Tattoo - Jede große Liebe hinterläßt ihre Spuren

I think people are too hard on this film. It's one of my favourites. Maud Adams turned out to be a wonderful actress (have you noticed people seem to be nasty about models turned actresses if they're any good?). As for Bruce Dern.... WOW! He's great too! It's much like "The Collector" in the sense that he kidnaps her out of obsession, perhaps convincing himself it's love- being a lonely character in it.Don't be mislead, it's a good film. It's not perverted in anyway. It's known by people who've read about it that he tattoos her (probably how it gets it's title!), true, but people forget that she is attracted to the idea, denying it to herself though, which provokes his attack- probably. Well, that's my opinion and Maud Adams is my favourite actress. In my 'crazy' mind she's the best actress to have come from the James Bond films ("The Man With The Golden Gun" and "Octopussy", as Andrea Anders and Octopussy respectively). Try to watch and don't be led into thinking it's a 'sleazy' film because it's not. It's a marvellous film!!

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Tattoo; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.00

TOTAL: 6.00 out of 10.00

Not being a great Bruce Dern fan, I hesitated in watching Tattoo. Being filmed in 1981, I was unsure how they could produce a decent horror film based on Tattoos. Well, they couldn't. It's a dark thriller about yet another "broken" man.

The writers give us the story of Karl Kinsky, a tattoo artist who fell in love with the Japanese style of body painting when he served in the navy. Not only does Karl promote the Japanese style, but he's also captivated by its history, myths and legends. His work is skilled and superbly detailed. Due to his talent, his work is brought to the attention of a magazine photographer. Kinsky's ink could be something special for his next feature. The job brings him in contact with Maddy. A model who could be his muse, who could be his next canvas. Her skin and body are perfect. Bob Brooks and Joyce Bunuel, the writers, give the audience a slow and plausible slide into obsession and mania. Kinsky is a loner and awkward with women. He's brusque, single-minded, and quick to anger. When he gets angry, it's easy to see Kinsky isn't a man to cross. There's a disturbing scene in a restaurant when a self-obsessed obnoxious blatherer invites himself to sit at their table because he knows Maddy. Kinsky doesn't like that he cusses around a lady and asks him to leave. When the man confronts him with, "What you gonna do, hit me?" Kinsky replies with a look that means business, "I don't hit people I don't like. I Kill Them!" And, you believe he would. One thing I found particularly engaging was his delusion that Maddy was a virtuous person. She isn't. She's not bad by any means, but she's not as righteous as Kinsky believes. The two are chalk and cheese. However, their differences make the story more credible and captivating. It would have been delightful had the writers added more detail about Kinsky's tattoo obsession and some of its background. It would have helped strengthen the viewers' belief in his methods and actions.

Brooks also directs, and, sadly, he has an average cinematographic style. Tattoo is a movie that could have been reinforced by some smart camera work - More intriguing close-ups of the body art. Slow pans across the inked flesh. And when Kinsky is working on Maddy, a couple of overhead shots wouldn't have gone amiss to add extra interest. That said, Brooks did give me a wonderful thought-provoking image of used paint swirling down a shower plug-hole. One hindrance to the filming is the slow pace. Brooks is apt to use it quite well to keep the atmosphere a tad off-kilter and keep your nerves slightly piqued. But when there's a dip in the story and direction, then the slowness becomes noticeable.

The cast is superb. I especially liked both the lead characters. Bruce Dern gives simmering menace to the camera excellently, and I have to say Kinsky is one of my favourite roles he's performed. I've only seen Maude Adams in secondary roles, such as being a Bond Girl or in cameos. I was surprised at how good she does here. There are a couple of moments when things slip a little, but you can accept these because, for the rest of the time, she's spot on with her character's personality.

If you're looking for an entertaining dark thriller to pass a Sunday afternoon or evening, then look no further than Tattoo. It's a delicious slice of the Psychopath Pie. Not every nutter dresses up as Mother or makes ashtrays from people's skulls. I may not be rewatching the movie anytime soon, though I may meander upon it again in a few years or so.

Now you have that full sleeve finished, come on over and look at my Killer Thriller Chillers list to see where I ranked Tattoo.

Take Care & Stay Well.

My trusty Video Movie Guide 2001 dubbed this 'the most vile, reprehensible, sexist, and misogynistic piece of tripe ever released under the guise of a mainstream film.' Naturally, I went out and rented it right away. Frankly, I don't understand what the fuzz is all about. It's just another character study, albeit not a very good one: given their respective situation, both the kidnapper and his victim exhibit rather unbelievable behaviour. There are hints of both 'Psycho' and 'The Collector', but 'Tattoo' lacks the tension of the first and the insight in character of the latter. I understand the ending caused quite some commotion in it's time: I thought this was the strongest scene in the whole film. I won't give the ending away, let me just say the scene was at the same time erotic and disturbing

This story makes has me thinking what makes a man so twisted that he becomes deeply obsessed with the woman he loves the most. (Academy Award Nominee Bruce Dern) portrays Karl Kinski a tattoo artist who develops a twisted obsession for a model that he desires the most. Maud Adams (also known as one of the bond girls who was in both The Man with Golden Gun and Octopussy) portrays Maddy, the model that Karl desires the most. This has received a little bit of controversy surrounding the issue of the poster the shows a woman to her ankles. There was also another rumor if whether the sex scene between Maud Adams and Bruce Dern was either real or just an illusion. I don't know how to rate this film, but the point of this film was that it that there are crazed obsessives who lurk among us. To be honest this was a good film.

As a psychopathic tattoo artist, Bruce Dern has to work extra hard here, because the script is very sketchy as far as his motivations and background are concerned, but he is up to the task - he has some very creepy moments (like his first outburst at a dinner table). As his "object of desire", however, Maud Adams is fatally miscast: the way she plays the model in the first half of the movie, you just can't understand why anyone would become infatuated with her. This strange film might be worth a look if you can find it, but don't expect too much. (**)