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Actors: Richard Burton, Peter Firth
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Equus |
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Based upon the immensely successful Peter Shaffer play, Hollywood transforms this theatrical piece on to the big screen in an impressive way. Richard Burton leads the cast of “Equus” as Dr. Martin Dysart, psychiatrist, who takes the case of young Martin Strang (played by Peter Firth, who also starred in the London stage production). Martin is
accused of blinding six horses with a metal spike. The courts have turned him over to Burton for psychiatric examination. What follows, of coure, is Burton's determination to find out the real reason for this young man's traumatic and bizarre behavior. To find the
truth, both doctor and patient enter into areas that neither may be willing to be led--nor driven. Director Sidney Lumet carefully paces this film and deftly leads the players--and the audience--into one of filmdom's most climactic scenes. And while some critics hail
Burton's performance as “the best of his career” (they perhaps forgot “Virginia Woolf” and “Becket”?), he certainly was deserving of his Oscar nomination (alas, Burton never got an Academy Award for any of his roles!). The movie doesn't stray from its theatrical past,
however, as the screenplay was also written by Shaffer; however, as the movie transcends the stage, allowances are made, modifications are rendered, and interpretations are
sometimes altered. It's still a powerful film to watch.
--Bill Hobbs, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Equus |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- (General) search for meaning/identity
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- doctor
Age:
- 40's-50's
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Body type
- (man) average build
Unclothed?
- full frontal
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
Any profanity?
- None
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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