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Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
8 May 1987 (USA) morePlot:
This film is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of British playwright Joe Orton. In his teens... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Dueling with Stephen Frears (From IFC. 26 June 2009, 7:56 AM, PDT)
Alfred Molina Talks Ares in 'Wonder Woman'
(From Comicmix. 14 December 2008, 8:39 AM, PST)
User Comments:
An intimate, carefully crafted biopic with uniformly superb performances. moreUS TV Schedule:
| Thur. July 23 | 4:00 AM | TMC |
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Gary Oldman | ... | Joe Orton | |
| Alfred Molina | ... | Kenneth Halliwell | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | ... | Peggy Ramsay | |
| Frances Barber | ... | Leonie Orton | |
| Janet Dale | ... | Mrs. Sugden | |
| Julie Walters | ... | Elsie Orton | |
| Bert Parnaby | ... | The Magistrate | |
| Margaret Tyzack | ... | Madame Lambert | |
| Lindsay Duncan | ... | Anthea Lahr | |
| Wallace Shawn | ... | John Lahr | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Dave Atkins | ... | Mr. Sugden | |
| John Bailey | ... | Wigmaker | |
| Stephen Bill | ... | George Barnett | |
| Jane Blackburn | ... | Woman in gallery 1 | |
| Mark Brignal | ... | Beatles chauffeur | |
| Selina Cadell | ... | Miss Datersby | |
| Antony Carrick | ... | Counsil | |
| Joanne Connelly | ... | Stage manager | |
| Garry Cooper | ... | Mr Sloane | |
| Philippa Davies | ... | Peggy ramsay's secretary | |
| Liam De Staic | ... | Brickie | |
| Anthony Douse | ... | BBC actor 2 | |
| James Grant | ... | William Orton | |
| Christopher Guinee | ... | Publisher | |
| William Job | ... | RADA Chairman | |
| Rosalind Knight | ... | RADA Judge | |
| Spencer Leigh | ... | Constable | |
| Roger Lloyd-Pack | ... | Mr Sloane | |
| Angus MacKay | ... | RADA Judge | |
| Steven Mackintosh | ... | Simon Ward | |
| Charles McKeown | ... | Mr. Cunliffe | |
| Helena Michell | ... | Orton's Friend | |
| John Moffat | ... | Wigmaker | |
| Michael Müller | ... | 1st BBC Actor | |
| Sean Pertwee | ... | Orton's Friend | |
| Eric Richard | ... | Education Officer | |
| Stella Richman | ... | Woman in gallery 2 | |
| Stevan Rimkus | ... | Kenneth | |
| Hooper Robin | ... | Mortuary attendant | |
| Joan Sanderson | ... | Anthea's mother | |
| Neville Smith | ... | Police inspector | |
| Linda Spurrier | ... | Instructor | |
| Max Stafford-Clark | ... | Honourable President | |
| Sian Thomas | ... | Marilyn Oston | |
| Charlotte Wodehouse | ... | Janet | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
111 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Argentina:18 | UK:15 (re-release) | UK:18 (original rating) | Australia:M | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:RFun Stuff
Trivia:
Wallace Shawn, who plays John Lahr, is (in addition to being an actor) an acclaimed playwright and screenwriter. Until her 1991 death, his play agent was Peggy Ramsay, who was also Joe Orton's agent and who appears in this film as the character played by Vanessa Redgrave. moreQuotes:
Kenneth Halliwell: I just want to go to the awards! I could! Look, "Joe Orton and guest." I'd behave. I wouldn't say a word, I promise.Joe Orton: No.
Kenneth Halliwell: Why?
Joe Orton: Because it's for me. I wrote it.
Kenneth Halliwell: I gave you the title.
Joe Orton: Okay, so when they have awards for titles, you can go to that.
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I don't usually enjoy biopics, but PRICK UP YOUR EARS is a glorious exception. Many biopics don't have strong narrative arcs (simply because people's lives generally don't), but this one does -- primarily because it focuses on the rapid deterioration of the relationship between playwright Joe Orton and failed novelist Kenneth Halliwell. With the obvious exception of the horrific conclusion, the issues faced by these two London writers will probably ring painfully true for many members of the audience. Who hasn't felt like Halliwell at some point -- or even Orton, dealing with a Halliwell-esquire partner?
This is where PRICK UP YOUR EARS succeeds while so many other biopics fail: while it does not shy away from the sensationalistic aspects of Orton's life, it never neglects the complex relationship beating at the center of the narrative. I can safely say it's one of the rare cases where I found myself relating on a human level to the biographical subjects, instead of dryly watching them from afar.
Director Stephen Frears deserves kudos for his warm, understated approach. It's almost hard to praise his directing because it's so unobtrusive; but this is exactly his strong point. He is confident in the story's inherent power, so he wisely gets out of the way and lets it unfold naturally.
And he is helped marvelously by the uniformly great performances; there simply isn't a wrong note struck by the cast. Even supporting roles, like those of Orton's sister and brother-in-law, feel like real human beings. Of course, the real standouts are Oldman, Molina and Redgrave.
Though his physical appearance isn't dramatically altered, Gary Oldman still seems unrecognizable compared to his previous work; this is how strongly he becomes Orton. His carefree swagger is by turns charming and infuriating. You understand why Halliwell is both entranced and insanely frustrated with him. He also looks a little bit like Dana Carvey - just by the by.
Molina is no less astonishing. Bald at 25, frustrated, neurotic, sexually incapable... the character is a hulking mass of awkwardness, but somehow he evokes tremendous sympathy. You alternately want to hug this guy and shake him silly. (The scene in which Orton is informed of his mother's death is heartbreaking - for both men's reactions.)
Meanwhile, Redgrave is a delight. Her line readings are exquisite and she gives the movie a crisp cleverness without crossing the line into self-indulgence.
For all the tragic and uncomfortable elements of Orton and Halliwell's relationship, the movie still features some hilarious scenes. The cheeky title, Orton and Halliwell's divergent accounts of their lifestyle together, the conversation with Brian Epstein, and Halliwell's "we were having a conversation" gave the movie a gleeful edge of naughtiness -- one the viewer suspects was strongly inspired by Orton's own approach to life and work.
In short, I highly recommend this movie. Though its description may seem sensationalistic -- a gay man brutally murders his successful young lover -- PRICK UP YOUR EARS triumphs as both a simple human drama and as a biography in which its subjects are made more intimate rather than more remote.