Cul-de-sac(1966 film)
Cul-de-sac | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Roman Polanski |
Written by |
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Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor |
Edited by | Alastair McIntyre |
Music by | Krzysztof Komeda |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Compton-Cameo Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 112 minutes[2] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £120,000[3]or £170,938[4] |
Cul-de-sacis a 1966 Britishblack comedypsychological thrillerfilm directed byRoman Polanski,written by Polanski andGérard Brach,and starringDonald Pleasence,Françoise Dorléac,Lionel Stander,Jack MacGowran,Iain Quarrier,Geoffrey Sumner,Renée Houston,William Franklyn,Trevor Delaney, andMarie Kean.It also featuresJacqueline Bisset(credited as Jackie Bisset) in a small role, in her second film appearance. Polanski's second English-language feature, it follows two injured Americangangsterswho take refuge in the remote island castle of a young British couple in the north of England, spurring a series of mind games and violent altercations.
Plot
[edit]Gruff American gangster Dickey pushes his broken-down car along acausewaythrough rising seawater while his eccentric companion Albie lies inside, bleeding from a gunshot wound after a bungled robbery. Cut off by the unexpected rising tide, they are on the only road to a bleak and remote tidal island, where, in a dark castle on a hilltop, a deeply neurotic and effeminate middle-aged Englishman named George lives with his second wife, the young and promiscuous Teresa. Dickey breaks into the castle and telephones his underworld Boss, Katelbach, to send someone to get him and Albie. He then disconnects the phone lines and proceeds to hold the couple hostage while awaiting the arrival of Katelbach the next day.
When Albie dies from his injuries, Dickey forces Teresa and George to dig his grave. They then hold a wake, with Dickey and George getting drunk together on the beach while Teresa swims nude in the ocean. The next morning, a car approaches the castle – but instead of Katelbach, it turns out to be a bunch of George's obnoxious friends who have showed up unannounced. Dickey poses as a servant while Teresa begins to flirt with one of the guests, Cecil. They all sit down to dinner, but then the young son of one of the guests, who has found Cecil's shotgun and starts waving it at the crowd of people, frightening them all. He then fires it, blowing out a stained-glass window in the castle. The gun is wrestled away from the child and put inside a hallway. George has had enough and demands they all leave, which they do, but Cecil forgets and leaves his unloaded shotgun behind.
Dickey takes off his jacket and hooks the telephone back up, while Teresa furtively takes Dickey's pistol from his coat pocket. Upon calling the hotel were Katelbach was staying, Dickey gets told that he is not going to come, so Dickey prepares to take George's car to drive to the mainland. George refuses to let him, and a fight ensues. Teresa hands Dickey's pistol to George and George shoots him several times;Dickey manages to retrieve histommy gunfrom his broken-down car, hidden in thechicken house.Too weak to fire the gun at George, Dickey collapses to the ground, laughing, and discharges the weapon at George's car, and it explodes in flames. Fearful of being implicated in the killing (and of reprisals from Katelbach's other henchmen), Teresa frantically insists that she and George abandon the castle. George is in astate of shockand seems unable to move. Suddenly, they see a car approaching. Not knowing that Dickey's Boss had abandoned him, they assume it is Katelbach. Desperate and afraid, Teresa runs and hides in a cupboard. The car arrives, and it turns out to be Cecil, who had returned to retrieve his shotgun. Cecil offers to take them to the police, but George refuses to go. He watches as Cecil and Teresa drive off into the night. George goes on a rampage, destroying his art studio, then running out of the castle and down to the beach. As day breaks, he sits down on a rock in thefetal positionand weeps hysterically, shouting out the name of his first wife, as the early morning tide rises around him.
Cast
[edit]- Donald Pleasenceas George
- Françoise Dorléacas Teresa
- Lionel Standeras Richard "Dickey"
- Jack MacGowranas Albie
- Iain Quarrieras Christopher
- Geoffrey Sumneras Christopher's father
- Renée Houstonas Christopher's mother
- Robert Dorningas Philip Fairweather
- Marie Keanas Marion Fairweather
- William Franklynas Cecil
- Jacqueline Bissetas Jacqueline
- Trevor Delaney as Nicholas
Themes and interpretations
[edit]Like Polanski's previous filmRepulsion,released the previous year, it explores themes of horror, frustrated sexuality and alienation, which have become characteristic of many of the director's films, especiallyRosemary's BabyandThe Tenant.
Cul-de-sachas been compared in tone and theme with the works ofSamuel BeckettandHarold Pinterand these similarities are underscored by the casting of two roles in the film,Jack MacGowranwho was renowned for his stage performances of Beckett's plays andDonald Pleasenceoriginated the role of Davies in Pinter'sThe Caretaker.[5][6]The film's German title isWenn Katelbach kommt(When Katelbach Comes). Christopher Weedman also notes the film's similarities with "such hard-edgedHumphrey Bogarthostage thrillers asThe Petrified Forest(Archie Mayo,1936),Key Largo(John Huston,1948), andThe Desperate Hours(William Wyler,1955). "
Filming location
[edit]The film was shot on location in 1965 on the island ofLindisfarne(also known as Holy Island) off the coast ofNorthumberland,England.Lindisfarne Castle,which served as the home in the film, is now aNational Trustproperty and can be toured by the public; despite the passage of time, the building and its surroundings are largely unchanged.
Release
[edit]Critical reception
[edit]Cul-de-saccurrently (May 2020) holds an 83% approval rating on the filmreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,based on 23 reviews.
Awards
[edit]Cul-de-sacwas awarded the 1966Golden Bearat the16th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Matthew Sweet"The lost worlds of British cinema: The horror"[dead link],The Independent,29 January 2006
- ^"CUL-DE-SAC(12A) ".British Board of Film Classification.15 November 2012.Retrieved15 November2012.
- ^Hallenbeck 2009,p. 82.
- ^Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
- ^"Cul-de-sac".British Film Institute.4 April 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2007.Retrieved19 June2007.
- ^Bergan, Ronald (19 September 2006)."Gérard Brach".The Guardian.London.Retrieved11 April2017.
- ^"Berlinale 1966: Prize Winners".berlinale.de.Archived fromthe originalon 8 April 2011.Retrieved17 February2010.
Bibliography
[edit]- Hallenbeck, Bruce (2009).Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.ISBN978-0-786-45378-8.
- Katz; et al. (1994).The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia.HarperCollins.ISBN0-333-61601-4.
- Polanski, Roman (1984).Roman.New York: Morrow.ISBN0-688-02621-4.
External links
[edit]- Cul-de-sacatIMDb
- Cul-de-sacatAllMovie
- Cul-de-sacat theBritish Film Institute[better source needed]
- Cul-de-sacat theTCM Movie Database
- Cul-de-sac– an article by Christopher Weedman atSenses of Cinema
- Cul-de-sac: High Tides– an essay by David Thompson atThe Criterion Collection
- 1966 films
- 1966 black comedy films
- 1966 comedy-drama films
- 1966 independent films
- 1960s British films
- 1960s comedy thriller films
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s psychological thriller films
- British black-and-white films
- British comedy-drama films
- British comedy thriller films
- British independent films
- British psychological thriller films
- Films directed by Roman Polanski
- Films scored by Krzysztof Komeda
- Films set in castles
- Films set on islands
- Films shot in Northumberland
- Films with screenplays by Gérard Brach
- Films with screenplays by Roman Polanski
- Golden Bear winners
- Films about home invasion
- Lindisfarne