Boxing Helena (1993)

Director:

Jennifer Chambers Lynch

Writers (WGA):

Philippe Caland (story)
Jennifer Chambers Lynch (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 September 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Beyond love, beyond obsession, there hides something beyond reason.

Plot:

A surgeon becomes obsessed with the seductive woman he once had an affair with. Refusing to accept that she has moved on, he amputates her limbs and holds her captive in his mansion.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Car Accident | Woman In Jeopardy | Independent Woman | Mutilation

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Julian Sands	...	Dr. Nick Cavanaugh
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Helena
Bill Paxton	...	Ray O'Malley
Kurtwood Smith	...	Dr. Alan Harrison
Art Garfunkel	...	Dr. Lawrence Augustine
Betsy Clark	...	Anne Garrett
Nicolette Scorsese	...	Fantasy Lover / Nurse
Meg Register	...	Marion Cavanaugh
Bryan Smith	...	Russell
Marla Levine	...	Patricia
Kim Lentz	...	Nurse Diane
Lloyd T. Williams	...	Sam the Clerk
Carl Mazzocone Sr.	...	Pastor
Erik Shoaff	...	Uncle Charlie
Lisa Oz	...	Flower Shop Girl

MPAA:

Rated R on appeal for two scenes of strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Singapore:R21 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:Unrated (DVD version) | Australia:R | Canada:R (Canadian Home Video rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #32233) (re-rating on appeal) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

822 Lullwater Road, Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Mainline Pictures

Trivia:

Madonna was originally going to play the lead. At that time, the project was titled "Boxing Hanna."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Nick Cavanaugh is on the phone in a telephone box, the camera spins around the box. The reflection on all four sides of the phone box is identical indicating that the phone box is surrounded on all four sides by the same building with the same neon light.

Quotes:

Russell: [watching Helena bathe in the fountain] Who is she?
Doctor Nick Cavanaugh: [mesmerized] She's... Helena.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Boxing Helena (#6.12)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

O MIO BABBINO CARO

Stay Away From This Helena

Jennifer Chambers Lynch's 'Boxing Helena' feels like an outdated, insipid, almost soft-core (and a bad one at that) movie. In spite of having a supposedly 'disturbing' theme (which didn't effect me at all), the film is incredibly boring. The awful background score reminds one of the 80's B-grade erotic thriller (even the makeup and clothes look that way). Cinematography is flat (At least Lynch could have learned something from her dad).The characters are like cardboard cutouts. Sherilyn Fenn is very beautiful but her acting here is not impressive mostly because of the awful writing. Julian Sands is atrocious. No wonder he's never offered a decent role. Lynch's 'Boxing Helena' tries to be a noir style erotic thriller but it merely ends up being a pretentious piece of garbage. Some friends suggested watching the film otherwise I perhaps never would have given this one a chance (not that I blame them or anything).