[go: up one dir, main page]

    Calendário de lançamento250 filmes mais bem avaliadosFilmes mais popularesPesquisar filmes por gêneroBilheteria de sucessoHorários de exibição e ingressosNotícias de filmesDestaque do cinema indiano
    O que está passando na TV e no streamingAs 250 séries mais bem avaliadasProgramas de TV mais popularesPesquisar séries por gêneroNotícias de TV
    O que assistirTrailers mais recentesOriginais do IMDbEscolhas do IMDbDestaque da IMDbGuia de entretenimento para a famíliaPodcasts do IMDb
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb Stars to WatchPrêmios STARMeterCentral de prêmiosCentral de festivaisTodos os eventos
    Criado hojeCelebridades mais popularesNotícias de celebridades
    Central de ajudaZona do colaboradorEnquetes
Para profissionais do setor
  • Idioma
  • Totalmente suportado
  • English (United States)
    Parcialmente suportado
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Lista de favoritos
Fazer login
  • Totalmente suportado
  • English (United States)
    Parcialmente suportado
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Usar o app
Voltar
  • Elenco e equipe
  • Avaliações de usuários
  • Curiosidades
  • Perguntas frequentes
IMDbPro
Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold in Gêmeos - Mórbida Semelhança (1988)

Avaliações de usuários

Gêmeos - Mórbida Semelhança

183 avaliações
7/10

Horrific, Disgusting, Grotesque, Riveting

Cronenberg consistently makes technically well crafted films. His subject matter however and the way he displays his subject matter (ie – his love of gore and perverse creations), often divides opinion of his works.

I think what makes DR a remarkably strong film is that Cronenberg tones down his use of trademark gore. There is a little, but it's used sparingly and non-gratuitously. This shows that Cronenberg can exercise self-control when he wants to.

The overall look of the film is beautiful: Ultra modern and austere. The twins apartment looks like the perfect abode for socially detached souls.

But the most extraordinary aspect of DR is Jeremy Iron's performance as both Mantle Twins. He shades each of the twin brothers amazingly and makes them both terrifying and sympathetic characters. Geneviève Bujold also delivers a faultless performance, looks fantastic as a more mature woman and proves the fact that women over 40 can be very sexy; a fact which Hollywood (very insultingly) continues to ignore.

The film's subject matter is very unsettling and controversial. As a man, I found a lot of scenes difficult to watch. But to be fair, Cronenberg never pushes the film into the cheap and tasteless territories of gratuitousness and exploitation.

Overall, DR is a very heavy experience. As one reviewer noted: ‘Do not watch if you are feeling depressed.' I agree totally with this point. But it is a film which is guaranteed to remain in the mind a long, long time afterwards. Ultimately, I like films which I can remember in detail years after I've seen them.

7/10
  • roland-sinn
  • 19 de ago. de 2003
  • Link permanente
6/10

Good but couldn't quite connect to it

  • dissident320
  • 4 de set. de 2017
  • Link permanente
8/10

Irons in his two best screen performances!

A very fine film that challenges and rewards just about equally and somehow has a downbeat ending that manages to be uplifting. I suppose we have been through a lot by the end and although there is an horrific sadness there is an awful inevitability and we like the twin brothers can finally see no other way out. Bujold plays a starlet who comes between two identical twins (Irons in his two best screen performances!) and whilst the tale begins playfully enough we are given enough signals to suggest all will not be well, although we like all three leads do hope so. We see ourselves in the three and if at first we are confounded to discover we are confused by who is who, just when we have got the two under some control, like Bujold indeed, it all goes wrong and the brothers switch personalities before our very eyes. This is all disturbing enough without the gynaecological instruments of torture and the playing with pain and pleasure leading us to some darkened room.
  • christopher-underwood
  • 21 de out. de 2005
  • Link permanente

Typically Cronenberg but yet accessible as well; a great script and plot is made all the more compelling by the director and two fantastic performances from Jeremy Irons

Growing up together as social outcasts with only each other for company, twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle become very close. This closeness becomes more like them both sharing one self in two bodies as they study in the same area and eventually become experts in the field of gynaecology. They share everything and few can tell them apart; an arrangement that works well until Beverly falls for a patient (Claire Niveau) and finds that there are things he doesn't want to share with Elliot. As Bev confronts the idea of them being separate for the first time ever, he starts to fall apart mentally and, when Elliot tries to reach out and help him he too is drawn into confusion over identity and an inability to find where one of them stops and the other starts.

Being a Cronenberg film I knew to expect body horror and, shall I say, an 'unusual' theme and in many ways the film delivered in spades but in a much more cerebral fashion. The plot is not easy to explain but it is a totally convincing breakdown of both Elliot and Beverly as they lose contact with the lines between them (if the lines ever really existed). Of course it is rather extreme but it is relentlessly interesting in terms of the script and the characters. The gynaecological part of the film allows Cronenberg to explore his more usual body horror stuff but this all came second to the much more interesting material that exists in the script. Cronenberg appears to be as fascinated as me by the characters and he directs with a cold eye, letting the creepy atmosphere come from not only the story but every shot, every set and every performance; not only this but this is one of his more accessible films without losing much of what makes Cronenberg Cronenberg.

Of course a massive part of the film working is two perfect performances from Jeremy Irons, who I have not seen better in any other films. Using special effects as well as the old 'over the shoulder' technique, Irons is able to convincingly be on screen in two characters at the same time, but it is not the shot framing that makes it convincingly two characters, it is Irons' performance that does that. His Beverly is so feeble and has a convincing breakdown; while his Elliot appears much more together but suffers in a different way from the same struggle. Obviously being identical, it is due to Irons that the two characters come across so very different but yet seem just like the same person. In every little scene he manages to stay in character no matter what – it's hard for me to describe, you need to really see it for yourself. Bujold is good in support early on but, as the twins' story gets more complex, her characters feels a bit intrusive and uninteresting, but generally she is good. However, to talk about anyone beyond this is to suggest there is room for them in the film – there isn't. Instead the film is pretty much dominated by two people – and they are both Jeremy Irons, producing two great performances that were vital for the film to work.

Overall this may be a little too weird for some viewers but many more will find it to be one of their favourite Cronenberg films on the basis that it has the qualities that makes him him but is also a lot more accessible as well. The body horror is there in the background but it is the psychological scarring and confusion that is of much more interest; the script is great even if the plot goes to the usual Cronenberg excesses but it is two perfect performances by Irons that makes it all come together in a compelling and interesting film.
  • bob the moo
  • 18 de set. de 2004
  • Link permanente
6/10

Twin-terror

  • Coventry
  • 20 de set. de 2004
  • Link permanente
10/10

"No, you're right, he's not alone- but he's lonely. Even with me."

While I like "The Brood" quite a bit, Dead Ringers gets my vote as Cronenberg's best work.

Follow along as the twin brothers spiral out of control when they unsuccessfully try to break free from each other. One's more confident, the other more timid. But they depend on each other, and at middle age neither has the psychological strength to be their own person; they still don't have a sense of self. Among many favorite moments, I love the scene where Elliott, the more confident twin, tries to kiss Claire. It's his way of trying to synchronize himself with his brother Beverly, whom Claire has a true connection with. "I'm sorry but I can't", she intones. Elliott turns to the mirror, disturbed. "Am I really that different from my brother?". He absolutely does not know who he is.

Although it's not without some humor, Dead Ringers is very bleak. It has an emotional intensity that most movies can't touch. It is sad AND beautiful.

The movie itself *looks* great. Good script, and AWESOME performances from both Irons and Bujold. As another reviewer suggested, watch it twice if you don't like it the first time- it might grow on you.

This is my all-time favorite movie.
  • latherzap
  • 3 de mar. de 2002
  • Link permanente
6/10

powerful and well acted, but far too slow

  • TheNorthernMonkee
  • 18 de out. de 2005
  • Link permanente
10/10

A deep study of the human behavior

Known as a director of "weird" films (unfortunadely unusual means bad for many), Cronenberg is actually a serious studious of the human mind, not unlike Ingmar Bergman, and here he does it better than in any other of his films i have seen (Spider, The Fly and Videodrome- the last one about the influence of TV in society and the least introspective of them). Like in the pictures mentioned above, the very strange premise is a excuse to a deep analysis of the human psychology: what is identity? where is the line between love and obsession? how dependent of another person someone can be? where does one ends and the other begins? It can be seen the influence of Bergman, most notably Persona and The Hour of the Wolf, and arguably Hitchcock's Vertigo, and, as the masters, Cronenberg does not provide easy answers, or any answer at all. But no matter how great the director is, the film would not be successful without the talent of Jeremy Irons. An actor capable of very good performances even in bad films, like The Man in the Iron Mask, he delivers here one of the greatest performances of all time, playing two extremely complex characters without being over-the-top or inexpressive in any moment, confusing us of which is Bev and which is Elly when he is supposed to, and making clear who is he playing in the right moment. Dead Ringers is not an ordinary film, so is not for ordinary moviegoers: it is very complex, not commercial at all, can be very hard to look at it in some moments, and don't expect to feel good after watching it. But if that does not drives you away, i strongly recommend.
  • flasuss
  • 3 de ago. de 2005
  • Link permanente
7/10

difficult to get into, but once it takes hold...

David Cronenberg is a director of great unique vision, and he ranks highly on my list of favorites, not because every film he does is great per se, but because there is a certain level of consistency and quality that infects each bizarre celluloid mutation he comes up with. David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick have done a few good films, but their track records are generally inconsistent--Cronenberg, while grossly underrated, outshines them all. And "Dead Ringers"--probably his most widely-praised film in the mainstream, next to "The Fly"--is no exception. The film is quite puzzling on first inspection, and I did have a hard time settling into the mentality that would let me enjoy it, but once I did, I was thoroughly impressed--whether playing the smarmy Elliott or the sensitive Beverly Mantle, Jeremy Irons gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as identical twin gynecologists (the subtleties of difference in personality command multiple viewings to register). Not only is the film's central theme both compelling and disturbing (one personality split between two people), but the descent into (prescription) drug addiction and botched gynecological procedures (with Cronenberg's trademark insect-like surgical instruments) will make your skin crawl. It's a bleak, depressing, and tragic tale, but it shows brotherly relations with an intimacy few films ever approach. Anchored by Irons' spectacular dual performance, "Dead Ringers" is a film that shows a lot of maturity on Cronenberg's part, and though it might be hard to call it 'entertaining,' it does contain harsh imagery with an emotional pulse that will not be easily forgotten.

7/10
  • Jonny_Numb
  • 12 de ago. de 2003
  • Link permanente
10/10

Gold instrument intrudes your soul

To date, Cronenberg's deepest film.

Jeremy Irons summons a performance of profound complexity, to pull off a double-act so credible that your feelings are divided, twin egg-like, between two characters. The polar-opposite attraction/repulsion of each brother's personality shines through in his every scene - to flesh out two characters so distant yet so deeply intimate, and do it so convincingly, requires more than acting, and this is by far his finest moment.

I can't say any more about this film other than that seeing it is a life-enhancing experience. Anyone who has ever taken potent substances with a close friend, as a kind of emotional rite, will be moved beyond words by the twins' climactic scene.

Never mind the detractors who say it's cold and clinical and abusive - they just don't understand it. There is love, warmth and beauty in abundance in this film - a horror film? A psychological thriller? A love story? Don't try and give it a name and place, it's just an essential part of understanding us: as adults; as children; as weird, fathomless organisms.
  • a---n---t
  • 11 de set. de 2004
  • Link permanente
7/10

Absolutely Brilliant First Half, Ho-Hum Second Half

I was in a Cronenberg kick when I picked up Dead Ringers. I had just seen The Fly and eXistenZ, both of which I loved, and I was bent on renting Crash, but the idiotic Puritanical video store (Hollywood Video) only had the R rated, edited for content version. So I saw this video, so I rented it.

And boy was I impressed for an hour. I was utterly interested in all the characters. The cast was flawless, and it was a masterpiece. I was absolutely fascinated.

And then, about an hour through, every single character gets addicted on prescription drugs. It becomes so completely run-of-the-mill that I felt robbed. Also, some of the characters' decisions seem completely unbelievable. For instance, one twin, to understand his brother's drug habit, gets himself hooked on drugs. I realize this is based on a true story, but I doubt that that was the reason the second brother got hooked on drugs. I found myself not caring about the characters anymore. I felt bored. I even thought the ending, which many find amazing, unsatisfying. It was very difficult to understand what was going on, and even when the film ended, I was confused. But by that point, I didn't care enough to figure it out.

This film is surely worth seeing for its amazing first half. I loved it. But when the characters all get hooked on drugs, just shut it down. 7/10
  • zetes
  • 4 de abr. de 2000
  • Link permanente
8/10

"Dead Ringers" = Separation Anxiety?

  • dee.reid
  • 15 de jun. de 2005
  • Link permanente
6/10

Less Would Have Been More. Much Less.

In Cronenberg's 'Dead Ringers' Jeremy Irons plays identical twin gynecologists. And though it is impossible to tell them apart physically they are, in fact quite different. In a complementary way. One is a womanizer, the other too shy. One does the research, the other is the fund seeker, the face of the practice. And while this can be beneficial in some ways, it is also limiting. Neither man can reach his own potential due to his reliance on the other. And as the film progresses we come to understand that there might be only one solution.

Everyone is aware of the twins' existence. Everyone but their patient played by Jacqueline Bujold. She sleeps with both (uh oh) only later learning that she was fooled. Though she is angered by this, the sex was good, and the lady wants nothing more than that. Oh, except for a baby, which is why she visited the twins in the first place. And if this ain't enough for you she falls in love with the 'shy' brother, detests the other, and in this imperils their relationship.

Not bad, right? I agree. The problem however is length. The film's. Too much, by far. Too many scenes that repeat points already made, that add nothing to the forward movement of the film. Add to this that the film moves back and forth between the surreal and the true to life; so much so that we believe we are, at times, in a dream (blood red operating room scrubs) but, we are not. The film has a Gothic look and feel which is fitting to the story. But anything can be overdone. And in 'Dead Ringers' that aspect definitely is.

Jeremy Irons is great. As is Ms. Bujold (adorable and sexual and who could ask for more?). But the film's pace made me impatient. Very. I could not wait for its Final scene. Which, by the way, is almost worth the wait.
  • levybob
  • 21 de out. de 2022
  • Link permanente
4/10

Dreary Ringers

Irons is excellent in the dual role of twin gynecologists. Bujold is also good as an actress the twins get involved with. Cronenberg creates an appropriately grim atmosphere, aided by fine cinematography and score (by Shore). However, all of these positive qualities are negated by a bad script (by Cronenberg). After an interesting start, the film goes south and becomes increasingly tedious with scenes of drug use and emotional theatrics. Cronenberg's usual fascination with gore makes matters worse. The relationship between identical twins may be fascinating to psychologists but it makes for a dull movie when there is nothing else in the plot to keep the viewer's interest.
  • kenjha
  • 16 de jun. de 2006
  • Link permanente

"Separation Can Be A Terrifying Thing"

Identical twin brothers Beverly and Elly Mantle are successful gynaecologists in Toronto. Their relationship is intense and very close - perhaps too close. The Mantles experiment with sex, drugs and personal identity, to the detriment of their practice, and ultimately of their psychological health.

This is a David Cronenberg film, so we are in the familiar realm of horror, mind games and perverted science. The director/producer/writer appears in the credits above the title and even ahead of his stars, Irons and Bujold. Essentially, the 'dead ringers' of the title are the brothers, who regard their mental and emotional oneness as being something more. They see themselves as siamese twins, bound by their flesh, and fated to share every experience, even unto death.

Irons does wonders to play two complex characters in one movie. A new technique called 'motion control' allows the actor to appear as two people in the same frame, but there is also plenty of the old 'body double' method, filming over a shoulder, then reversing the angle.

As teenage boys, the Mantle twins are clearly very bright, and display a precocious interest in surgery and women's reproductive apparatus. They are also creepy geeks. By the late 1980's they are handsome forty-somethings, and hailed as brilliant gynaecologists by everyone in the medical profession.

The screen actress Claire Niveau becomes Elliot's patient, and the brothers are soon sharing her. They frequently swap places without her knowledge. She has a unique uterus, and as Beverly (or is it Elliot?) explores this feature with his fingers, it is difficult to tell whether he is examining her or masturbating her. Before long, both brothers are doing both to Claire.

Elliot is a few minutes older than Beverly, microscopically taller and a nuance darker in colouring, but by nature he and 'baby brother' are utterly different. While Beverly is shy and diffident, Elliot is a callous, manipulative smoothie. When Claire, still unaware that she is sleeping with two men, expresses an interest in mild masochism, Beverly recoils but Elly enthusiastically obliges. He uses surgical tubes and clamps to tie Claire down for sex, and as he releases her after orgasm, we sense that for him the experience has been 'surgical' - almost a dispassionate experiment.

If Beverly is Jeckyll and Elliot is Hyde, we are always conscious that both personalities inhabit one awareness. "You haven't had any experience until I've had it too," Elliot tells Beverly, and the twins certainly seem to share everything, treating each other's patients (without telling the patients, of course) and working in tandem on research papers. The twins have a twin obsession in common - work and sex. Beverly sums it up with, "We do women - that's our speciality."

Identity is at the core of this film, and the dualities and ambiguities of personality recur with brain-teasing frequency. The twins are interested in female genitalia, both professionally and recreationally. Claire attracts them because of her dualities - she is a big personality who adopts other personas for her work: a strong woman who is turned on by being submissive: a gynaecological 'star' who happens to be infertile: and the French Canadian 'twin' to the English Canadian brothers. Elliot sleeps with two call-girls who are twin sisters, and identifies them by getting each to call him either 'Bev' or 'Elly'. The film has layer upon layer of these dualities. Genevieve Bujold is a French Canadian actress playing a French Canadian actress. We see her being made up for a movie, but when we see her left side, the make-up is of cuts and bruises. The Mantles prescribe drugs to each other, and each to himself, criss-crossing the doctor/patient demarcation lines. They take pills to cure their addiction to pills. Cary is having a relationship with Elliot, but when she gets both brothers at once, she is deeply aroused. The film, like the brothers, oscillates between oneness and separation. "I want to see you two together," says Claire, confused by their duality. So do we.
  • stryker-5
  • 23 de jan. de 1999
  • Link permanente
7/10

Outstanding Performance of Jeremy Irons Associated to a Great Edition Work

  • claudio_carvalho
  • 15 de mar. de 2016
  • Link permanente
8/10

Deep meaning and stylish art by Cronenberg.

Elliot and Beverly Mantle (Jeremy Irons) are identical twins that are top-of-the-class and incredibly well known gynaecologists. They also treat themselves by swapping their identities around, so they can share each other's work commitments and pleasures, like woman. But all of this comes back to destroy them emotionally and physically.

An intriguing and rather inventive premise director / co-writer David Cronenberg has come up with here. The worlds Cronenberg creates in his film's are rather fascinating in looking at the human body and technology. This film is no exception. So you can't really call this mainstream, as it's not for everyone's tastes. That's why his films seem to have great impact in the realistic visuals and material context. It's flowing with originality, good psychological elements, erotica and it holds such an artistic feel with its stunning visuals and elegance to show.

This thought-provoking drama is rather stimulating and quite downbeat. Though, it's mostly a talkative film; the dialogue is dense on many levels that it's truly captivating. It's more the material context that tries to shock and explore in a subtle way rather than the horrific visuals and shocks that we come to expect from most of Cronenberg's films. It doesn't contain much graphic moments, only about one or two. The sub-plots are drawn up quite well with dabbling in sexual desires and pleasure, technology (instruments and tools of the trade), the twins physical bond, addiction and a rather modernistic world. It's filled with sharp and intense sequences that are entrenched with an effective music score, as it overwhelmingly draws you in. This unsettling aurora builds into paranoia in the last half of the film and it ends rather disturbingly. The stylish production valves are incredibly glossy and professional. With beautifully crafted and slick cinematography. The gloomy colours that fill the screen hold great contrast in the moody and detail backdrop. From their fashionable home to their cold work office.

Jeremy Iron gives a tremendously charismatic performance playing both Elliot and Beverly Mantle. Elliot is Beverly's backbone as he's confident and arrogant. Beverly is the opposite as he's more innocent and rather sweet. Beverly wants to break the bond that they share, but Elliot can't let that happen. At first they weren't that likable, but the further the film goes along we see their downfall and there spiral into madness. That's when you start to feel for them and it gets rather emotionally charged. They also live and depend on each other, feeling what the other one feels and that's mostly pain and gloom here. This happens when they start to depend on painkillers and Beverly believing his girlfriend is cheating on him. This portrait shows how fragile they really are and how we really depend and feel when love ones are in pain and sorrow. As we are effected in the same way too. Genevieve Bujold is splendid as Claire Niveau the movie star and Beverly's love interest.

Maybe the film was a bit overlong, but this is a shockingly grim and efficient film that plays on many levels of the mind.
  • lost-in-limbo
  • 9 de jun. de 2005
  • Link permanente
6/10

Coming Between Twins

IMDb categorized this movie as a horror thriller drama. Take out the horror and thriller and then it is a proper categorization. There was nothing that could classify it as a horror. Meaning there were no scares, only a tad bit of blood, nothing creepy, eerie, or spooky. It also wasn't a thriller. Meaning there were no thrills, no suspense, no excitement, or anything that would get the pulse racing. It was an interesting drama to some extent, but a drama nonetheless.

Jeremy Irons plays the role of twin brothers, Doctors Beverly and Elliot Mantle. They are the premier doctors in the gynecological field. Elliot is the more confident, smarmy, ladies man while Bev is the shier, but more diligent worker. When Bev falls for a patient named Claire Niveau (Genevieve Bujold) the dynamics between the twins begins to change.

Before she came on the scene they were inseparable. They worked together, lived together, and even shared the same women. Claire's insertion into the equation changed all that and the two could barely cope.

"Dead Ringers" goes into the character differences between twins while acknowledging that some of them still have a psychological and emotional dependence upon each other. "Dead Ringers" gets real dark and depressing and even esoteric. As for me, I was thrown a curve hence I didn't like the movie all that much. I was expecting something more along the lines of a horror or a suspense or a thriller and I got none of those.
  • view_and_review
  • 28 de fev. de 2020
  • Link permanente
10/10

A beautiful Masterpiece

After a very successful career exploring the physical horrors in a series of excellent films (that culminates in the awesome remake of "The Fly"), Canadian director David Cronenberg made another step up in the development of his personal style of film-making, by moving to the field of psychology with a suspense/thriller that while less visceral and graphic than his previous films, it's no less horrific and captivating: "Dead Ringers". While at first sight this film seems like a departure, it's simply the logic evolution of a style that reaches maturity without forgetting its origins. Just as "The Fly" can be seen as the grandiose closure of an era, "Dead Ringers" is the glorious beginning of a new stage.

Beverly and Elliot Mantle (both played by Jeremy Irons) are identical twins that from birth have been so close. So close that they have studied the same profession, work together as gynecologists and literally share everything (including lovers) between them. This symbiotic relationship begins to shatter when a new patient, actress Claire Niveau (Geneviève Bujold), enters in their life. The problem? Beverly, who has always been the shy, introverted one of the two, has fallen in love with her, and doesn't see to be too happy with the idea of sharing with his brother anymore. As the tag-line reads, "Separation Can Be A Terrifying Thing".

Loosely based on Bari Wood and Jack Geasland's book "Twins" (which was also loosely based on a strange, real-life case), the plot at first sounds like something out of a typical made for TV drama; however, "Dead Ringers" is still a Cronenberg film and so it is still full of the themes that the famed director loves. Taking the themes of identity and the duality of identity as a start point, Cronenberg tells the story of a perfect organism made out of two persons. The Mantle brothers are physically two men, but psychologically they work as one, and the "invasion" that Claire means in their life is like a viral infection that begins to corrode the brothers from the inside.

With a perfectly developed script, Cronenberg details the effects of this "infection" with surgical precision, and while the film is not as violently graphic as his previous efforts, it is by no means less disturbing. This progression to a more psychological exploration of horror (see first in "Videodrome" and "The Dead Zone") is marked by a subtler cinematography, that with a cold, sterile setting gives life to the horrors unleashed by the breakdown of the brothers. In simple words, "Dead Ringers" is a movie that mixes perfectly horror, drama and romance in ways that few films dare to attempt. This is the masterpiece that would lead the way to Cronenberg's more psychological projects like "M. Butterlfy", "Crash" or "Spider".

While Cronenberg's direction is outstanding, the film wouldn't be the same without the talent of Jeremy Irons as the two main characters. In the difficult role of giving life to two different yet similar men, Irons succeeds with amazing results delivering what probably is his best performance in his career. As Beverly he is shy, introverted and almost charming; while as Elliot he becomes this manipulative smooth-talker who feels his balance threatened by the inclusion of Claire in their lives. While certainly is Irons who receives most of the praise, the films is also benefited by Geneviève Bujold's acting as Claire. Her performance is very natural and fresh, showing truly a believable chemistry with Irons as her character enters the private world of the Mantle brothers.

Personally, I think "Dead Ringers" is a flawless job by an artist reaching maturity; however, I can understand why some would have troubles with it. The main problem is definitely that horror fans expecting something like "The Brood" or "The Fly" won't find a lot of that graphic horror here, but at the same time, people expecting a normal romance-drama film will find really disturbing scenes. It's really hard to approach "Dead Ringers" that way, so my best advice would be to go with an open mind to discover one of the most amazing films of the 80s.

"Dead Ringers" has become a new favorite of mine, due to it's interesting complex plot and the subtle classy direction by Cronenberg. It's an unusual film by him, but no less amazing, as it has his trademark all over the place. Probably one of the most beautiful horror films ever made, "Dead Ringers" is a timeless masterpiece. 10/10
  • jluis1984
  • 25 de out. de 2006
  • Link permanente
6/10

Two Jeremies for the price of one.

Dead Ringers is not your typical horror movie. Besides a couple scenes that could qualify for horror there is not much going on as far as goes the horror. It's more a psychological drama/thriller where we get to watch Jeremy Irons playing identical twins, twins with some mental issues. It's not David Cronenberg's best but it's worth a watch. Certainly as it's from 1988 and making one person appear twice in the same shot wasn't the most obvious thing to do back then. The story itself is okay and keeps you interested. To me it could just have used a bit more horror scenes.
  • deloudelouvain
  • 7 de mar. de 2019
  • Link permanente
9/10

Slow-moving and thoroughly disturbing

A powerful and disturbing psychological horror film from prolific director David Cronenberg. Unlike Cronenberg's earlier, more straightforward visceral offerings - such as THE FLY and SCANNERS (incidentally, the star of SCANNERS, Stephen Lack, makes an unwelcome cameo appearance), DEAD RINGERS plays it slowly, taking time to create realistic characters (thanks to some superb acting on behalf of the leads) and building up a horrifying story. This film really makes an impression on you and is chilling to the extreme. Jeremy Irons gives what I believe to be one of his finest performances in the dual roles of the twin brothers, conveying sadness, disgust, and insanity like no other. That he also convinces you that he's two separate people is a mark of class.

Rather than in-your-face gore and stark terror (of which you might have come to expect from Cronenberg's earlier '80s offerings), there is an unsettling and disturbing story built up here of the two twins, and Jeremy Irons is simply magnificent in his role. Why he didn't win any awards for it I will never know. The viewer really feels for the two doomed brothers and there are lots and lots of disturbing, mind-rending scenes included in the film, most of them involving the perversely shaped instruments that Irons has constructed in a fit of madness - yet another mark of Cronenberg's twisted "body horror".

It's a difficult for me to review because in order to understand it, you have to see it. I can't really describe the impact it has because of the psychological nature of the thing; it's all very well reviewing cheap made-for-video trash but actual classics like this are a much harder nut to crack. All I can say is that it's an excellent film and provokes many disturbing images in your mind. It's not an easy film to watch either, there were moments where I felt like turning the video off due to the horror on show and the fact that the bastard Cronenberg makes us CARE for the people as he tortures them inside and out. There is little more that I can say, apart from if you want real, numbing horror then seek out this film as opposed to the latest Freddy or Jason offering which were doing the rounds at the time this was made. You'll never forget DEAD RINGERS, and in spite of sounding melodramatic, it may will haunt you and give you sleepless nights (it disturbed me, that's for sure)!
  • Leofwine_draca
  • 9 de jun. de 2016
  • Link permanente
6/10

Twins: Morbid Resemblance

It has a great concept, but it's just too slow-paced. At some points, the story gets boring. I think one thing that contributed to that was the fact that this film is more psychologic, atypical from the gore we're used to seeing in Cronenberg's cinema.
  • Fernando-Rodrigues
  • 23 de abr. de 2021
  • Link permanente
10/10

What a disturbing movie, and i just loved that!!

Jeremy irons in his best role i ever saw as 2 brothers that share women, till 1 of the brothers falls in love and refuse to share. this story guidelines only has a great potential for further story. Irons work here is so good, that after a short while you forget its 1 person that act as 2 characters in the movie. its so amazing to see the love of 2 brothers acted by 1 person. i even managed to tell the difference between the brothers even when they tried that no one will tell the difference. Dead Ringers is under mainstream disguise, but don't be wrong, its not mainstream, but its also not horror, or sci-fi. i would say undefined genre. just love that Cronenberg. a genius.

Enjoy...
  • zoozi
  • 25 de out. de 2003
  • Link permanente
7/10

Disturbing tale of twin brothers

  • faraaj-1
  • 4 de out. de 2006
  • Link permanente
4/10

Dull and Dreary

This movie is about two identical twins named "Elliott Mantle" and his brother "Beverly Mantle" (both played by Jeremy Irons) who have shared an interest in medicine all of their lives. But that's not all they share as the slightly older twin, Elliott, is less shy and typically initiates a sexual relationship with a woman and then when he gets tired of her passes her off to Beverly who takes it from there. Although this has worked like a charm for years, one day Elliott just so happens to hand a woman named "Claire Niveau" (Genevieve Bujold) to Beverly who then falls deeply in love with her. To make matters worse, when Claire finds out what has happened she gets angry with both brothers which throws Beverly into an emotional tailspin that results in dramatic consequences for everyone involved. Now from what I understand this movie has apparently garnered both critical and popular approval. That's fine. However, rather than following the proverbial crowd I happen to demur from the overall consensus as I found this movie to be a bit too dark and dreary for my tastes. Admittedly, Jeremy Irons performed in an excellent manner and he deserves whatever praise is offered. But even so I still thought the movie was too slow and boring and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.
  • Uriah43
  • 13 de nov. de 2015
  • Link permanente

Mais deste título

Explore mais

Vistos recentemente

Ative os cookies do navegador para usar este recurso. Saiba mais.
Obtenha o aplicativo IMDb
Faça login para obter mais acessoFaça login para obter mais acesso
Siga o IMDb nas redes sociais
Obtenha o aplicativo IMDb
Para Android e iOS
Obtenha o aplicativo IMDb
  • Ajuda
  • Índice do site
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • Dados da licença do IMDb
  • Sala de imprensa
  • Anúncios
  • Empregos
  • Condições de uso
  • Política de privacidade
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, uma empresa da Amazon

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.