Lolita [DVD] [1962]

a fantastic movie to watch. As expected!

I loved the book but never managed to see Kubrick's film - until now. Dated? Yes, perhaps. Is Lolita too old in this version? Yes, definitely. In the book she is thirteen, here Sue Lyon looks twenty. Is the under-age sex neatly side-stepped? Indeed, and certainly by today's standards of what is acceptable. So what's good about this DVD? Answer: James Mason in what I think is his most subtle, humorous and deeply moving performance - ever. This, remember, is a love story and no one does it better that James. Even Peter Sellers in multiple roles cannot match Mason's timing, facial expressions and astounding voice. Buy it!

It's a bit tame by modern standards but has all the implication and innuendo required that the viewer is in no doubt as to what is about to happen or what has just happened. It follows Humbert Humbert who arrives in Ramsdale, New Hampshire looking for lodgings whilst he gets settled. He lands on the doorstep of the clingy and needy Charlotte Haze and her daughter Delores who goes by the name Lolita, (why will become clearer as the film progresses) He takes the room and becomes smitten with Lolita, so much so he marries her mother just to stay close to her. James Mason play Humbert Humbert, Shelley Winters plays Charlotte, Sue Lyon plays Lolita. The film also stars Peter Sellers as Quilty. The film starts with Humbert breaking into Quilty's house and shoots him, then you meet Humbert for the first time and follow the events that lead up to the shooting. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, he seemed to have been able to bring out the best in all the stars of this movie, although it does seem to drag in parts it's still a thought provoking film.

An early Kubrick film, deserves more acknowledgment

Terrific performances from James Mason & Sue Lyon. Sellers now seems just embarrassing. Remarkable how the later Jeremy Irons version just followed the original, with some scenes having literally the same word-for-word dialogue.

Wonderful to see the film after reading the book to see how this complex man is portrayed. Well acted and didnt disappoint.

Compromised by having a director uninterested in ambiguity & an actress too old to make impact in the title role. Worth purchasing for a typically generous performance by Winters & probably the best ever by Mason.

A classic film.