Daniel Keyes
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Kino Lorber Studio Classics is dedicated to bringing you the best of Hollywood’s successes, critical and commercial. All from best available sources, many on DVD or Blu-ray for the very first time.

Product Description

BRAND NEW 2K MASTER! They freed his mind… she captured his heart! From the classic Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon comes this moving and unforgettable adaptation by director Ralph Nelson (Lilies of the Field) and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night). This timeless tearjerker features an Academy Award-winning leading performance by Cliff Robertson (The Devil’s Brigade) and a rousing score by the legendary Ravi Shankar (Gandhi). When a mentally challenged man named Charly (Robertson) undergoes experimental brain surgery, he is miraculously freed from the prison of his own mind. As his IQ soars to genius proportions, Charly's eyes are opened to a world he's never truly seen. But when the effects of his operation inexplicably begin to fade, Charly must find a way to halt his regression... before his own mind destroys his life, his newfound romance and the man he's become. Arthur J. Ornitz (The Boys in the Band) shot this classic drama co-starring Claire Bloom (The Haunting) and Dick Van Patten (Zachariah).

Special Features:
-NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson
-KLSC Trailers

Product details

MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.47 Ounces
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Subtitled
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 43 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ February 5, 2019
Actors ‏ : ‎ Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
Studio ‏ : ‎ KL Studio Classics
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07KLPTWB1
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #110,314 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #958 in Romance (Movies & TV)
- #7,134 in Drama Blu-ray Discs

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4.5 out of 5

352 global ratings

5 star		75%
4 star		14%
3 star		3%
2 star		2%
1 star		6%

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mary serrano

Great flick

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 13, 2022

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Glad to get this movie. Love old classics

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Mad Dog

Dated? Heavy Handed? A Little. But Still A Classic

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2001

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Remember a piece of sentimental dreck called "Powder" (an "uplifting" nineties movie) about a kid who attracted lighting, was a genius, and loved animals? How about that John Travolta flick about a man who has a tumor that makes him smart (another "uplifting" nineties movie)? Naturally both (the characters, not the actors unfortunately) are hounded to tragic (but upliftingly-tragic, not sad-tragic) endings by the mob of intolerant villagers afraid of their "special powers".
Of course that was a few years ago. Now we have the new-age touchy-feely let's-get-spiritual nonsense of "K-Pax" to keep us home on a Friday night. Ah, the evolution of American Film.
Well it's (...) like this, that makes me really appreciate Charly for the gem that it is.
Like any good Welshman, director Ralph Nelson (Lilies Of The Field, Soldier Blue) will never use three words when ten will do. I don't know for sure that he's Welsh (in fact I'm alnost certain he isn't), but he certainly has something to say.
In a nutshell: mentally retarded man gets IQ boosting operation, only to realize the fix isn't permanent.
"Charly" is part of that golden era of "legitimate" Science Fiction: films where ideas and intelligence were still important and dramatization was still taken seriously. It makes a good book-end to "Colossus: The Forbin Project" and "The Andromeda Strain", and it asks if ethical/moral/social responsibility can keep pace with technology (this is something to think about, now that scientists are busy patenting our genes for their own commercial gain).
Daniel Keyes original short story was evolved into a teleplay, then a novel (1966) and then this feature (1968). Keyes had several years and many drafts to get the book right. Nelson and team are not quite as fortunate, but still do an excellent job. Yes, it does on occasion belabor the point, but there are also moments of brilliance: when the newly developed super-intelligent Charly makes his appearance before a auditorium of scientists ("a television in every room") it is both funny and prophetic (and I believe this to be intentional); in one exceptional scene he tells us our destinies (with remarkable accuracy), and sees his own tragedy. He has become a performing mouse, like Algernon running the maze. And his performance won't last for long.
Some complain about the Biker/Disco/Hippy/Sex and Drugs montage. Yes, a tad dated. But Charly is a second grader suddenly thrown into adulthood; he has no way of coping normally so he does the best he can. These sequences might not always work, but they don't fail. They don't hurt the film, they just don't help it as well as they might.
Ralph Nelson has always chosen his feature-films cleverly - he might be a little heavy-handed, but he knows the value of the material and he tries to be faithful to it. Unlike our contemporary efforts (Powder, et al) where the townsfolk are ignorant and evil and the "oddity" is a saint, "Charly" (and Nelson) at least pay lip-service to the moral and ethical ambiguities: is making a stupid man smart always a good thing? At least here there's something to think about.
Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom (she's hot) and the supporting cast all deliver first rate performances. "Charly" was shot Techniscope (2.35) and uses some split-screen sequences that may not reproduce well on pan-and-scan VHS version. Please let there be a DVD soon!
Yes it has it's short-comings, but as a film (and even better as an SF film) "Charly" it s still the equal of Gattaca, Andromeda Strain, or Colossus. In other words, definitely a must see.

11 people found this helpful

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L. N.

Good movie, no extras on the KL bluray

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 5, 2022

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Great movie, wish the blu-ray came with some extras which is why I went with 4 out of 5 stars.

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Terry Teays

Decent movie, great performance by Cliff Robertson

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 5, 2006

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The principal strength of this movie is the acting by Cliff Robertson. This was an exceptionally challenging role, that required a real breadth of acting style to portray the changes that the protagonist went through. The oscar was well deserved. The story moves along well and you feel the pathos of the two main characters. Some of the minor characters are very one-dimensional and not well acted to boot. The movie shows some of the influences of the late sixties when it was produced, but many of the underlying issues such as treatment of the mentally challenged and medical experimentation are still quite current.

The book on which the movie is based, Flowers for Algernon, is a true classic of science fiction and a really memorable book. The movie scriptwriters chose to focus on the relationship between Charlie Gordon and his teacher, and spent less time on the nature of Charlie's intellectual development and what it meant to his life. The book is actually based on an earlier novella that Daniel Keyes wrote that won the Hugo Award. I have always felt that the expansion into novel length did not add anything to the story development and in fact blunted the powerful effect of the novella's roller coaster ride.

In short, I would recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. I would recommend the book even more strongly.

2 people found this helpful

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Nolie

Flowers for Algernon--one of the greatest stories in SciFi

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 17, 2014

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Daniel Keyes created a timeless classic that stirs the heart and mind, and Cliff Robertson made it come to life on screen. I loved the story, book, and movie back in the 1960s and I love them now. Mary Shelley established the concept of science run-amok long before Keyes, but her Frankenstein monster is usually mistaken for the creature, not its creator. Keyes establishes a clearer line: his hero is just that, and his doctors not megalomaniacs, but people who accept the idea that because science can do something, it should. And that seems true, especially when the work is so benign, so kind; especially when a nice, 68 IQ man can be transformed.

Other questions for science emerge: what is informed consent, and what does it matter, if informed consent itself is only possible after the actual experiment makes the subject capable of giving it? The questions are many, and yet the film is not preachy or pedantic. Rather, I love Charly (Charlie in the Keyes' work) and I root for him, even as I know he is in an impossible, hopeless situation, and he comes to know it. The mouse, Algernon, becomes a touchstone that both Charly and I learn to love, as well. Charly's victory is in becoming, and his tragedy is that becoming transforms him through loss of innocence. Just as a child sees love in every face, until he doesn't, Charly's unequivocal trust in human kindness, tried and tested, becomes an unforeseen consequence of the experiment.

14 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

R. Murphy

Not great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 11, 2010

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Having just finished the book 'Flowers for Algenon' I thought I'd give this film version a go, despite some wary reviews. It's not a very good film at all and I'm surprised that Cliff Robertson won an Oscar for his performance, which was ok, but not awe inspiring. Many differences with the book, but sadly none that I enjoyed. Of course a film always has to be expedient whereas a book can take its time, but we literally only glimpse the angry Charlie, and his relationship with Alice is all too easy. Some of the cinematography is very spirit-of-the-60's which is an amusing distraction. I'll give one star because the story is good, one for Cliff Robertson's performance and one for Algenon's!

4 people found this helpful

I. Butsy

The Book is a wonderful read. The film is very poor.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 14, 2017

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Ok, I know that the book is always better than the film, however, this "transfer" is particularly bad.

The book, Flowers for Algernon, is a beautiful and heart felt journey - read the reviews of the book and buy.
The DVD, well... I'm sure the director and actors "lived" the book and credit to them for doing so. However, the film version is outdated - the opening scene will either put you off or make you a fan for life.

2 people found this helpful

Mr. R. Downing

Nice film well worth a watch.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 25, 2021

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Good film, but didn't mention that it was region a (1).good job I have a region 1 player.

Rosie

Wasn't disappointed.........

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 17, 2012

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......the second time around.

What a beautiful film - I first saw it years and years ago on tv, and I don't often watch anything twice.
However, this is one film that I did. For me, it has everything, and once again I was hooked.
Cliff Robertson was excellent in his role, as was Claire Bloom.

One person found this helpful

Juan Carlos Mateo

Taking drugs makes you bright

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 31, 2013

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A film about turning a mentally challenged adult into a smart genius. Where have you seen that lately? This story line has been done many a time but this version is classed as one of the best. Give it a try, you will not regret it!

One person found this helpful

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Genre	Drama
Format	Anamorphic, NTSC, Subtitled
Contributor	Cliff Robertson, Lilia Skala, Claire Bloom
Language	English
Runtime	1 hour and 43 minutes