For a film that makes "100 Worst Films Ever Made" lists, The Assassination of Trotsky certainly is getting good reviews on this site. Not from me, though.
Joseph Losey was an interesting director in that sometimes he was fantastic, as in The Servant and Mr. Klein, and sometimes he just missed the boat.
He offered Trotsky to Dirk Bogarde, who hated the script and still didn't take it after Losey told him it would be rewritten. He offered Richard Burton the same script and the same promise. I'm certain that Losey didn't lie, but if this was a rewritten script, I'd hate to have seen the previous one.
The film, however, does present a fairly accurate portrayal of Trotsky in exile in Mexico during the final months of his life in 1940 and has some artistic touches, most notably, the disturbing bullfight that parallels the actual assassination. Both were gruesome, but the bullfight was revolting and I had to fast forward through most of it. Kudos to Losey for showing what bullfights are really like, however.
The film contains little dialogue, with the exception of Trotsky's dictation. Alain Delon, who received top billing, wears a beige suit and big sunglasses, looking like a silent Italian model while Romy Schneider screams at him. Also I swear to God that sometimes he was dubbed and sometimes he wasn't, as his voice sounded different in different scenes.
The acting of Delon and Burton at the end of the film is fantastic. The way Mercader (Delon) is portrayed, he is unable to kill Trotsky at his first opportunity, and finally, after hesitation manages to do it, although clumsily. In real life he was a Stalin fanatic, dispatched in fact by Stalin to kill Trotsky, but this isn't shown in the movie. The characters are not fleshed out at all, which makes any connection to the happenings difficult.
In real life, Mercader served 20 years in a Mexican prison. Upon release he eventually returned to Russia, where he was honored as a hero. He divided his time between Cuba and Russia until his death in 1978.
For me this film did not hang together, and there was no character development. The script needed more detail. At 103 minutes, there was definite room for some character expansion and background.
Joseph Losey was an interesting director in that sometimes he was fantastic, as in The Servant and Mr. Klein, and sometimes he just missed the boat.
He offered Trotsky to Dirk Bogarde, who hated the script and still didn't take it after Losey told him it would be rewritten. He offered Richard Burton the same script and the same promise. I'm certain that Losey didn't lie, but if this was a rewritten script, I'd hate to have seen the previous one.
The film, however, does present a fairly accurate portrayal of Trotsky in exile in Mexico during the final months of his life in 1940 and has some artistic touches, most notably, the disturbing bullfight that parallels the actual assassination. Both were gruesome, but the bullfight was revolting and I had to fast forward through most of it. Kudos to Losey for showing what bullfights are really like, however.
The film contains little dialogue, with the exception of Trotsky's dictation. Alain Delon, who received top billing, wears a beige suit and big sunglasses, looking like a silent Italian model while Romy Schneider screams at him. Also I swear to God that sometimes he was dubbed and sometimes he wasn't, as his voice sounded different in different scenes.
The acting of Delon and Burton at the end of the film is fantastic. The way Mercader (Delon) is portrayed, he is unable to kill Trotsky at his first opportunity, and finally, after hesitation manages to do it, although clumsily. In real life he was a Stalin fanatic, dispatched in fact by Stalin to kill Trotsky, but this isn't shown in the movie. The characters are not fleshed out at all, which makes any connection to the happenings difficult.
In real life, Mercader served 20 years in a Mexican prison. Upon release he eventually returned to Russia, where he was honored as a hero. He divided his time between Cuba and Russia until his death in 1978.
For me this film did not hang together, and there was no character development. The script needed more detail. At 103 minutes, there was definite room for some character expansion and background.