Lolita (1997)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writers (WGA):

Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Stephen Schiff (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A forbidden love. An unthinkable attraction. The ultimate price.

Plot:

A man marries his landlady so he can take advantage of her daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Jealousy | Lolita | 14 Year Old | Professor | Forbidden Love

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Irons	...	Humbert Humbert
Melanie Griffith	...	Charlotte Haze
Frank Langella	...	Clare Quilty
Dominique Swain	...	Dolores 'Lolita' Haze
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Miss Pratt
Keith Reddin	...	Reverend Rigger
Erin J. Dean	...	Mona
Joan Glover	...	Miss LaBone
Pat Pierre Perkins	...	Louise (as Pat P. Perkins)
Ed Grady	...	Dr. Melinik
Michael Goodwin	...	Mr. Beale
Angela Paton	...	Mrs. Holmes
Ben Silverstone	...	Young Humbert Humbert
Emma Griffiths Malin	...	Annabel Lee (as Emma Griffiths-Malin)
Ronald Pickup	...	Young Humbert's Father

Also Known As:

Lolita (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for aberrant sexuality, a strong scene of violence, nudity and some language.

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Brazil:14 | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Germany:18 (w) | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austin High School - 3500 Memphis Avenue, El Paso, Texas, USA

Company:

Guild

Trivia:

In Australia, the film was held back from release, due to concerns about promoting pedophilia. It was granted release in 1999 with an R rating.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film set around 1947 features a 'Magic Fingers' (brand) vibrating bed. However, this was a 1958 invention by former salesman John Houghtaling.

Quotes:

Humbert: She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo... Lee... Ta.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of Adrian Lyne" (????)

Soundtrack:

My Carmen

Why Lyne's Lolita is Controversial

When the 1997 version of Lolita was widely censored in the US, many asked why the reaction was so strong to this film. After all, the novel was published in the US in 1958, Kubrick's film version appeared in 1962, and we hear more shocking tales of sexual depravity every day on the daytime talk shows. But after seeing Lyne's brilliant version of Lolita, I can see how he manages to breathe fresh controversy into this familiar story. Lyne's lascivious lens eroticizes Lolita's every movement and pose. The viewer is forced to see her through the eyes of Humbert and to feel his obsession and desire. We are co-conspirators in his crime, and at the end we share his shame. Rather than shocking us (and having us pull away in revulsion), Lyne draws us in and makes us face the Humbert in ourselves. This is an incredibly powerful film.