Die! Die! My Darling!

Amazon.com

In the tradition of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Hammer Studios drew aging Tallulah Bankhead out of retirement to play the fanatical matriarch of Die! Die! My Darling! (in Britain the film was simply titled Fanatic). Stefanie Powers, fresh from a string of juvenile and ingenue roles, plays her first adult, a thoroughly modern (and sexually liberated) woman who steps out of her time and into Bankhead's decaying mansion, a bit of southern Gothic nestled in the rural England countryside. Her courtesy call to the mother of her deceased lover turns into a cat-and-mouse thriller as the dotty, scripture-reading old lady dedicates herself to "cleansing" the befouled girl in memory of her son. Richard Matheson's smart screenplay (from the novel Nightmare by Anne Blaisdell) gives Powers a scrappy character, defying Bankhead and struggling to escape at every turn, while Bankhead's increasingly deranged campaign is given a delicious dimension with a marvelously schizophrenic backstory. Director Silvio Narizzano tends to overplay his hand at times and at one point steals a scene right out of Psycho, but he happily makes the battle of wits the central focus, letting the gothic elements stand as flourish. Peter Vaughan costars as a sleazy, salacious caretaker who can't keep his paws of their captive and Donald Sutherland has a small role as an idiot odd-job man devoted to his bizarre little family. --Sean Axmaker

Description

An elderly religious fanatic whose son was killed in an auto wreck several years ago kidnaps her dead son's former fiancée and keeps her locked up in the basement in order to cleanse the girl's soul, making it fit to be reunited with her son in heaven. Stars Stefanie Powers (TV's "Hart to Hart") and screen legend Tallulah Bankhead in her last film.

Customer Reviews:

An out-of-the-way nook in the Hammer catalog worth checking out........2007-05-12

Die!, Die!, My Darling! (Silvio Narizzano, 1965)

How can you not like any movie called Die! Die!, My Darling!? Especially when it contains Tallulah Bankhead's final onscreen performance, as a religious wingnut determined to preserve the purity of her dead son by imprisoning his former fiancée, Pat (Stefanie Powers), in her secluded house. Pat, however, is engaged again, and new fiancée Alan (The Abominable Dr. Phibes' Maurice Kaufmann) is sure to notice her disappearance eventually. (Isn't he? You never know, this IS a Hammer horror film, after all.)

Ah, the scenery-chewing! Powers and Bankhead are great foils for one another, with Bankhead lording it over Powers (and the rest of her equally insane household) while Powers tries to find various methods of escaping, getting a note to Alan, or anything else that might help her out of her jam. There are other characters of note-- specifically, rising star Donald Sutherland in one of his early roles for Hammer-- but the movie would be just as fun if it were just Bankhead and Powers in one room. No one will ever confuse this for immortal cinema, but if you happen to catch it on the Saturday afternoon creature feature, you'll find it a pleasant surprise. ***

Legendary Talullah Bankhead Chewing The Scenery In Her Final Film Performance .......2007-04-19

I admit to being one of those movie fans who totally enjoys the efforts from the "twilight years" of the careers of the great actresses of the 1930's and '40's. Call them camp or the last gasps of talent often stretching back 40 years these women always gave their all in these lesser efforts which nowadays are often among the best remembered film roles from their long and distinguished careers. Starting off with veterans Bette Davis and Joan Crawford verbally and physically destroying each other in the classic "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", that film's huge success with audiences in 1962 officially began a decade that provided a goldmine of work for ageing actresses as diverse as Barbara Stanwyck, Shelley Winters, and Dorothy Lamour, in macabre horror efforts that provided these women with starring roles when no other work was being offered . While the infamous Tallulah Bankhead never enjoyed a super successful film career like Crawford and Davis she nevertheless represented "Old Hollywood", and was thus ideal casting for Hammer Studios production of "Die! Die! My Darling!". The famed British "Studio that Dripped Blood", often imported American actresses for their efforts and the year of 1965 saw then use both Bette Davis (The Anniversary) and Bankhead for some of their non Gothic efforts. I only saw this effort for the first time recently but I must admit I was very impressed with both the overall production and the ageing Bankhead's performance which made me regret that she had not done more film work like this in her later years.

Not as good as I thought!.......2007-01-04

This movie was a good movie to watch on a dreary weekend. I thought that it would have been better but overall it was ok.

MRS. TALLULAH BANKHEAD'S BEST PERFORMANCE!!!.......2006-07-18

THIS IS A FANTASTIC HAMMER STUDIO PRODUCTION STARRING TALLULAH BANKHEAD IN WHAT MANY WOULD CALL HER GREATEST PERFORMANCE!!
SHE PLAYS AN EVIL OLD WOMAN IN THIS FILM!
IN THE STYLE OF WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE AND HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, THIS IS A CLASSIC THRILLER!!

Camp Classic.......2005-08-03

I remember seeing this movie when I was a small child and it gave me hell's own heebie-jeebies at the time. Watching it now, however, all I could do was laugh at how Tallulah Bankhead slaps Sefanie Powers around. **GO TALLULAH!** Everything is so "stagey" and theatrical, from the acting itself to the sets and lighting--particularly so in the scenes set in the basement of the big, ol' spooky mansion that Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead) lives in.

'Die! Die! My Darling!' is a MUST SEE for any Bankhead fan.

Average customer rating:

A Fine Little Film That Is Particularly Important Today!
I hate this movie!!
My Son the Future Suicide Bomber?
Father and Son
A TRUE MARVEL WITH COMPLEX BUT REAL CHARACTERS

My Son the Fanatic
Starring: Om Puri , Akbar Kurtha , Rachel Griffiths , Stellan Skarsgård , and Gopi Desai
Director: Udayan Prasad
Manufacturer: Miramax
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Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305692629
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Amazon.com

Most generation gaps focus on conservative parents and radical kids, but My Son the Fanatic depicts the opposite: taxi driver Parvez (Om Puri) can't understand why his son has turned to Muslim fundamentalism, calling the Western world of their corner of London corrupt and driven by sex. Meanwhile, Parvez finds himself working for a hedonistic German businessman (Stellan Skarsgård from Breaking the Waves and Good Will Hunting) who has more or less hired a prostitute named Bettina (Rachel Griffiths from Hilary and Jackie and Children of the Revolution), with whom Parvez has become friends. As Parvez's wife also turns towards fundamental ways, and a Muslim holy man comes to live in their house, Parvez turns more and more to Bettina for solace. Their friendship turns more intimate, bringing the family conflict to a head. This could be little more than a midlife crisis fantasy, but My Son the Fanatic thickens its story with cultural details and well-developed characters. The performances are rich and affecting; Om Puri is charming and sympathetic, and makes Parvez's moral conflicts genuine and understandable. Though Bettina, as a hooker with a heart of gold, is a bit of a stereotype, Griffiths's integrity as an actress makes the character compelling. An affecting film that doesn't provide easy answers to the difficult questions it explores. Written by Hanif Kureishi (My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid). --Bret Fetzer

Description

Academy Award(R)-nominee Rachel Griffiths (HILARY AND JACKIE, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING) stars in a critically acclaimed story of unlikely love set against a clash of cultures and generations! Parvez is a cab driver who left Pakistan in search of a better life for his family. Now he feels that he is losing his only son, Farid, to the conversative beliefs he abandoned long ago. Meanwhile, Parvez befriends a compassionate woman (Griffiths) and finds the comfort, support, and tenderness he does not have with his own family. When the disapproving Farid discovers this relationship, however, an uncomfortable situation boils over as Parvez is forced to choose between the son he adores ... and the woman who understands him!

Customer Reviews:

A Fine Little Film That Is Particularly Important Today!.......2007-03-12

MY SON THE FANATIC is a small scale film made in 1998 about the problems of cross culture assimilation between Pakistanis and the British - or rather between Muslim and Christian - that packs a powerful punch in the understanding of current clashes similar to the film's story that are so keenly in focus today. Based on a short story by Hanif Kureishi (who also adapted the story to a screenplay) and directed by the highly respected Udayan Prasad, this film is blessed with a fine cast of actors who make some of the more improbable aspects quite warmly credible.

Parvez (the always fine Om Puri) slept through his Muslim education in Pakistan and moved to England with his wife Minoo (Gopi Desai) where he has been a taxi cab driver for 25 years while his co-immigrants such as his best friend Fizzy (Harish Patel) have become rich entrepreneurs. Parvez and Minoo have a young son Farid (Akbar Kurtha) who is a bit unsettled as a Pakistani adjusting to life in capitalistic England and has found a girlfriend Madeline (Sarah-Jane Potts) who happens to be the daughter of the Chief Police Inspector Fingerhut (Geoffrey Bateman). Despite the fact that Parvez and his wife would prefer Farid marry a Pakistani girl they consent to an engagement party, a turning point for the politically tenuous Farid. When Farid observes how the Fingerhut family snubs his Pakistani parents and background he explodes and instead joins a fundamentalist Muslim group, pledging his life to stamping out porn, drugs, evil, etc.

Parvez attempts reconciliation with his wildly fanatical son but the only person with whom he can communicate is a hooker named Bettina/Sandra (Rachel Griffiths) who has a heart of gold and is only in the Profession to make enough money to become a teacher. Parvez is a driver for a pimp service and he is assigned to escort a wealthy smarmy German Schitz (Stellan Skarsgård) through a series of encounters, encounters that involve Bettina among others. But along the way Bettina softens to Parvez, listens to his anguish about his son, and eventually becomes Parvez' paramour. When Farid's fundamentalist group is attacking the brothel where Bettina works he discovers his father's situation and is enraged: Parvez, Farid and Minoo must come to an understanding - and it is this manner of coping that provides a very touching ending to the film.

The story holds its own as a movie, but the underlying content is pungent, intelligent, perceptive, insightful and very cogent. Each member of the cast is excellent but Om Puri proves once again that he can carry a film with a questionable character strongly on his shoulders. Not only is this a fine little comedy drama to watch, it also provides some serious food for thought. Grady Harp, March 07

I hate this movie!!.......2006-04-26

Hello, i m Y-Paul, and i hate this movie, because it is so, it go me on the nerves!!

Yes, you like it, but i dont!!

Its my opinion!!!1908123745?

mfG y-Paul

My Son the Future Suicide Bomber?.......2005-08-01

Parvez was born in Pakistan and moved to London some twenty five years earlier. He has mostly assimilated into his new cultural milieu and considers religion to be a secondary aspect of his overall identity. So much so, our central character has become something of a part time pimp along with being a full time cab driver. Parvez's son Farid is a young man who is gravitating towards radical Islamism. Great Britain's secular society appalls him. The family seems doomed to be severely damaged by this conversion. Even Parvez's wife is joining the fundamentalists. He is so distraught that he seeks comfort from the prostitute, Bettina. Parvez's whole life is unraveling. Is there any hope?

I've read a number of the reviews of My Son the Fanatic and none of them highlight Farid's terrorist activities. He and his fellow Islamic ruffians even throw a molotov cocktail through the window of a whore house and don't hesitate to physically attack women deemed slutty. Nor did the reviewers refer to the young man's blatant anti-Semitism. At the very most, they pointed out his alienation and hatred of modern allegedly decadent Western Civilization. In many respects, the reviews seemed to suggest that Farid is no more threatening than the existentially troubled hippies of the 1960s. What accounts for such naiveté in 1997? Political correctness? One can easily imagine Farid eventually becoming a nihilistic suicide bomber. Yes, I strongly advise you to see this film. It should help you more clearly comprehend the motivations of the Islamic fascists within our midst. My Son the Fanatic was a warning we should have heeded.

Father and Son.......2004-05-11

Somewhat similar to movies like "Bend It Like Beckam" or "East is East", "My Son the Fanatic" is an interesting effort that wisely approaches subjects like the generational gap, the clash of cultures, family ties and social disorder. Presenting a credible and realistic atmosphere with solid acting (Om Puri is particularly great), compelling characters, witty dialogue, a good plot and a fine mix between drama and comedy, this cinematic experience doesn`t quite reach classic status but manages to deliver a strong and convincing movie. The pacing is a bit uneven, though, and some more comedy-oriented moments wouldn`t hurt. Still, a good flick nonetheless.

Recommended.

A TRUE MARVEL WITH COMPLEX BUT REAL CHARACTERS.......2003-06-08

Made in 1997 (ps: pre-911) it is remarkable how a movie so simple in its narrative, and so in the shadow of critical cinema, could depict such smack-dab nuances of eastern immigrants at odds with a western setting or how the cultural assimilation of trans-national immigrants doesn't always look like a rainbow colored day at the beach.

But despite that seemingly ho-hum central tack, there are many conflicts studied very poignantly -- modern versus mediaeval, father versus son, fidelity versus emotional satisfaction, ethnic conservatism (ok, fanaticism) versus open minded cosmopolitanism, Good House Husband versus Bad Man Who Befriends Prostitutes, Decent Living Taxi Driver versus Someone Who Became Filthy Rich...and each is sublte yet hard-hitting in its simplicity.

Without giving away too much about the plot, there is no ordinary character in the movie, certainly no ordinary Muslim. The father (Parvez, played wonderfully by Om Puri) is a cabbie who flirts about in a relationship with a streetside floozy whom he finds more uplifting (no pun intended) than his standpat wife back home who disapproves of his free-wheeling ways and even finds his interests in jazz "too trumpety". The other Muslim, the son, is at loggerheads with his peers in throes of non-acceptance and instead gets inveigled into Islamic fundamentalism as an escape. This contrast is very, very credible, real and amusing.

Particularly noteworthy are Udayan's idiosynchratic implications about what constitutes "right" or "wrong" character. Parvez's prostitute girlfriend has a loving heart, a sharp mind and a vivacious presence despite her ostracization from the Good People Club. The son and his other right-wing Islamic acolyte buddies come off as annoyingly childish in a thoughtless "promiscuity" of their own.

For instance, they invite a Pakistani Maulvi to sermonize/"guide", and a hilarious TRUE moment pops up when the Maulvi requests the non-approving father for some help with his immigration into England.

Another VERY, VERY quiet 5 second scene that leaves an indelible impact is the depiction of male chauvinism dominating orthodox Islam where Parvez's wife is huddled in the kitchen for dinner, behind a closed door, and refuses to come out to dine with the men of the house in fear of doing something "inappropriate" in the presence of the supposed Maulvi.

The movie has many light-hearted moments and the cinematography is unexpectedly stunning. All this emotional, moral tussle between father, son, wife, romantic interest etc leads to a denouement that is hardly a resolution of sorts but is deeply moving. Everyone makes a choice (and I found the choice of Parvez's wife particularly startling) in favor of freedom from personal and social shackles. Made me think for days and recommend this movie to everyone I care about.

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