Simply Perfect

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A double-bill of THE BEGUILED, Thomas Cullinan's source novel is a civil-war drama positing a tantalizing scenario where a wounded union soldier fetches up in a southern all-girls' school, nurtured to recovery by the apparently good-willed women but also subjected to temptations from female gazes and one false move, he will go through purgatory of his sorry life. The 1971 version is directed by Don Siegel, the third of his five collaborations with Clint Eastwood, who plays the Yankee Corporal John McBurney, and is discovered by a 12-year-old Amy (Ferdin, an absorbing talent), to whom he indulges with a peck on her lips, a blatant way to take away a child's first kiss (also pretty provocative by today's regressive yardstick), instantly, what Siegel hammers home to viewers is that he is not a humdinger, and through glimpses of fleeting flashback interleaved into the narrative, John emerges as a congenital liar, flippant and manipulative, currying favor from his petticoat accompany to slough from a possible fall of incarceration, whether it is Miss Marsha (Page), the headmistress of the seminary school, Edwina (Hartman), the virginal teacher to whom he claims his attraction, a nubile 17-year-old student Carol (Ann Harris), who is sexually active, even the slave Hallie (Mercer, a defiant soul hampered by her identity), cannot evade his come-ons. The advent of a hot-blooded albeit bedridden male inevitably causes an erotic disruption among the exclusive distaff clique, whose members are circumspectly secluded from the battlefield merely outside their perimeter and sexually repressed, for pert, callow girls, they are inclined to project John as a perfect specimen of their untested sexual allure versus the opposite sex, in the cases of Edwina and Carol, one is the prudish committed type and the other is a wanton nymphet. But the most complex character amongst them is no doubt Miss Marsha, whose incest past and subliminal lesbian proclivity get a full treatment in the audacious script and visual presentation, the latter is even coalesced with a flagrant religious connotation to soup up the film's maverick idiom. When the crunches arrives, a man's conceit in his potency is punished by blunt castration and signifies a rude wakening of the priapic worship. On top of his virile stallion credence, Clint Eastwood imbues a cunning, almost overweening facade which audience isn't familiar with, not cut from the same cloth from his hard-boiled tough-guy legend. Geraldine Page, emboldened by her matriarchal gravitas and demanding onus, doesn't shy away from any extraneous intrusion (the Union and the Confederacy alike) and builds a palpably beguiling tension through the mind games she plays with Eastwood yet holds the rein from stem to stern in unyielding resolution of taking the escalating situation in her own hands. Elizabeth Hartman, the fragile Oscar-nominated actress whose premature demise was a harrowing tragedy ripe for cinematic transposition, brings about something equally tangible and visceral as she is bedeviled by the discord between a man's promise and his action, but still holds out the last remaining benevolence out of her own impressionable nature. Crowned BEST DIRECTOR in Cannes, Sofia Coppola's remake is an aesthetically beguiling psychological intrigue, superbly recreates a mystical Gothic quaintness in the closing days of the civil war entrapped within the terrain of a majestic mansion of antebellum south, which certainly is a scintillating upgrade from the 1971 version's sepia retro flair. But story-wise, Sofia's script not only eviscerates the role of Hallie (which is a double-edged sword since she claims that out of the respect of this sensitive issue, she doesn't want to tread lightly, but also can be easily accused of racially insensitive), but also leaves no allusion of all the taboo issues tackled in Siegel's movie, lesbian kiss, incest depravity and of course, that inappropriate kiss between a grown-up man and a teenage girl, are outright sanitized, and in fact, the whole story has been strenuously internalized, for instance, John's transgression, where is given a plausible justification in Siegel's film, is carried out in a slipshod manner, indicating that it is nothing less than a spur of horniness. Atmospherical over dramatic, it is beyond reproach that Coppola opts to tell the allegory with her own agent, but unfortunately, the resultant impact doesn't meet up with expectation, especially when juxtaposed with its far more entrancing antecedent. Nicole Kidman intrepidly takes the mantle from Ms. Page, and actualizes an extremely sensual sponge-washing scene with Colin Farrell's less forthcoming and more sympathetic portrayal of a soldier turns paraplegic when he is subjected to an ambiguous retribution out of the necessity of saving his life. Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning don't make a splash in the shoes of Hartman and Ann Harris respectively, save Oona Laurence, whose Amy, precisely captures a child's malleable mentality.So, the jury is out, the remake is humbled by the original, which is quite a shocker because on the paper, Coppola's feminine sensitivity seems to be more adept to parse this age-old gender ax battle than an action-inclined Mr. Siegel, again there is no sure thing in the film industry, and that is exactly why it keeps us intrigued every time.

Released in 1971 and directed by Don Siegel, "The Beguiled" is set in in the Deep South during the Civil War. As Union troops increasingly invade, the headmistress of a girl's boarding school (Geraldine Page) decides to allow a Union soldier with a leg wound to stay at the school (Clint Eastwood), supposedly until he's strong enough to turn over to the Confederate authorities as a POW. To survive, McB (Eastwood) manipulates the gaggle of women and girls, which include Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman), Carol (Jo Ann Harris), 12 year-old Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin) and a slave (Mae Mercer). Darleen Carr plays the loyal Confederate patriot, Doris, while Melody Thomas Scott plays the child Abigail.William Congreve wrote the famous saying in his play The Mourning Bride (1697) "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" (paraphrasing). That pretty much reveals the theme of "The Beguiled." While McB tries to survive by beguiling the women through charm & trickery, the viewer shouldn't underestimate how formidable and wrathful the female species can be, particularly in the face of jealousy.For me, the story takes a downturn in the final act and therefore leaves a sour taste, but I guess it fits the tragic genre. You can't really hold it against the film. Still, sympathy for McB is squelched when he does something heinous (think Amy). To his credit, he later apologizes with seeming sincerity. As far as I'm concerned, though, the entire third act needed rewritten, but I accept the movie as is. It's unique and there's enough depth to glean new gems on repeat viewings. We've all met women (or girls) just like the devilish Carol (Harris).The movie runs 105 minutes and was shot in Louisiana, USA.GRADE: B

"The Beguiled" is certainly unusual - but rewarding - Clint Eastwood fare. It's an extremely sordid melodrama that dips its toes a little into the horror genre. It's extremely well acted, stylishly made - with Clints' frequent collaborator Don Siegel in the directors' chair - and often sexy and sinister in equal measure. It's nice to see Clint take chances like this with his projects, but then he's always been a very interesting leading man. (Another Clint vehicle that's somewhat in this vein is 1984s' "Tightrope".) The period recreation is sound, and there are also doses of sex and gore in this film that earns its R rating.Clint plays Yankee officer John McBurney, severely wounded during the latter days of the Civil War. He's discovered by Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin), a child who escorts him back to her girls' school. The staff, led by Martha (Geraldine Page), agree to keep him there basically for the purpose of nursing him back to health before he can be surrendered to Rebel troops and taken to prison. However, Johns' arrival in this female setting is the trigger for an escalating series of ugly incidents as the male stranger cons his way into the hearts of some of the ladies.Clint is impressive as he puts a smarmy and self-serving spin on his screen charisma. Page and Elizabeth Hartman likewise impressed this viewer with their takes on these vulnerable characters. The child actresses are all good without being overly cutesy. Jo Ann Harris is the sexpot teenager Carol, and Darleen Carr the rigid Doris. Mae Mercer is able to play her slave character of Hallie with dignity, and she really holds her own in confrontations with Clint. Ferdin is appealing in the role of the girl who gets the ball rolling in terms of plot. Melody Thomas Scott (of 'The Young and the Restless' fame) is another of the girls; character actor Matt Clark has a small role.Highly memorable stuff, with very quick flashback cuts that add to the somber quality of this tale by Thomas Cullinan.Eight out of 10.

Young Amy finds injured union soldier Corporal John McBurney (Clint Eastwood). She takes him back to her boarding school run by Martha Farnsworth (Geraldine Page). The girls are fearful of the approaching war and the possible arrival of union soldiers. Martha decides to not turn him over to the Confederate patrols. Every female is stirred up by the arrival of McBurney. He's a charmer and a liar. Martha is both lustful and jealous. Carol (Jo Ann Harris) is a sexual 17 year old student. Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman) is the sweet innocent romantic teacher. Amy is completely infatuated with McBurney and keeps a pet turtle.This movie has a natural Gothic romantic horror vibe. I really like the constant disturbed tone. It's a slightly different character that Eastwood is playing. The movie is playing to fear of a group of women destroying a man. I would prefer the school be much more isolated. More isolation would build up a greater sense of dread. The other possibility is to make capture a much more vicious affair. That way the dread is build up both outside the school as it slowly builds inside. Either way, the influences from the outside keep muddying up the creepy relationships in the house.