Victim.Directed by Basil Dearden (Janus/Home Vision) Reviewed by Jan Stuart It's a little hard to exult over the idea that one of the first movies to utter the word "homosexual" was titled Victim. That was in 1961, and the gay PC patrol has been working overtime ever since to keep the v word in perspective. Still, how else could you describe the targets of England's draconian former antihomosexuality laws, which made even the most discreet gay citizen mincemeat mincemeat: see pie. for the roving blackmailer? Remastered in a letterbox The effect of displaying a wide screen movie on a standard TV set the way it was originally shot in full panoramic format. On the TV, the image frame spans the full width of the screen, but because of the difference in aspect ratios of the two formats (wide screen movie vs. video edition, Victim impresses anew as a searing sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. piece of agitprop agitprop Political strategy in which techniques of agitation and propaganda are used to influence public opinion. Originally described by the Marxist theorist Georgy Plekhanov and then by Vladimir Ilich Lenin, it called for both emotional and reasoned arguments. whose like would never be found in Hollywood theatrical releases over the ensuing 36 years. Tautly directed by Basil Dearden (Sapphire) and shrewdly scripted by Janet Green and John McCormick Noun 1. John McCormick - United States operatic tenor (born in Ireland) (1884-1945) McCormick with a balance of melodrama and soapboxing that would set the mold for made-for-cable social drama, Victim charts the transformation of respected barrister Dirk Bogarde from closeted clos·et·ed adj. Being In a state of secrecy or cautious privacy. husband to defiant public citizen. Bogarde is at his subtle best in what amounts to a film-noir detective role, scouting down the fellow targets of a blackmailing ring who are joined in grief for a young man brought down by the scheme (Peter McEnery, whose gay role would not inhibit Disney from promoting him to the romantic lead in The Moon-Spinners). Victim is a must-see for musical-comedy mavens, filmed as it is around the West End theater district and such hits of the day as Flower Drum Song and Oliver! Where is love, indeed? |
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