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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Stephen Schiff (screenplay)
Release Date:
25 September 1998 (USA) more
Tagline:
A forbidden love. An unthinkable attraction. The ultimate price. more
Plot:
A man marries his landlady so he can take advantage of her daughter. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(16 articles)
Starz Inside: Sex and the Cinema unzips on November 10
(From Monsters and Critics. 3 November 2009, 8:44 PM, PST)
Kier and Carradine’s Fall Down Dead coming to theaters
(From Fangoria. 13 October 2009, 2:19 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
A powerfully moving adaptation more (184 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Lolita (France)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for aberrant sexuality, a strong scene of violence, nudity and some language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
137 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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 more
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Hospital scenes filmed in Austin High School in El Paso, Texas. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in the car window as the car rolls away. more
Quotes:
Charlotte Haze:
I asked you to make your bed. Didn't I?
Lolita:
No. You asked me if I'd made my bed.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Other Love (1947) more
Soundtrack:
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (184 total)
Message Boards
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Briefly put, this film is a quite brilliant adaptation of the novel. While staying pretty faithful to the original source, Stephen Schiff's screenplay fleshes out the primary characters and their relationship, which plays out as a taboo but reserved love story. Maintaining the central themes, the plot is reduced to the essence of the major players and the linear events of the book. It's almost impossible to adapt a long book into the confines of a single average-length movie, but Schiff captures most of the important moments quite well and humanizes the characters who could have come off as bizarre depictions from Humbert's narrative.
Lyne's movie is at once haunting, compelling, and beautifully photographed. For all the controversy, it is a mature, reflective, and subtle film. "Lolita" is a challenging piece of work that sublimely reflects the pathos of the story and manages to retain bits of the complex humor of Nabokov. This "Lolita" abandons the notion of being a complete social satire and works as an essentially dramatic portrayal of a doomed, inappropriate romance that is ultimately a sad, tragic tale.
The performances are remarkable, especially those of Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain. Irons is utterly perfect as the ill-fated wretch, Humbert Humbert. So understated but evocative with every move and gesture, he is the definitive Old-World European whose obsession bristles beneath his timorous demeanor. He evokes an incredible amount of sympathy for the character. Swain delivers an on-target portrayal of the flowering nymphet who toys with her burgeoning sexuality but hasn't overcome her fundamental brattiness. Swain elicits both allure and pity as the wayward character whose immaturity in mindset and behavior does not excuse her complicity in her affairs. Despite what some critics may have written, Melanie Griffith is fine in the small role as Lolita's overbearing mother. She is comically obtuse, and her veneer hits all the right, grating notes. Frank Langella rounds out the cast as the mysterious Quilty. He is appropriately shady, vague, and sinister when he appears from time to time, slowly revealing himself.
This is a real winner on many levels and should be up for several awards including best picture, director, actor, actress, and adapted screenplay. Showtime should be congratulated for its smart acquisition. I hope the movie finds its way to the largest possible audience.