murders, prompting the detective to come out of retirement and, with the help of a young detective-in-training, solve the case and save the day. But further intrigues lie beyond the murders, including a gold-digging man who marries wealthy daughters for their money, hopefully several at the same time.

In this adaptation George C. Scott plays the detective C. Auguste Dupin, which if you have read the stories you will realize how ridiculous a casting choice this was. Poe's Dupin is a young man living on the edge of poverty, contenting himself with mental exercise and other challenges for his intellect. He is an unemotional, dehumanized thinking machine.

Compare this with George C. Scott, who seems to have only one mode of "bellowing old man." And that is exactly what he delivers here. This Dupin is a famous and wealthy professional detective who has retired to look after his daughter, a daughter rich enough to be a target for the fortune-hunter Adolphe Le Bon. Don't get me wrong, when a "bellowing old man" is what is called for, then George C. Scott is the man for the job (The Exorcist 3) but it is hard to see the quiet, brilliant, emotionless and very young man of Poe's stories in Scott's reddening face, broad stomach and white hair.

If you have never read Poe's original, you might have a chance of enjoying this film, but even then bad acting is pretty much the order of the day. Dupin's daughter, Claire, is played by Rebecca De Mornay, who is usually a capable actress but here delivers her lines like she is reading them from a cue card. Another new character, Philipe, is played by Val Kilmer who is normally a fantastic actor but comes off as almost embarrassed to be taking part in something so silly.

One of the worst parts is the very end, when all of the drama and suspense comes to an end and we are treated to one of the most bizarre ape-costumes ever put on film. You can actually see the actor behind the mask, where the eye-holes don't cover properly, and what is supposed to give you fright just elicits giggles.

Thank God the movie was set in Paris, because the dialogue was a travesty. Rebecca De Mornay's character, in particular, spoke in modern idiom, as did Val Kilmer's, occasionally. Coupled with insipid delivery, De Mornay's effort was painfully unconvincing. The quantity of spattered blood was similarly off-putting. Nevertheless, George C. Scott's performance was adequate, and the architectural and period details were convincing.

If you have not seen this movie I want to warn you that C. Dupin is portrayed as an old man who is retired from the police force and has no interest at all in solving mysteries. He doesn't care about anything except playing chess and he is so feeble that he can barely do that. After 40 minutes there is an actual murder and after that you get to watch twenty minutes of his daughter begging him to solve the case. Of course he finally decides to give the case a go and I would like to tell you what happened after that but unfortunately I fell asleep.

I'd seen this movie years ago and liked it, for that time, so....imagine my delight when I found the DVD in a discount bin! Thinking I'd found a treasure, I scooped it up and couldn't wait to get home to view it. After doing so, I was disappointed. If I hadn't read the book, I'd never had known it was set in Paris. No one even tried to "be French."

On the technical side, the DVD's sound is poor.

For what it is, it's ok, but I recommend sticking with the book. After all, you can never really improve on the original...

If anything one must consider this film to be easily the most faithful of the several adaptions of the Poe story, Murders in the Rue Morgue". It may also be the least exciting and most lethargic.

Auguste Dupin(George C.Scott), once France's most celebrated detective, is now retired and bitter. Mysterious murders are being comitted however that the police cannot solve and Dupin eventually is persuaded by his daughter(Rebecca De Mornay) and young protege(Val Kilmer) to investigate the case.

The acting is all very good in this picture. Scott takes top honors, of course, bringing a level of conviction and humor to the role of the detective and he easily gains the audience's sympathy rather effortlessly. Scott had scored in two excellent supernatural films that decade already. Those being "The Changeling(1980)" and "A Christmas Carol(1984)".
He is equally good here as well.

The rest of the cast are adequate. Mornay is appropiately pretty and strong-willed as the daughter of Scott's character and comes off as quite likeable. Kilmer is hardly engaging, but he fills the role nicely and plays it accordingly. The supporting cast also create interesting characters that go well with the realistic sets and locations that are utilized which really gives a feel for the time, that being 1899.

This film however suffers from an almost complete lack of atmosphere. It's rather glaring especially in comparsion to the far more flamboyant 1932 film directed by Robert Florey and starring Bela Lugosi, where Paris was depicted as an expressionist nightmare. Here, outside of a nice opening shot, the film fails to convey nearly as much menace and like in Poe's story, the final reveal of the killer's true identity is both ludicrous and bizarre.

Considering this film can be purchased on the cheap, it's certainly not the worst buy for the curious Poe/Gothic Horror fan but can only be considered a curio-piece at best.