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Title: Death and the Compass (1992)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Boyle | ... |
Erik Lonnrot
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| Miguel Sandoval | ... |
Treviranus
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| Christopher Eccleston | ... |
Alonso Zunz
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Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez | ... |
Ms.Espinoza /
Harlequin
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| Pedro Armendáriz Jr. | ... |
Blot
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Alonso Echánove | ... |
Novalis
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Eduardo López Rojas | ... |
Finnegan
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Alex Cox | ... |
Commander Borges
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Karl Braun | ... |
Sergeant
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Gabriela Gurrola | ... |
Hooker /
Harlequin
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Ariane Pellicer | ... |
Natasha
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Mario Iván Martínez | ... |
Hotel Manager
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René Pereyra | ... |
Azevedo
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| Roberto Sosa | ... |
Drug Addict I
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| Bruno Bichir | ... |
Drug Addict II
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Storyline
Add Full Plot | Add SynopsisPlot Keywords:
flashback | foreign language adaptation | dystopia | ritual murder | mysticism |Taglines:
In a nightmare city inhabited only by criminals and police... a mystic detective finds a tool to catch a villainous outlaw.Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
5 August 1992 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
La muerte y la brújula See more »Box Office
Budget:
$3,500,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Ultra Stereo (Westrex Recording System)Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1
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Treviranus: What has interesting got to do with anything? We're police officers. We deal in absolute reality.
Lonnrot: Reality may avoid the obligation to be interesting, but a hypothesis may not.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Originally a 55 minute film for BBC released in 1992, Alex Cox had hoped to expand it into a full length feature film but BBC was not interested. However in 1993, Japanese investors gave Alex $100,000 to shoot the film but the film went over budget allowing no funds for production. Alex decided to make The Winner (1996) in order to get funds which worked and he was able to complete Death and The Compass in 1996. See more »Quotes
Lonnrot: It's possible, but it isn't interesting.Treviranus: What has interesting got to do with anything? We're police officers. We deal in absolute reality.
Lonnrot: Reality may avoid the obligation to be interesting, but a hypothesis may not.
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I had read a review of this film probably five or six years ago, but had never been able to find it anywhere and wondered if I ever would. I happened to catch it on cable last night by accident. I'm a huge fan of Borges and think this particular story is a masterpiece that equals Poe's greatest work in terms of pure intellectual force, profundity, and use of language and references. This movie version is fairly surreal and self-consciously stylized and does add a lot of details not in the story. But after about 10 minutes or so I started getting into this interpretation and thought that overall it was very clever and artful. Peter Boyle was an interesting (weird?) choice as Lonrott, and I thought Christopher Eccleston was excellent as Red Scharlach (including the sound effects for his voice). Most importantly, I thought this movie did capture the obliterating sense of the infinite that staggers me every time I read the story.