The Night of the Iguana
by John Huston
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Actor: Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Richard Burton, Sue LyonDirector: John Huston
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 67742
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Night of the Iguana
DVD Review: Recognizing the truth can destroy you...
Summary: 5 Stars
How Richard Burton squeaked through the entire awards season of 1964 without a single win or even a single nomination for this powerhouse performance is utterly disgusting. In fact, I could base this entire review on that very injustice, but I won't.
More on that in a moment.
When it comes to film, there are few names that excite me more than Tennessee Williams. I just think the man is genius. I love individuals that were `ahead of their time' so-to-speak, and Williams surely made his fair share of controversy with his highly detailed and disturbingly realistic plays. Now, I have not seen or even read any of his plays (I really need to) but I have seen a large number of the film adaptations, and I must say that they are some of the best experiences of my cinematic goings.
`The Night of the Iguana' is high on that list.
Tennessee Williams is very good at elaborating on humanity at its weakest point; taking characters that are at the end of their ropes emotionally, fraying at the tip, and letting them sweat it out in some of the most obscene and bizarre situations imaginable. What is all the more engrossing about his work is that you never feel as though it is forced or manipulated; everything feels very, very real. The tension is palpable, relatable and crushing.
In `The Night of the Iguana', Williams takes us to Mexico. Here is where we meet the Reverend Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon, a defrocked man of the cloth who has been reduced to guiding tours in Mexico. On his latest tour he runs into some problems with a certain woman named Judith Fellowes who becomes rather alarmed and disgusted with Shannon's philandering with an underage girl under Fellowes watchful eye. When Shannon crosses one too many lines he finds himself facing possible unemployment, not to mention utter humiliation.
For me, this film is all about carnal desires and the stigma that comes from religious responsibility. In the films outset we have the Reverend Shannon addressing his `former' congregation in outrage over his own indiscretions and the judgment cast upon him by the eyes of his `sheep'. Religion and moral independence are two very touchy subjects that don't mix very well, and yet `The Night of the Iguana' finds the deep-rooted humanity that marries the two together seamlessly. We watch Shannon slowly deteriorate as he tries to hold fast to his past, refusing to admit defeat at the hands of the judgmental.
Accepting his own realities would only destroy his spirit and will to survive.
John Huston marvelously directs this lurid drama, infusing all the right elements that make this a definitive Tennessee Williams creation. From the lush backdrops to the sensual tension and the heartbreakingly realistic character development, `The Night of the Iguana' has it all.
The acting is also flawless.
The women surrounding the Reverend are an odd bunch, all of them distinct and beautifully fleshed out for us. You have Judith Fellowes, the strict and harsh older woman whose own self denial keeps her all the more judgmental of others. Hannah Jelkes is a seemingly frail yet surprisingly strong and insightful woman who has stunted her own emotional growth by hiding behind her dying grandfather. Charlotte Goodall is a young and precocious girl who uses the Reverend (and really any man she can seduce) as a means to rebel against the people set to restrain her. And then you have Maxine Faulk, the only woman who really understands Shannon. She is repressed by her own longings and yet she fronts as if she were impenetrable, all the while slowly withering away due to everything `wrong' in her life. The performances that accompany these women are outstanding, especially from Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr. Gardner especially is remarkably in tune with her characters self destructive pattern, and she illuminates the screen with her fiery delivery.
But, this film is all about Richard Burton. While watching this film I was forced to realize something. Richard Burton is a man, and I mean a MAN. He is rugged and strong and handsome and he possesses that endearing `comforting' quality. Even in all of his character's flaws and grievances, you cannot help but rally behind him. There are very few actors who can define something as universal as `manly' (Russell Crowe and Paul Newman come instantly to mind) but Burton has it in spades. His performance here may be his finest, and that is why watching it go entirely ignored (granted, there were far less awards bodies in the 60's, but still) is just appalling. The way he captures the collapse of this man's soul is breathtaking, and the way he weaves his character around the films eventualities is stunning. This is an actor who understands his character and thus embodies him.
This isn't acting, it is living.
In the end I highly recommend this film (that probably goes without saying). It is a beautifully woven tragedy that ends with a sliver of hope for our protagonist, a man who struggles to define himself outside of his own preconceived notions of his `character'. This is a film about accepting our fates and finding solace in the fact that we can always move on, despite our own selfish imperfections.
Description of The Night of the Iguana
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