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What made this the most diabolical murder weapon ever used?
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
CinemaSerf
Nov 13, 2022 · via TMDB
I can recall being genuinely scared when I first saw this film in the early 1970s. Young women are being found murdered. What makes their crimes especially heinous is the look of sheer terror found on their faces - and that is what is further perplexing the pursing Scotland Yard detective "Gregg" (Jack Watson). Meantime, actress "Vivian" (Moira Shearer) is filming her new movie and on the set is the camera-obsessed "Mark" (Karlheinz Böhm) who rents out the bottom part of his sprawling house to a group of youngsters. Usually keeping himself to himself, he is befriended by "Helen" (Anna Massey) and soon a relationship, of sorts, develops as she takes an interest in both him and his films. When tragedy occurs at the studio, the police investigation initially includes the sound stage crew, and gradually the plot unfolds in a dark and menacing fashion. Böhm and Massey are great here and under Michael Powell and Otto Heller's creative direction and photography, deliver us an intimate and well paced story that takes it's time, but does so in a cumulatively effective fashion. The dialogue is disarmingly potent too - there is something almost childlike about "Mark" and almost maternal about "Massey", illustrative of the underlying psychology of the story. On a dark night with the rain battering against the window, this is about as good as cinema gets.
John Chard
Feb 11, 2014 · via TMDB
Fear and the Nervous System. Peeping Tom is directed by Michael Powell and written by Leo Marks. It stars Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley and Brenda Bruce. Music is by Brian Easdale and cinematography by Otto Heller. A famous (infamous) film for a number of reasons, not least that the fall out from its release effectively finished the career of the great Michael Powell. Interestingly now, still some 50 plus years later, there are still people discovering the film for the first time and not being sure what they have just watched; much like many critics back in 1960 as it happens! While horror seekers quite often come away disappointed that they haven’t seen a Jack the Ripper bloodshed movie. Apparently they see the words serial killer and expect gore and terror on tap. As fans of the film will attest, Peeping Tom isn’t that sort of serial killer film, it’s a fascinating piece of work. A cunningly crafted observation of a darkened mind, of voyeurism, loneliness and child abuse. From the opening strains of Easdale’s skin itching piano the mood is set, then the brilliantly lurid colour scheme comes into play as troubled Mark Lewis (Boehm) hones in on a victim, a lady of the night about to be filmed in the throes of death. It’s the start of Powell and Marks’ ploy to make us complicit in Lewis’ actions, and then the makers challenge us to sympathise with him as his back story is revealed and also as he struggles with his affections for Helen Stephens (Massey) in the present day. There is also a sly aside to the movie industry running through the picture, something which no doubt irked critics and film distributors back in 1960. There could maybe be an argument that the trauma and psychological thematics at work that underpin the plot are a little dated now? But what is still relevant is the film making – voyeurism angle as we today are constantly fed reality TV for entertainment purpose. The production is across the board grade “A”, the performances highly effective, with the unfairly maligned Boehm perfect as Lewis, the actor even providing shadings of Peter Lorre at times. Heller’s bold colour photography is disgustingly atmospheric, Easdale’s music a stalking menace and the sound department really come up trumps. Perfect. Then of course there is Powell himself, deeply hurt by the savaging he received when Tom was released, it’s nice to note that before he passed away in 1990 he would see the film become a highly regarded piece of film making. It and he deserves praise, his direction is conceptually daring, his framing of Lewis methodical, and of course his camera is our eyes and ears, uncomfortably so. A remarkable and genius film. 10/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Karlheinz Böhm
Mark Lewis
Moira Shearer
Vivian
Anna Massey
Helen Stephens
Maxine Audley
Mrs. Stephens
Brenda Bruce
Dora
Esmond Knight
Arthur Baden
Martin Miller
Dr. Rosen
Michael Goodliffe
Don Jarvis
Jack Watson
Chief Insp. Gregg
Shirley Anne Field
Pauline Shields
Pamela Green
Milly
Robert Crewdson
Shop Assistant on Film Set (uncredited)
Nigel Davenport
Det. Sgt. Miller (uncredited)
Michael Powell
Mark's Father - A.N. Lewis (uncredited)
Susan Travers
Lorraine the Model (uncredited)
Keith Baxter
Det. Baxter (uncredited)
Roland Curram
Young Man in Sports Car (uncredited)
Paddi Edwards
Girl Electrician (uncredited)
Cornelia Frances
Girl in Sports Car Leaving Studio (uncredited)
Veronica Hurst
Miss Simpson - Jarvis' Secretary (uncredited)
Peggy Thorpe-Bates
Mrs. Partridge (uncredited)
Brian Worth
Assistant Director (uncredited)
Otto Heller
Director of Photography
Nat Cohen
Presenter
Michael Powell
Director
Michael Powell
Producer
American Nazareth
Screw Loose
Examinación cruzada
Shadows
Hurenglück
Pulp Fiction
Psycho
Rear Window
Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard
Léon: The Professional
Alien
The Shining
Memento
Taxi Driver
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
The Thing
M
Requiem for a Dream
Mãe?
ATITHI
The Sixth Sense
Blade Runner
Heat
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Diabolique
Snatch
The Big Lebowski
Rosemary's Baby
Freaks
Mulholland Drive
The Chaser
Misery
Mystic River
Jaws
Strangers on a Train
Twelve Monkeys
Arsenic and Old Lace
Blue Velvet
Elevator to the Gallows
The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You
Hot Fuzz
Halloween
Shaun of the Dead
True Romance
Zodiac
Eyes Wide Shut
Evil Dead II
Gaslight
Dawn of the Dead
The Devil's Advocate
Pandora's Box
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Character
The Omen
Braindead
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Eastern Promises
Star Trek: First Contact
Blow-Up
Cape Fear
This Man Must Die
Deadly Shots on Broadway
Night Train to Munich
The Conjuring 2
The Evil Dead
Videodrome
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Fresh
Boiling Point
The Long Good Friday
Our Mother's House
Identity
The Outsiders
Straw Dogs
Capturing the Friedmans
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
A Tale of Two Sisters
Frenzy
From Russia with Love
Escape from New York
Re-Animator
Mission: Impossible
Elephant
Colossus: The Forbin Project
Sustainable Life With Unlimited Transformations
Good Daughter
Dr. No
RocknRolla
The X-Files
Layer Cake
The Great Muppet Caper
Alter Ego
Phone Booth
Brighton Rock
Con Air
Panic Room
Klute
Flawless
The Devil's Rejects
The Angels of the Street
The Sinister Monk
Inside
The Plastic Men
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Obsession
Silent Hill
Antichrist
Saw II
Paranoiac
To Die For
The Living Daylights
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For Your Eyes Only
The People Under the Stairs
Swimming Pool
Blackmail
Crash
The Vexxer
The Squeaker
Perfect Prey
Copycat
The Man with the Golden Gun
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Next Door
The General's Daughter
Teheran '43
The Final Girls
Silent Night, Deadly Night
sMOTHERed
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Good Shepherd
Titane
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Hannibal Rising
Fatal Defense
A View to a Kill
Repo! The Genetic Opera
The Boy Who Killed My Parents
The Hole
House of 1000 Corpses
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?
Impostor
La muerte camina en la lluvia
Pink Flamingos
Angel
The Hour of 13
The Net
The Dead Girl
Halloween Ends
The Sinners
Best Seller
Deadlier Than the Male
The Hand
The Contract
Roar
The Way Out
Spiderhead
Brute
Piercing
The Omen
Borderland
Killing Me Softly
Sliver
My Bloody Valentine
Open Water
A Crime
The Killing Jar
My Soul to Take
Good People
Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort
The Females
Tell Me No Secrets
Drone
The Watch
Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman
The Yellow Wallpaper
Hollywood 90028
The Front Room
Special Killers
Midnight Movie
Dig
The Kill
Guest in the House
November
Wide Sargasso Sea
Something Wicked
Looking Glass
They/Them
New York After Midnight
Killer Workout
Ghost in the Machine
Dementia 13
Kill Switch
I Know Who Killed Me
Double Down
Friend of the World
Sledgehammer
Simon
Elder Island
Axegrinder 5: Blood Vengeance
Killer Clown
Fletcher and Jenks
Der Mann im Keller
Confessions of a Serial Killer with Piers Morgan
Flowers on the Razorwire: Chance Meeting
Late Night Walking
The Farmer
Incognito
INTERLOPERS
Voices in my Head
Zoe.mp4
Eccentrip
The Midnight Gag
Blikk
Where the Light Fades
Spirit of the Flesh
Teta
Fender
Lidwell Chapel
Worm
Presence
S.O.S
Practice Makes Perfect
Burning Underwater
Voyeur
Double Indemnity
Shadow of a Doubt
Frequency
Dead of Night
The Naked City
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
The Dead Zone
This Gun for Hire
Nightfall
Ministry of Fear
Nightmare
The Medusa Touch
Twisted Nerve
Woman on the Run
Coma
23 Paces to Baker Street
The Glass Key
The Mechanic
Indemnity
Paranoiac
The Night Walker
The Raven
Time Lapse
Union Station
16 Blocks
The Woman in Green
Burnt Offerings
The Invitation
Race with the Devil
The Car
The Seven-Ups
Night Watch
The Possessed
Trap
The Astronaut
The Jester
Eradication
The Mirror Crack'd
Stalked by My Doctor
The Shed
The Watcher in the Woods
Outbreak
The Hand
The Unhealer
Superhost
Fear in the Night
Nov 7, 1961
San Antonio, Texas
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Stells
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
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