10 Rillington Place (1971)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Richard Attenborough, John Hurt, Judy Geeson, Pat
Heywood, Isobel Black, Phyllis Macmahon
My Review and Thoughts:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Nicely done Twilight Time. I have never seen this film. Was
shocked and absolutely captivated by this unique, intense and very dark film. I
am a huge True Crime buff and lover of films based on actual real life reality.
This is a film based on a serial killer, the real life serial killer John
Christie. John was a murderer of women, in total of at least 8 which is
known and confirmed. There has always been the possibility that there were more
victims. One of those victims was his wife Ethel. John went about his life and
killed over a 10-year period, burying some of his victims in his flat at 10
Rillington Place in Notting Hill, London. His wives resting spot was under the
floor boards. What makes John stand out above and beyond a lot of Serial
Killers is John enjoyed having sex with his victims as they died or where dead,
quickly giving him the stamp of necrophilia. Now for all you crime enthusiast,
10 Rillington Place no longer stands, it was demolished and even the street was
changed and renamed.
Now the biggest down fall to this story is the horrible
reality, that an innocent man was executed for two of Christie’s victims.
Timothy Evan’s was arrested for the murder of his wife and baby daughter in
1950. He lived above Christie at 10 Rillington Place. Evans was found guilty and
then hanged. Sadly, after Christies arrest, Christie confessed, but it was too
late. That’s the reality of this film, it’s very disturbing and eye opening. It
plays with the senses and the emotional reality of life and death. The movie is
directed, told and acted in a way it feels so real, disturbing, and gets under
your skin, and plays with you.
This British crime drama is one that stands out above and
beyond a lot of crime films. This movie feels so real. It’s a film that is
touchy, unique, dark, twisted and emotional. It not only displays Christie's
horrors, but also the asinine, and horrible injustice of Timothy Evans.
There are two unbelievable and powerful performances in this
film. First the master thespian Richard Attenborough who needs no introduction.
He captures this role with a flawless mastery that has to be seen to be fully
understood. Next the golden ticket goes to John Hurt who is a total master
talent. He is the very essence of performance. He captures the part of Timothy
Evans in a hair raising reality of perfectionism. The whole cast is flawless.
Tightly directed and filmed in a total reality based way that displays itself
in a complete understanding of the subject. It’s like you’re an eye witness to
the real truth.
Directed by one of the all time greats of cinema, Richard
Fleischer. Richard was a total genius when it came to memorable pieces
of film. He directed so many greats of the cinema world. All one has to do is
look at his film list, the Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1970’s
Tora! Tora! Tora! He also directed two other true life Serial Killer films 1959’s
Compulsion, and one of my personal favorites 1968’s The Boston Strangler.
Directing such sci-fi classic’s like 1966’s Fantastic Voyage, and 1973’s Soylent
Green. He was a director that had a lot of hits and some misses. No matter how
small, or great a film was, he mastered it with a
flawless ease of filmed perfection, and in my viewpoint 10 Rillington Place is a
prime example of that perfection.
After seeing this for the first time. I am utterly shocked
and amazed that this film seems to be lost, or massively underappreciated. I
think one reason is that we don’t want to think or remember that an innocent
man was murdered by the government. A miscarriage of justice is an understatement
in what happened to Timothy Evan’s. This movie is an important piece of cinema
that Twilight Time has honored and brought to life in a whole new way, a high
quality Blu-ray of perfection.
Audio/Video:
My rating: 5 out of 5
This is one of Twilight Time's strongest realities in there Blu-ray's. The audio and video quality of this film is a total grade A+ reality. I have never seen this so I can't compare it to anything, but I can not imagine that this looks any better any where else. The audio is spot on. The colors are vibrant and the imagery is crisp.
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.66:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Extras:
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Isolated Score Track. Composer and Conductor John Dankworth
is behind the music. Dankworth had a long wonderful career of music. His music
is still used today on film and TV. He was a gifted soul that supplied a vast
array of musical wonder in his many accomplishments. From working on the
classic TV series The Avengers to feature films. His talent stood out and you
can experience his wonder in the music of 10 Rillington Place. What makes him
stand out is his Jazz. He had such a talent. Playing the saxophone, clarinet
and also a writer of music. His composing was and is still something to embrace
and thoroughly grasp the brilliance of this man. A great extra on this Blu-ray
by Twilight Time.
Audio Commentary with Actress Judy Geeson, and Film Historians
Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman. This was a fantastic listen. These commentaries that
are supplied many times by Twilight Time are perfection in just this reality.
Sometimes I love to listen to the commentaries first. Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman
are perfection and knowledge in film that is highly entertaining. The huge plus
is also by the beautiful, stunning, actress Judy Geeson. Geeson plays the part
of Beryl Evan’s, a victim of Christie and also the false murder and conviction
and execution of her husband Timothy Evan’s. Geeson is a goddess of film. Still
acting strong today in all her wonderful glory. It was great hearing her talk
about the film. A wonderful extra by Twilight Time.
Audio Commentary with Actor John Hurt. Another flawless
listen. I mean what more could you want then hearing from this master talent.
He gave his all to this film performance and it was flawless hearing him speak
about the movie.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Twilight Time has done it again. They expressed the
perfection in this Blu-ray. A wonderful audio and video transfer to Blu-ray.
Awesome extras. A flawless gem that is a must own and must see film for any
lover of movies. This is a high quality Blu-ray, highly recommended.
INFO:
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releases on top quality Special Editions.
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