Great Film: The Medusa Touch
well directed, well cast, excellent adaptation of book
The manner in which the film was chronographed was somewhat unique. In
real time the main character, Morlar, is comatized by severe head
trauma. In fact the movie opens with his attempted murder. The
unfolding of events in the ensuing investigation are presented with
smooth transitions from flashback to present in order to create a sense
of fatalistic inevitability. The director takes a very difficult path
to achieve this but I think he pulled it off very effectively. Look for
little tricks to smooth out the staccato chronological transitions.
Small similarities between outgoing and incoming scenes create a more
seamless effect.Also, the sounds of a former scene would linger for a
couple of seconds after the transition, further uniting past & present
to emphasize the inevitable hopelessness of the inspectors situation.
It also serves to demonstrate Morlar's indomitable, fatalistic will.
All the characters are well (and cleverly)cast, particularly Richard
Burton as Morlar. VonGreenway's book comments on the intensity of
Morlar's character and his riveting gaze. Burton was obviously
intimately familiar with the text as his rendition of Morlar is, to say
the least, riveting.
The apocryphal elements added by the director, the cataclysmic
disasters vastly improve the story's big-screen appeal, even if they
were a bit of a departure from the text. The director simplifies the
text by only indirectly referring to Morlar's political agenda. To
follow the text in this would be setting up an entirely different story
and would distract from the immediacy of the peril Morlar represents
for the inspector and the psychiatrist.
The "tongue in cheek" manner in which these two meet serves to show a
comprehensive understanding of the text, it gives clear notice (to
those familiar with the book) the text cannot realistically be followed
in every way. "I'm sorry I was expecting a man." the inspector explains
his reaction to her. "That's alright, I was expecting an English
Inspector." She responds. This, of course, was a reference to the
characters as they appeared in the book.
This is a well directed film, making sense of a difficult text in an
acceptable time frame. Richard Burton was an excellent choice as
Morlar, he has a dominating presence that lends well to the character.
These things along with an excellent rendition of a sensational,
compelling story make the Medusa Touch one of the best suspense films
ever.
Cast
- Townley played by Derek Jacobi
- Duff played by Michael Byrne
- John Morlar played by Richard Burton
- Brunel played by Lino Ventura
- Doctor Zonfeld played by Lee Remick
- Assistant Commissioner played by Harry Andrews
- Barrister played by Alan Badel
