A Very British Psycho (1997)

A documentary about the film Peeping Tom. How and why it was made, how the uniformly bad reaction from the critics at the time affected everybody concerned and how it is regarded now. ... See full summary »

Director:

Chris Rodley

Stars:

Saskia Reeves, Michael Powell, Leo Marks

Cast

Cast overview:
Saskia Reeves	...	Narrator (voice)
Michael Powell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Leo Marks	...	Himself
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Himself (as Carl Boehm)
Derek Hill	...	Himself, former film critic
Alexander Walker	...	Himself, film critic, The Evening Standard
David Robinson	...	Himself, film critic
Geoff Andrew	...	Himself, film editor, Time Out
Charlotte O'Sullivan	...	Herself, film critic
Anna Massey	...	Herself
Pamela Green	...	Herself
Robin Denniston	...	Himself, publisher, historian
Princess George Galitzine	...	Herself, former SOE coder
Penny Wyvol-Thompson	...	Herself, former SOE operative
Columba Powell	...	Himself

Storyline

A documentary about the film Peeping Tom. How and why it was made, how the uniformly bad reaction from the critics at the time affected everybody concerned and how it is regarded now. Interviews with the cast and writer and with film critics past and present. Older critics still try to justify their bad reviews, some referring to it as a "snuff movie" despite the fact that the only death we see is that of the killer. It was released just as writer 'Leo Marks' was about to publish his autobiography of his time in SOE so there is quite a bit about wartime influences on the study of fear.

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Plot Keywords:

making of

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antelope Productions, Channel 4 International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This documentary is featured on the Criterion Collection DVD for Peeping Tom.

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Connections

References Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)

User Reviews

A Great Look At A Maligned Film

A documentary about the film "Peeping Tom" (1960). How and why it was made, how the uniformly bad reaction from the critics at the time affected everybody concerned and how it is regarded now.

This documentary is great because it discusses how universally bad the reviews originally were -- and how they (the critics) had gotten their analyses wrong. Some of those critics are now interviewed here and praising the film rather than trashing it.

But the real heart of the film is Leo Marks' story as a code breaker and antique books expert. How much Marks' role in World War II translates into Mark Lewis' character is up for debate, but regardless... Marks is a fascinating character and worthy of a biography. This film tells his story, and tells it well.