Jekyll et Hyde

A little more back story is given to this production of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous classic. Taking his turn in the ultimate dual personality role this time is Michael Caine in Jekyll&Hyde.

Caine plays the Victorian doctor in London doing experiments upon himself with mind and body altering drugs who eventually creates an evil alter ego he names as Mr. Hyde. Caine's work has brought him into a nasty personal conflict with his father-in-law Joss Ackland who is also a doctor. Caine is a widower and Ackland believes that his daughter died under his care while Caine experimented with her like a guinea pig. His other daughter Cheryl Ladd doesn't agree. Her husband is a member of the Royal Navy and at sea. She's at sea so to speak herself and not getting certain needs fulfilled. Ladd also tells us that it was an arranged marriage in any event and it's her brother-in-law that really floats her boat.

A lot of credit should go to the makeup department who create a truly evil and terrifying Mr. Hyde. Caine himself creates a dual character of man and beast that takes its place along side such other creators as John Barrymore, Fredric March, Spencer Tracy, Jack Palance, Kirk Douglas and now Caine.

For the modern viewer there lots of hints about Freud's ego and id and that of mind altering chemicals that today are serious law enforcement issues as well. There's also a nice depiction of the London of the Gladstone/Salisbury era.

Fans of the tale will be satisfied.

My favorite Jekyll & Hyde adaptation is--wait for it--Jerry Lewis in the "Nutty Professor" (1963). You think I'm kidding.

Second place goes to this 1990 production with Michael Caine, Cheryl Ladd & Joss Ackland. It's the acting, particularly in the 2nd half, that makes this such a treat to watch. Of course Caine is at the top of his game as usual. Repression & passion come through in full force, particularly in the explosive scene when he confronts his antagonist (Ackland). "Help me!" "Only God can help you now." "Then why doesn't he?!"

The story is simple (if I recall correclty from high school, the original Robert Louis Stevenson tale is only about 45 pages). Despite the many extravagant adaptations, the original story is quite tame on the surface, and this adaptation stays true to that spirit. Don't expect a lot of gore, mass killings and heart-pumping action because that was never the intent. Personally I think this approach works perfectly with violence kept to a minimum because it makes those few violent scenes much more disturbing when they happen.

A romantic angle was added with the character played by Cheryl Ladd (who shows off her acting talents as well as a decent Victorian accent). And although I'm usually cynical toward writers inserting romantic angles, this worked seamlessly. The climax wouldn't have been half as effective without Ladd's stellar performance. The antagonist played by Joss Ackland (whose sinister snarl you may remember from his racist, murdering character in Lethal Weapon 2, released the year before this) adds another welcome dimension. Ackland represents the antithesis to Caine's progressive views, a sort of dark, subversive demon who drags Caine down at every opportunity. Caine completes the triad with his portrayal of a man deeply & secretly tormented. He comes off with just the proper amount of scientific arrogance, kind-hearted humanity, and charming sophistication to make you love him instantly and connect with his pain.

The "4th lead role", Caine's acting as Hyde, is so menacing I thought it had to be a different actor. But no, it's still Michael Caine. The makeup & special effects are straightforward and "analog" (in other words, no big budget computer animation), but that makes the transformation even more intimate & personal. Thus it's even more disturbing when you realize what Hyde is capable of. It's never explicitly shown, but the implication is undeniable: he is a rapist. So yes, by visual standards, this film is tame. But if you read between the lines, it will disturb you to your very core.

Bear in mind, this was a late 80s TV production, so you'll have to forgive the usual TV shortcomings, like slightly overglossed presentation and a musical score which I felt upstaged the dramatic performances at times (I'm a big fan of the orchestra shutting up when a dramatic line is being spoken). But really these are minor nitpicks. It may take you 15 or 20 mins to sink into the movie, but once you do, it's a great ride picking up speed all the way to its colossal ending (which I believe is quite different from the original story, so don't miss it).

A final note about the DVD released in 2002 by Platinum Disc. While it seems to be a transfer from video, it's one of the better video transfers I've seen, crisp & vivid without much blurring. No subtitles or special features, though. If this film were ever to be remastered for Blu-ray I'd definitely pick it up. But until then, the DVD is definitely worth the 5 bucks.

I watched Jekyll and Hyde Movie featuring Michael Caine, It was amazing, This Version of Stevenson's Classic took the dark side of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Michael Caine portrayed as Dr. Jekyll is Brilliant, In this movie Dr. Jekyll is troubled man, His wife died, His friendship between him and Dr. Lanyon is destroyed, So he created a portion that bring transformation of mankind, That bring us to Mr. Hyde. The Transformation in this movie was awesome, Br Jekyll goes by his self to Ugly Mr. Hyde in seconds, The Cast in this movie are amazing as well, Michael Caine did excellent job as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Cheryl Ladd is good job as Sara Crawford a daughter of Dr. Lanyon who Played by Joss Ackland, Who have feud against Dr. Jekyll after his other daugther dies who also Dr. Jekyll Wife and Ronald Pickup is Brilliant as Jeffery Utterson as well. This is outta a doubt a best adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.

Well, after not having watched this movie in about 20 years, I finally did again. The original story has always been my favorite by far. I read it first time when I was 7 years old, and have read and watched just about every adaptation since. While this thing takes some artistic liberties, when it comes to the plot and story, it works very well. It's not however flawless. While I'm a huge Caine fan, this is one of the times where he's overdoing it, big time! Besides that, the addition to the plot, actually makes the characters rather 2D, it lacks character development, even when it comes to Hyde. There's very little info about Jekyll's experiments and research, which is also a shame. It's very worth watching, but don't expect a classic masterpiece like the '1931 adaptation. It is however way better than any of the other adaptations, especially to two horrendous 2006 and 1941 adaptations.

Now, it's not really that this has absolutely nothing to offer... it's really more that it takes an idea with such massive promise, and not only fails to deliver, but actually ruins parts, adds and changes without doing anything, at least positive. I have not read the original by Stevenson, but I am not certain anyone working on this did, either. There's marvelous conflict in the very idea of the character, and this barely manages to realize that at all. The look of Hyde is just bad, and the design of the transformation, the concept used, seems dumb. Much is unintentionally silly(as the other reviewer comments, this would have been good for Mystery Science Theater 3000). I've seen excellent films using non-linear time-lines, but this plays around with time so much, and for so little point(some setting up the final twist, which could have been considerably better, as with the rest of them)... the plot has enough threads, with little to nothing, most notably *not* the main subject of the character(I did notice that the credits said "derived from", not "based on", when listing the book), actually resolved or properly addressed. It also has too many things going, at the same time. The dialog has select moments that are noteworthy, with the rest, the very most part, being utterly preposterous. The acting is seldom commendable, save for Caine, and even he has weak instances. Effects tend to be poor. Ladd's character and what she brings to the story is worse than useless, it hurts the movie. Music is unimpressive, and portions are far too loud. Attempts at comedy are ironically the least funny bits in the film. A lot of things happen without this ever engaging or interesting the(or at least this) viewer. Editing and cinematography cut corners and has so little to offer, you have to wonder why they bothered to make any effort at all. This may also feature the least helpful/discreet(in unexpected situations, at least) servants I've ever seen, even if they do(at times) seem to have good intentions. I recommend this to... well, those people who just *must* watch every adaptation and/or Michael Caine feature out there. The rest of us, please remember that just because it's TV, it doesn't have to mean it's bad; this is outdone even by productions in the same(financial and whatnot) class. 5/10