Amore e morte

This hybrid film is after being a Mystery Romance Gothic Horror Thriller Melodrama, not entirely successful throughout in any category but overall an intriguing effort. Based upon the novel, "Always", by Trevor Meldel-Johnsen, the London-set affair features Nigel Terry in a dual role as mid-1980s writer Gregory Thomas, and as an earlier manifestation sharing his soul, Michael Richardson, a mid-1930s ballet choreographer. During the course of a viewing by Gregory and his fiancée Maggie (Jaclyn Smith) in a local theatre of a documentary concerning tragically killed ballerina Brooke Ashley, Gregory is startled by the close resemblance between the two women. After some research, he decides to pen a screenplay of the dancer's life and sudden death by fire, but quickly discovers that the shifting sands of time have obfuscated much that he needs to know. He discovers as well that a substantial portion of his new work appears to exist within his subconscious mind, and that the mystery of reincarnation apparently lies at the root of what becomes for him an uncomfortable search. His delving into the history of Brooke Ashley leads him to contact an old psychic and hypnotist, Olga (Shelley Winters), an intimate of the dancer, and whose home is a shrine to her, and a coalescence of interests occurs between Gregory and the medium. Although Olga guides him to "see" into his prior existence as Richardson, resultant discoveries become rife with a sense of terror and danger. Terry's performance is sensitively crafted, and Claire Bloom, although she is used too sparingly, is also excellent, as the manipulative mother who attempts to end the happiness of the original pair of lovers, while Winters and Smith perform ably. Filmed in London and Paris, with dance footage at the former city's Drury Lane Theatre, the film is the only directorial outing from cinematographer Anthony Richmond and is garnished by the accurate designing of Tony and Joanne Woollard, along with costumes of Marit Allen, each of whom perfectly contrasts the half-century apart eras, and there is a romantic score tendered by Pino Donaggio. The dance scenes are rather shabbily directed and performed, while the script becomes quite incoherent during the film's final portions, but then the original book is, after all, one in which ambiguity is triumphant, and a splendid air of romantic fantasy graces the production.

Miscast, misbegotten film-version of Trevor Meldal-Johnsen's novel "Always", produced by Golan-Globus for Cannon Films as if it were a rank television production. British novelist in the present day is initially fascinated by--and then quickly obsessed with--a deceased prima ballerina from the 1930s who bore a striking resemblance to his current fiancée. A Russian hypnotist (named Olga Nabokova!) takes the man back fifty years, where he discovers he himself was the dancer's lover. One wonders to whom this movie was supposed to appeal; even harlequin romance buffs might expect a little sex and intrigue. This poorly staged, ineptly judged reincarnation-mystery is unusually tame for an R-rated feature (stars Nigel Terry and Jaclyn Smith share numerous scenes in bed--with barely a flash of skin between them). Terry, a thin actor with a huge crop of hair and protruding teeth, continually points his nostrils at the camera, twitching like a drug addict going through withdrawals. He gets the majority of screen-time here, although that may not be such a bad thing as Shelley Winters' heavily-accented psychic is a laughable concoction and former TV Angel Smith is curiously wooden. Pino Donaggio composed a lovely score, and there's a decent plot-twist near the end which shows a tiny bit of imagination. Unfortunately, the overly-bright cinematography and deadening pace keep the film from being the enjoyable slice of ham it should have been. All involved settle instead for a lame duck. * from ****

Jaclyn Smith of 'Charlie's Angels' fame stars in this ho-hum reincarnation thriller, one of the lesser known Cannon Group productions. The story has to do with a writer named Gregory (Nigel Terry of "Excalibur") who probes the mystery of a ballerina who mysteriously perished in a fire in the 1930s. Curiously, his American fiancee (Smith) bears an awfully strong resemblance to that long-ago ballerina. Soon, strange things are happening to Gregory, while he starts working with an aged woman, Madame Nabakov (Shelley Winters, "A Patch of Blue") who knew the ballerina back in the day. Fancying herself a spiritualist, she puts Gregory under in order to help him get in touch with his past life.

While the film is undeniably romantic, this viewer found it difficult to care that much about the story or the characters. It would seem that the filmmakers didn't care that much themselves, as they bring very little zeal to this tale. Smith of course is gorgeous in her dual role, and Winters is typically amusing. Claire Bloom ("Charly") rounds out the main acting quartet as the ballerinas' overly protective mother. Smith radiates elegance, but her performance is passable at best; it's up to Terry to do most of the heavy lifting, although even he doesn't seem to want to make much of an effort.

There are some decent visuals, and a nice score by Pino Donaggio, but the tale fails to make a true emotional impact - until the concluding few minutes, although it's not really enough to redeem the film.

This was the feature directing debut (and, to date, ONLY theatrical feature as a director) for renowned cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond, whose credits in that capacity range from "Don't Look Now" to "The Man Who Fell to Earth" to "Candyman"; he was married to Smith at the time this was made.

Five out of 10.

Based from the bestselling novel ALWAYS by the late Trevor Meldal-Johnsen, this is Somewhere in Time with a twist. Although, largely unreleased in the U.S. cinema, the movie was a huge success when it was released on video. The movie's popularity came into fruition with the dvd and blu ray released. There are people outhere who love this genre and they will not be disappointed.

A number of mysteries unsoved - yes! That is what this movie is aiming for. For the fans of the ever popular Jaclyn Smith, this is a must see. She plays a dual role - both beautifully captivating and managed to stay afloat during the course of the film. British actor Nigel Terry filled up the screen longer than Smith but I think it is purposely done by director Tony RIchmond to create more mystery to the storyline.

All in all, this is a satisfying romantic thriller but only to those who love this genre. Excellent production with haunting music by Pino Donaggio and outstanding supporting cast.

I knew the film was going to be a stinker when they put a steamy sex scene within the first 5 minutes of the movie. And it's a long one scene too with needless closeups of the sex that really served no purpose being there. After all that nonsense was over, the film moved at a snails pace and Jacklyn Smith is hardly even in it, and when she is there she's wearing a bad wig and is such a bore. The bulk of the film is of her wooden husband who's obsessed with some dead woman who happens to be the spitting image if his wife.

It's all a big fat bore and even Shelly Winters couldn't help save this mess...in fact she looked bored herself and was probably only thinking of the paycheck she was getting from making this abysmal trash. If you want to see a suspenseful deja vu type film about reincarnation watch the 1991 film "Dead Again" instead. But if you're out of sleeping pills and looking for an alternative to put you to sleep, watch this snooze fest. I guarantee it'll knock you right out.