IMDb > The Medusa Touch (1978)

The Medusa Touch (1978) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   1,519 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jack Gold
Writers:
Peter Van Greenaway (novel)
John Briley (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Medusa Touch on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1978 (UK) more
Genre:
Drama | Mystery | Thriller more
Plot:
Psychological thriller about a novelist, a telekinetic, who causes disasters simply by thinking about them. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
Only worthwhile to see Burton. more (24 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Richard Burton ... John Morlar
Lino Ventura ... Brunel
Lee Remick ... Doctor Zonfeld
Harry Andrews ... Assistant Commissioner
Alan Badel ... Barrister
Marie-Christine Barrault ... Patricia
Jeremy Brett ... Edward Parrish
Michael Hordern ... Atropos - Fortune Teller
Gordon Jackson ... Doctor Johnson
Michael Byrne ... Duff

Derek Jacobi ... Townley - Publisher
Robert Lang ... Pennington
Avril Elgar ... Mrs. Pennington
John Normington ... Schoolmaster
Robert Flemyng ... Judge McKinley
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
La grande menace (France)
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Runtime:
105 min
Country:
France | UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Norway:16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | UK:PG | USA:PG
Company:
Coatesgold more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The cathedral in the climactic scenes was given the fictitious name of Minster Cathedral (even though it was intended to be Westminster Abbey) because the director did not want anyone who was familiar with the architecture of the Abbey to say "But that's not Westminster Abbey", given that the scenes were actually filmed at Bristol Cathedral. more
Goofs:
Boom mic visible: When Molar visits a fortune teller, the boom mic is visible above the fortune teller's head. more
Quotes:
John Morlar: [his first meeting with Zonfeld] I have a "gift" for disaster.
Doctor Zonfeld: You seem to have survived it.
John Morlar: I don't mean for me, I mean for others.
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FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Only worthwhile to see Burton., 10 October 2008
5/10
Author: innocuous from Raleigh, NC, USA

TMT is not an awful movie, but it isn't a very good one. Surfing the wave of telekinetic movies that were churned out after "Carrie" was a surprise hit in 1976, TMT puts a distinctively British spin on horror. There are some aspects of the movie that are admirable...the approach to storytelling through intermingling of past and present, the (relative) lack of violence, the supporting characters, and a sly sense of humor, for example. But the only really compelling reason to watch this movie is to hear Richard Burton. What acting he does is quite minimal, but the dialogue snaps to life when he delivers his lines. Lee Remick. on the other hand, is trying to handle a role she simply doesn't have the chops for.

Having watched the movie again just recently, I have come to believe that it would have been a much better movie if it had even less violence than it does. The opening scene is compulsory, but some disaster footage later in the movie would have been even more effective if it had been implied, rather than shown.

Overall, a fairly effective and relatively bloodless horror film.

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Please distribute a Region 1 version of this great film. ebc1973
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