Amazon.com Customer Reviews
 Rated 3 out of 5
slapdash transfer
I won’’t go into the pros or cons of the movie, which many other reviewers have covered earlier. If you like Ken Russell, can tolerate some ambiguity, and enjoy the darkness of Romantic poetry, you probably like this movie; if you don’’t, you won’’t.What I will mention is that Artisan has provided us with a DVD that defines "lackluster." There are no, repeat no, extras on the DVD. Not even an original trailer or still of an A sheet. The format is pan-and-scan, and I do not believe any attempt was made to restore the print. In fact, I would venture so far as to say this is simply the earlier VHS-formatted movie transferred directly onto DVD. If, like me, you no longer own or use a VCR, or your VHS version is worn out, this DVD is worthwhile. If not, then wait until someone who cares about movies, perhaps Anchor Bay, gets permission to produce this movie on DVD, and does it right.  Rated 4 out of 5
"Truth is often stranger than fiction."
Sometimes what is real is much more disturbing than what is make - believe. This movie is a good illustration of this point. Viewing "Gothic" with no foreknowledge of the history and background of the story is like watching a blood fetish porno with a plot. What makes it a great movie though is that, although it seems too fantastical to be real, there is little make - believe. The night when the Shelleys, Byron, his physician and his mistress (a relation of M. Shelley I believe) got together was more than just a gathering of writers. It was a laudanum soaked Carnival. Although a great amount of the story is melodramatic and fictional - especially toward the end - many more elements of the plot are real or are based on actual accounts of the writers’’ character. Byron’’s aversion to blood and his fetish for the women in his wife’’s death mask for example are rumored to be true, so is Polidori’’s extreme Catholic persuasion, Shelley’’s hysterical laudanum fits, and Byron’’s skull. Watch the movie, read in detail what happened that night, study the characteristics of each writer, than watch the movie again. I guarantee a lot of the things which originally seemed ridiculous and out of place will be horrific and make for a great thriller when you realize they are not just bad screenwriting. When you realize that some of the characters are acting strange and almost inappropriately (such as Percy’’s ever wide eyed look) it also helps to remember too that these people were all on a handful of different drug combinations including opium, liquor, and probably hash so they are naturally not going to be acting normal, per se. As a viewer you are also meant to see the events in this film as an onlooker to the party which includes watching them hallucinate and at times be drawn into their hallucinations (it should be noted though that some thing which appear like poor acting probably are).
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