Three lighthouse keepers on the remote Flannan Isles obtain a mysterious trunk, leading to their mysterious disappearance.Three lighthouse keepers on the remote Flannan Isles obtain a mysterious trunk, leading to their mysterious disappearance.Three lighthouse keepers on the remote Flannan Isles obtain a mysterious trunk, leading to their mysterious disappearance.
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Featured reviews
I watched The Vanishing because:
Great cast. Including a very credible Scotsman played by that Greek actor, the one from Sparta.
- It's a period piece
- I love lighthouses
- Scotland is gorgeous
- Lighthouses are even better on an island.
Great cast. Including a very credible Scotsman played by that Greek actor, the one from Sparta.
The movie is a tragedy, an imaginary tale of what could have happened to the real "keepers" who indeed vanished back in mid december of 1900, and never heard of again.
The truth is that nobody knows for sure what was the fate of the real three men at the Flannan Isle, and anybody's guess is as good.
Theories abound about what really happened, from alien abduction to a giant wave, and anything in between.
Was it a terrible natural accident, such as the three men falling down a cliff or down inside a cave? Or something more sinister as the men kill each other?
Your guess is as good as mine.
In the real diary entry logged by the real keepers, they write about a terrible weather "as the one they have never seen in 20 years at sea."
That particular entry in the book is extraordinary, having in consideration that weather reports at the time indicated that weather was fine and calmed and the first rain can in on december 17, 1900. That is baffling to say the least.
Will we ever know what happened to those 3 scotish men, thomas, donald and james? sadly, most probably not, which is so sad, especially because they had wives and children.
About the movie itself, i'd say its pretty good. i give it a 6.
acting is excellent from the three main actors, as well as from the supporting characters. all did a good work, and the director set the grim tone right from the beginning.
the drama unfold with camera close to the faces of the actors to emphasis the tragedy going on, no images from the beauty of the ocean and a blue scotish sky don't expect to see that.
all is sad from the very beginning and the only laughs occurred when donald and james found gold in the chest. other than that, all is grey.
i'd recommend the movie to anyone who likes thrillers and tragedies on film. no special effects just plain good old fashioned acting (good actually) and an ending kind of predictable, still enjoyable (again if you like tragedies).
The truth is that nobody knows for sure what was the fate of the real three men at the Flannan Isle, and anybody's guess is as good.
Theories abound about what really happened, from alien abduction to a giant wave, and anything in between.
Was it a terrible natural accident, such as the three men falling down a cliff or down inside a cave? Or something more sinister as the men kill each other?
Your guess is as good as mine.
In the real diary entry logged by the real keepers, they write about a terrible weather "as the one they have never seen in 20 years at sea."
That particular entry in the book is extraordinary, having in consideration that weather reports at the time indicated that weather was fine and calmed and the first rain can in on december 17, 1900. That is baffling to say the least.
Will we ever know what happened to those 3 scotish men, thomas, donald and james? sadly, most probably not, which is so sad, especially because they had wives and children.
About the movie itself, i'd say its pretty good. i give it a 6.
acting is excellent from the three main actors, as well as from the supporting characters. all did a good work, and the director set the grim tone right from the beginning.
the drama unfold with camera close to the faces of the actors to emphasis the tragedy going on, no images from the beauty of the ocean and a blue scotish sky don't expect to see that.
all is sad from the very beginning and the only laughs occurred when donald and james found gold in the chest. other than that, all is grey.
i'd recommend the movie to anyone who likes thrillers and tragedies on film. no special effects just plain good old fashioned acting (good actually) and an ending kind of predictable, still enjoyable (again if you like tragedies).
What a breath of fresh air. I don't mean the literal air on these desolate island but a movie without an intrusive soundtrack or where the producers have made sure every scene is fully explained to a dumb audience.
A stark production from a director moving up from TV for the first time and showing talent in the way that Spielberg did with Duel.
Strong acting from a small bunch of blokes in a claustrophobic environment.
A stark production from a director moving up from TV for the first time and showing talent in the way that Spielberg did with Duel.
Strong acting from a small bunch of blokes in a claustrophobic environment.
Thought this movie was brilliant. Very well acted. It shows how life can change in the blink of an eye, and how one decision can flip your whole world upside-down and change everything, especially yourself.
From the premise I almost thought this was similar to "The Lighthouse" with Pattinson and Dafoe. But this is nothing like that. While this is quite somber (for a movie with Butler in it), it is not nearly as intense or good as that. Still the movie is at least decent, with nice play between the 3 main characters. With some added flavor of others thrown in.
Being on an island can do things to your mind. When an outside "force" comes it adds a new ingredient to the mix. This is not always a good thing. And nothing comes for free either ... even if you don't know or haven't read up on the story, once you open something, you know you'll have to live with the consequences. Whatever those may be
Being on an island can do things to your mind. When an outside "force" comes it adds a new ingredient to the mix. This is not always a good thing. And nothing comes for free either ... even if you don't know or haven't read up on the story, once you open something, you know you'll have to live with the consequences. Whatever those may be
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFour different lighthouses were used to create what is seen in the movie as a singular location: Mull of Galloway lighthouse was used for exterior and interior cottages, lighthouse, lighthouse garden and the headland of the island. Killantrigan lighthouse was used for its interior staircase and side garden. Corsewall lighthouse was used for a single interior shot and to create the cliff for many of the cliff scenes. Cloch lighthouse was used for the interior lightroom as it is no longer operational, yet beautifully preserved.
- GoofsAt the time of the mysterious disappearance the lighthouse was not equipped with radio, in fact radio-telephone technology was not available in 1900 at all.
Radio had been invented and demonstrated just a few years earlier, however, commercial radios were not available at this time.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Decoding the Unknown: The Flannan Isles Mystery (2022)
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- Also known as
- El misterio del faro
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,202,522
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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