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| Senta Berger and Alain Delon |
An accident victim (Alain Delon) wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and is told he is "Georges Campo." He is confused, but has few complaints as his wife, Christiane (Senta Berger), is beautiful, and they live in a magnificent home on a large estate. His old friend, Freddie (Sergio Fantoni), a doctor, tells him he needs bed rest and shouldn't even make love to his wife until he remembers her. But his dog doesn't recognize him and there are several more accidents that nearly kill him ... Diabolically Yours, a French-Italian-West German co-production. comes off like a poor Movie-of-the-Week, with an unoriginal plot and mostly uninspired performances. Considering the things that have happened to him, Delon [L'eclisse] can only muster up a mildly perturbed air instead of the outrage he would be feeling. Berger [The Spy with My Face] is very pretty but she is only adequate, while Peter Mosbacher steals the show as her odd, devoted servant, Kim. Made ten years earlier with a zestier cast and better direction, this might have come off like a lively if minor film noir such as Strange Awakening, which actually has a similar plot. This was the last film directed by Julien Duvivier, who did both French and American films, such as Flesh and Fantasy and Lydia, both of which were much better than this clap-trap. Duvivier, of course, needed a much better script, but he does very little with what he's been offered.
Verdict: Even Delon's fans will find this a bore. *1/2.
I am a Delon fan, I think he is one of the most attractive men to ever grace the screen. He doesn't need to do anything, just stand there! His best film, I think, is Purple Noon, the original French version of Talented Mr. Ripley.
ReplyDeleteThis movie can't be as bad as one I just bought as part of a new collection. I love all the Airport films, and they have been restored in HD Blu-Ray, but the last one, Airport 79: The Concorde, is pretty damn silly. But Delon is delectable as the pilot, bedding down Emmanuelle herself, Sylvia Kristel, during the proceedings.
I may give this one a chance, though, despite your paltry 1 and a half stars! But I stand warned!
Best,
Chris
This was part of a two movie set, so I'll be watching/posting about the other one soon and hope it's better than this.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Delon just has to stand there. Years ago I bought a big poster of him and put it on the bathroom wall of my first apartment out of college. I think he, along with Duvivier, was uninspired by the script, to say the least.
Delon was quite good in "Purple Noon" and I have the Concorde movie and will have to look at it one of these days.
Too bad Delon and Horst Buchholtz never made a movie together, playing gay lovers!