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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If it aint' broke..., November 5, 2006
This review is from: The Shout [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (DVD)
I first fell in love with this film after watching it on VHS in 1987. I bought my own copy, and the love affair continued. Then, along came the DVD; man, the anticipation!! This film is all about sound, after all; its visceral, psychological and (dare I say it?!) spiritual impact. But what happened?? You guessed it; a cohort of idiots, for their own dumb reasons, had felt obliged to do a REMIX. The result? Watching the (UK) DVD of The Shout is a PROFOUNDLY DIMINSHED EXPERIENCE. This is an awful shame, for The Shout is one of the most classy, measured, inventive, sincere and electrifying fanatsies ever filmed. Its garb is understated and refined; its soul is pure chaos, and the counterpoint works!! The current version available is an insult. Maybe the studio could see its way clear to honouring the original work by offering a worthy DVD transfer??
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tale within a tale, spell within a spell, December 20, 2002
In the opening scene we are introduced to a young student of psychology Tim Curry who is in turn introduced to Alan Bates. The two strike up a conversation while scoring a cricket match and the film is that story told in flashback. O yes the cricket match is taking place on the grounds of a mental institution and whether Alan Bates is a patient or not is not stated. In fact we do not know just who is sane and who is not throughout this "story". Bates tells Curry that each time he tells one of his tales he tells it differently and so from the outset it is admitted that what will be related will be just one telling of a tale that has been told before. Curry is all ears as Bates begins his tale....and so are we. The tale: Bates is a wanderer passing through a village who carefully notices a few things about a certain man before approaching him. That man is played by John Hurt. Bates knows something about Hurt which allows him to slowly intrude himself into Hurts life. Hurt resents the intrusion and his wife played by Susannah York also resents it, at first. The wanderer is at first just invited for lunch but ends up staying at the couples seaside home for an extended period. The couple seem overwhelmed by the man who begins his stay with the couple by also telling them a tale. The tale he tells the couple cannot be revealed for it holds the secret to the entire film but its content casts a mysterious spell over Hurt and York. For Hurt who dabbles in his music lab all day searching for some new kind of sonic sensation the wanderers tale proves more potent than anything Hurt himself can create and thus Hurt retreats within himself, as if creeping back into childhood he sleeps. For York this potency has a tremendous awakening effect. Bates presence and his tale is something that cannot be logically dealt with and thus its tremendously maddening fascination. But is it true? Back to the present: Bates finishes his story and Curry is dumbstruck. It begins to rain. And the thin veneer of civilization that is the cricket match is washed away. The people on the grounds rush for cover. Bates has finished his tale but just to be sure there is no mistaking it for a mere tale he makes his point heard in a way that leaves no mistake as to its verity. If you are not already familiar with Jerzy Skolimowski to my knowledge he has made at least three masterpieces: Deep End, The Shout, & Moonlighting. All three quite different but all three very much worth your while.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bates is captivating, February 25, 2002
To begin with, I'm not certain which movie the previous reviewer was talking about, but it certainly wasn't "The Shout" with Alan Bates. "The Shout" centers upon the actions of a quiet and mysterious traveler, who, after many years in the Australian Outback, arrives in a rural English town and takes temporary housing with a local couple. Told in retrospect from a mental institution, Bates' sophisticated but dark character unravels a tale that seems, at first, to be the musings of a disturbed megalomaniac. However, as we are drawn into his world, we are inclined to wonder if a clear line can be drawn between fantasy and reality. The movie is powerful, yet subtle and weaves an atmosphere of quiet tension.
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