Over dinner, he asks Miranda to marry him. [14] Fowles observed that "the favorite sport on the Columbia lot is making fun of her behind her back. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. and the Terms and Policies, The film builds on a tension through the eyes of the culprit and his victim and rarely moves away from that, if ever. "The Collector" has been remade recently with poor results, but this is the original by William Wyler and is a classic suspense film that is genuinely disturbing and frightening in a very fundamental way. "[21] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote of the film that "if it is too clinical to touch any of the livelier emotions — the strongest one it can arouse is hope, and this is blasted again and again — it still manages to picque intellectual curiosity sufficiently to attract the art-house patron in search of the odd or offbeat. | Rating: 4/5, July 1, 2005 Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Freddie buries Miranda's corpse under an oak tree on his property. | Rating: 3/5, July 25, 2004 John Fowles's novel The Collector was written in the form of a dual diary, one kept by a kidnapper, the other by his victim. Coming Soon. [15] "I guess I was supposed to feel trapped, and I did," she recalled. He then kidnaps art student Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar), a longtime crush of his, after trailing her in a van. The screenplay was written by Stanley Mann and John Kohn, based on the novel by John Fowles. The movement of the camera was difficult. | Rating: B+ It's simply wasted effort. Regal Creepy, unsettling thriller from the great William Wyler. August 5, 2010 See "Top Grossers of 1965". "[20] A positive review in Variety called the film "a solid, suspenseful enactment of John Fowles' bestselling novel," directed by Wyler "with taste and imagination. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. [37], In 1988, Robert Berdella held his male victims captive and photographed their torture before killing them. | Rating: 4/5. "[23] Writing for The Courier-Journal, William Mootz praised the film for its "atmosphere of oppressive tension" and an "anguishing excursion into horror fiction. Sad and creepy but still very watchable thanks to the usual excellent direction of William Wyler and the accomplished playing of Samantha Eggar and especially Terence Stamp whose icy demeanor as well as his ice blue eyes have rarely matched his character so well. Though wounded, Freddie takes advantage of Miranda's subsequent hesitation and manages to drag her back into the cellar and she accidentally breaks the electric heater just after their struggle. The Collector premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1965, where both Stamp and Eggar won awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. [10], —Eggar on the difficulties acclimating to Wyler's work style, 1965[11], Principal photography of The Collector began in May 1964 on the Columbia Pictures soundstages in Los Angeles, California. He proclaims that they could never be friends in "the real world". It evokes no pity, no wonder, no horror, no suspense, no belief, and who cares how it comes out? The film is more or less focused on portraying one man's obsession with collecting and controlling the fate of both his butterfly collection and as of recently, a woman he has stalked for quite some time. Despite very strong direction from Wyler, the look of the film is pretty sparse and uninteresting. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". It looks like a television show rather than a film, which is a shame because playing with the color palette and lighting could have been a real benefit for such a tense atmosphere. [13] Wyler himself was also unfriendly toward her on set, as he felt the atmosphere would impose a sense of isolation on Eggar, thus eliciting a stronger performance. More's scenes were ultimately excised from the final cut of the film. Crowther's review concluded that Wyler had made "a tempting and frequently startling, bewitching film, but he has failed to make it any more than a low-key chiller that melts in a conventional puddle of warm blood towards the end. All Critics (14) You could call this a love story if you wanted to, but it doesn't quite describe William Wyler's 1965 psychological thriller The Collector. It was the last of Wyler's record 12 Academy Award nominations for Best Director. [1] The film had a fall release in the United Kingdom, premiering in London on October 13, 1965. There's malice there, but it's cold and unpredictable. You're almost there! Based on the best-selling novel by John Fowles, THECOLLECTOR tells the story of a quiet London bank clerk (Terence Stamp) whose butterfly collecting hobby takes a sinister twist when he kidnaps a most unusual specimen- a beautiful woman (Samantha Eggar, Golden Globe® Best Actress winner for this role)! Get ready for an electrifying and chilling film experience that lays bare the intimate longings of a man--and the woman who has become his captive. And it's not only Stamp that brings his all, Samantha Egar is sweetly humble, and gracefully beautiful. So much more could have been delved into had it been produced today. Freddie gradually allows Miranda small luxuries, such as leaving the cellar to obtain sunlight and take baths in the house under his supervision. The problem is that there is nothing linking Freddy to the kidnapping and so there isn't much of a chance for poor Miranda who goes from trying to desperately escape to giving into Freddy's will. Terence Stamp is fantastic-- becoming monstrous yet almost sickly charming. Basic plot is ok but wafer thin characters apart from main thief are just annoying. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. It took me five weeks to be on Wyler's wave length.". But, in an odd way being made in 1965 makes it more grotesque. "'The Collector' Gathers Dread and Curiosity". Freddie locks Miranda in the basement, and buys her clothes and books, so that she can get to know him. Despite dire warnings from a fellow collector (Christopher Lee), Professor Maitland (Peter Cushing) is determined to add the skull of the Marquis de Sade to his array of occult antiquities. It passes the ultimate critical test in that it compels a fair degree of involvement. Filming occurred in the late spring and early summer of 1964. Clerk Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp), an avid butterfly collector, wins a football pool and buys a country house with a large basement. Cinemark Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! When he escorts her back to the cellar during a rainstorm, Miranda seizes a shovel, with which she strikes Freddie on the head. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. Southern's "happier" ending was rejected by Wyler. The Collector is a 1965 British-American psychological horror film directed by William Wyler, and starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar.Its plot follows a young Englishman who stalks a beautiful art student before abducting and holding her captive in the basement of his rural farmhouse. When she regains consciousness in the cellar, Frederick assures Miranda he did not rape her. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. "[26] The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that "all the tensions between scenes, the undercurrents beneath what the characters say and do, seem to have disappeared, leaving a good story adequately told but without much cutting edge ... On the other hand, the main body of the story comes over remarkably well. There are some good and bad moments in the movie. Sign up here. Though set in England, the majority of The Collector was shot on soundstages in Los Angeles, California, though exterior sequences were filmed on location in London, Forest Row in East Sussex and Westerham in Kent. [12] Tensions between Eggar, and Wyler and Stamp, gave rise after Wyler privately instructed Stamp to stay in character and give Eggar the cold shoulder during the filming. William Wyler 1965 version is so superb that a remake would be nothing but disappointing as it is the definitive version of "The Collector" and likewise Samantha Eggar is the definitive Miranda Grey and Terence Stamp is the definitive Freddie Clegg. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.