The Medusa Touch (1978)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Sadly Over-hyped

Load of rubbish!!

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This is not a great film, indeed at times it appears no more than an average TV movie. And yet it is involving, has a very novel central idea and stars Richard Burton and Lino Ventura. Preposterous and yet persuasive this has a very violent beginning and then just as violent a surprise to launch this unique film onward. Burton is brilliant and some of the scenes are among his very best, the courtroom and the wife departure scenes come to mind when his delivery is masterful. Ventura holds his own well though I understand this was hoped to widen the great actor's appeal to the world wider than Italy. So understated is his acting and so ignored was the film that this unfortunately did not happen. Burton's character believes and we are convinced, that he can cause catastrophe. It is unfortunate that what must have been a limited budget led to overblown disaster scenes being unconvincing and a parade of celebratory actors unhelpful. Hidden gem this may not be but well worth seeing as something very different.

With an extraordinary stage presence and a baritone voice so pleasant he could read the phone book and get a standing ovation, RICHARD BURTON would make even the dullest movies interesting (the exception that proves the rule being the dreadful 1977 Exorcist-sequel, THE HERETIC).Legendary for his two turbulent marriages to Liz Taylor, this Welsh Wonder of the World ranks up there with the giants of British film and theatre, but sadly so did his health. The man, who in 1974 nearly drank himself to death, suffered from both kidney disease and an enlarged liver at his early death ten years later.The toast of Hollywood in the early 1950's (Humphrey Bogart was one of his biggest fans), the 1960's saw him as one of the highest-paid movie stars in the world, he received a total of six Academy Award nominations. A Socialist and an Atheist with a strong contempt for Capitalists "exploiting the poor," he even suggested all actors were "latent homosexuals."Like so many of his stage and screen roles, Richard Burton could be larger than life. So what better part for this man, than the starring role in THE MEDUSA TOUCH, playing a writer living in horror convinced that he can murder people just by thinking about it!Most critics strongly dismissed this film upon its release in 1978. In retrospect I guess it's easy to see why a movie like this would seem silly, almost archaic at the time, especially as it was following gritty classics like Deliverance, The French Connection, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and beautiful spectacles like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.Seen with 21st Century goggles however it's near impossible not to enjoy what is going on here. THE MEDUSA TOUCH starts out with a brutal murder, takes on the shape of a police procedural, then flirts more and more with the supernatural, before moving into possible Sci-Fi territory and finally punching you in the face with scenes of both Action and Horror!"Horror" in this case meaning closer to Hammer House than it does the cynical US horror movies of the era (just so I don't get any angry messages from people who were expecting ROSEMARY'S BABY or THE SHINING).THE MEDUSA TOUCH has plenty of quirks and odd twists along the way, even a suicide-scene sprinkled with comedy, but this just adds to the fun, the end result being a movie quite unlike anything else. The movie's finale I found so memorable, I wanted to hug the screen, but that probably says more about me than anything else! Other people might want to punch the screen, and I would pity them for taking their movies so seriously.Italian veteran actor Lino Ventura is a fun choice co-starring as the French (!) police detective who has to figure out what is real and what's not. The beautiful Lee Remick is also along for the ride as Burton's doctor. The rest of the cast is made up of familiar faces, almost like a who's who of British film and television; Gordon Jackson, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern, Derek Jacobi, Michael Byrne and the greatest classic "Sherlock Holmes" in the history of television; Jeremy Brett.The highlight of the cast is still Burton though. There is always something about this man's presence that lends extra credence to anything he's in.Compared to similar films, THE MEDUSA TOUCH seems somewhat forgotten today. Why this is, I'm not sure. Could it be so simple that it followed on the heels of the aforementioned EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC? A genre movie so boring, it works like a black hole on any nearby piece of celluloid.THE MEDUSA TOUCH is anything but boring. It might be eccentric and throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, but just like Richard Burton, it is never boring!

This is an engrossing crime investigation film with an unusual format that extensively utilises flashbacks. The flashbacks are seamlessly integrated into the story and soon the audience is almost unaware of the switching back and forth.The main storyline, focusing on the investigation of detective Brunel, is intriguing with the feel of a European gangster film. This is contrasted with the flashbacks to Morlar, many of which have a different, more English tone. Especially interesting are the flashbacks to Morlar's earlier life: the vignettes involving his parents, his school days, his work as a barrister and a domestic argument between his neighbours in London are excellent. The flashbacks, especially some of those to Doctor Zonfeld and the publisher, Townley, are integrated into the main storyline in an ingenious manner.The last part of the film moves away from police intrigue to telekinesis thriller. While the change from gritty police drama to supernatural fantasy is a little jarring the audience is soon gripped by the new threat and goes along for the ride.The cast is excellent. Richard Burton seems chillingly restrained. Lino Ventura is the perfect choice as a world weary detective who essentially carries the main story - it is too bad they chose to overdub his voice with that of another actor as this seems quite distracting. Lee Remick as Doctor Zonfeld and Harry Andrews are also very effective in their roles. The cast is made up of many recognisable actors in cameos who are all extremely interesting and effective.

A thoroughly silly and over-the-top supernatural thriller, The Medusa Touch manages to be rather entertaining in spite of its own absurdity. Based on a Peter Van Greenaway novel, the story asks us to accept that telekinetic doom-bringer Richard Burton is responsible for an ever-increasing series of disasters. Even after having his brains bashed out by a mystery assailant, he still manages to bring about his destructive mayhem from a hospital bed. Rarely in the annals of cinema has something so wildly ludicrous been played with such earnestness. Alas, not even this cast of respectable character-actors can bring conviction to such far-fetched nonsense.Novelist John Morlar (Richard Burton) claims to have a gift for disaster. He believes he can bring about catastrophes simply by willing them to happen. One evening he is bludgeoned with an ornament in his London flat by a mystery assailant. The attack would kill any normal human, but miraculously Morlar is still alive afterwards and is rushed into intensive care. A French policeman working in London - Inspector Brunel (Lino Ventura) - ends up investigating the attack. He visits Morlar's psychiatrist, Dr. Zonfeld (Lee Remick), to fit together a profile of the victim. Zonfeld tells many stories about Morlar's disaster-prone past, and pretty soon Brunel fears he may be working against supernatural forces. More worrying still is a reference in Morlar's diary which hints at an impending disaster involving a major festival at Westminster Abbey. Brunel finds himself racing against time to prevent yet another Morlar-inspired catastrophe.With a cast of this quality, you'd expect The Medusa Touch to be all about the acting. But most of the support players have little more than single scene cameos, leaving Burton, Ventura and Remick with the only weighty roles. Remick works hard to be persuasive, but Ventura is frequently undermined by his awkwardly thick French accent and Burton is guilty of far too much histrionic over-acting. The story unfolds through a series of episodic flashbacks, and at first this continual stop-start structure tends to be a little irritating (it does improve once you get used to it). Overall, The Medusa Touch isn't too bad. It has an intriguing enough central premise which, although silly, at least keeps the viewer guessing. If you don't expect too much of it, The Medusa Touch comes across as a bit of enjoyable nonsense.