The Hand

This is an exciting psychological thriller based on the novel by Mark Brandel "The tail of the lizard" , though was consistently underrated by most reviewers . It's a surprising flick and very intriguing whose value more remarkable is the ambiguity that its filmmaker Oliver Stone poses in this . A surreal psycho-horror pastiche in which a famous cartoonist of comics named "Jonathan Lansdale" (Michael Caine) who lives unhappily with his wife (Andrea Marcovicci) loses a hand , being severed in an unfortunate car accident that ends with his career and creates a strong tension in their marriage . Soon after , the hand is on the loose with a mind of its own . As a harrowing nightmare, the lost hand appears seeking out victims , committing atrocious murders with an obsessive revenge.

This first important Oliver Stone film contains chills , thrills , suspenseful and is quite entertaining . It's the first commercial outing in medium budget from Oliver Stone, which was not well received by the criticism at the time. . Stone's sophomore directorial shows us a dense , unique , atmospheric and surreal ambient , where the subjectivity seizes the story . There are times when the film that we question whether what we recount and we see is really the case or any other remedy used to deceive and confuse the spectator . Through the film and gradual manner the story is complicating and becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from fantasy . This theme about a hand on the loose with a a mind on its own is already been seen in former films such as The Hands of Orlac (1924 by Rober Wiene , Mad Love (1934) by Karl Freund with Peter Lorre and Hands of Orlac (1960) by Edmond T Greville with Christopher Lee and Mel Ferrer . First rate acting by Michael Caine as Jon Lansdale , a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident , though Michael said in a TV interview that the only reason he did this film was to earn enough to put a down payment on a new garage he was having built .Oliver Stone initially wanted Jon Voight to play the lead role, but was turned down by him ; Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman also declined the role . Very good support cast formed by expert secondary actors such as Bruce McGill , Viveca Lindfords , Rosemary Murphy , among others . Furthermore , a cameo by Oliver Stone as Bum . Colorful cinematography with a right management of the camera by Baggot , as the picture packs a turbid, dark, surreal, disturbing atmosphere . Thrilling and tense musical score by the great James Horner .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Oliver Stone , though usually panned by mostly critics , nowadays is best considered .Stone returning from the Vietnam war did his first film , it was a student film entitled Last Year in Viet Nam (1971), followed by the gritty horror film Seizure (1974) for which he also wrote the screenplay. The next seven years saw him direct two films: Mad Man of Martinique (1979) and this The Hand (1981) . He also wrote many screenplays for films such as Midnight express (1978), Conan (1982), and Scarface (1983). Stone won his first Oscar for Midnight express (1978), but his fame was just beginning to show.

I don't know if I was in a rare forgiving frame of mind but The Hand actually worked for me.

It doesn't go very deep in the psychological department and just about every average viewer can spot the twist but then the end just throws everything out the window and leaves the audience shouting; What the ****!

But it's well acted, especially by Caine who completely earns viewer's sympathy. Writer/director Oliver Stone effortlessly builds up suspense and atmosphere and some scenes here do work really well. Technical aspects are surprisingly well handled and make up effects are gruesome and well done.

While The Hand won't go down as a cinematic masterpiece, it's a solid thriller nonetheless.

This film starring Michael Caine seems like it might be ridiculously dumb due to its name and cover art. However it's actually quite thought provoking, and very entertaining. This film has a sort of funny brilliance to it. I think most people go into it just so unready for it or something; Hence the low rating. Also, if you don't watch it from the beginning, it will most likely just seem stupid. This film still has less than 6,000 votes on here at this point. It's definitely underseen and it's somewhat of a hidden gem in my view. 7.5/10.

As a psychological thriller this actually works. In large part because of Michael Caine. As a B movie about a killer hand or a schizo cartoonist it features Olive Stone's tortured man, driven to ruin by a woman, whose lack of self-knowledge and unchecked rage propel him to violence. I kind of agree with another reviewer's disappointment at the ending not wrapping it up, but The Hand is enough of a thing that I feel neither way about the end. Stone's vitriol for women, a characterization many have stuck on throughout his career, is very apparent here. Caine as Johnathan Lansdale is comfortable in his beautiful country home, crafting a semi-popular syndicated cartoon. But his yogic wife Anne (Andrea Marcovicci) wants to do something with her life and demands a move to NYC. This ends up undoing him, but not before he struggles with having his writing/drawing hand severed. Without saying more, I'd recommend this for Caine's gradual unraveling, an engrossing trip into The Mind and even a good Oliver Stone cameo.

The comic book writer and cartoonist Jonathan "Jon" Lansdale (Michael Caine) is the creator of the successful hero "Mandro" and lives with his wife Anne Lansdale (Andrea Marcovicci) and their daughter Lizzie in the countryside. Anne wants to move to New York and has an argument with Jon while driving on the road. She distracts with an impatient driver and has a car accident with a truck where Jon loses his right hand. The hand is not found and Jon needs to use prosthesis. They move to New York and his editor Karen Wagner (Rosemary Murphy) offers another cartoonist to proceed with "Mandro". However Jon is not happy with the modifications introduced in his character by the new cartoonist and Karen let him go.

Without money, Jon moves to California to teach in a college while Anne and Lizzie stay in New York for a few more months. Jon has a love affair with his student Stella Roche (Annie McEnroe) and he feels attracted by her. However when his colleague Brian Ferguson (Bruce McGill) tells that Stella is an easy woman, Jon does not want to see her. However, his severed hand kills Stella and when Brian tells that he is going to the police to report that Stella is missing, his hand also kills him. Meanwhile Anne and Lizzie come to his house to spend Christmas with him. Soon he learns that Anne is betraying him and that she intends to go to Los Angeles with Lizzie. Out of the blue, his hand tries to strangle Anne and Jon follows it. Is it possible that the hand does exist to kill whoever anger him?

"The Hand" is an early film directed by Oliver Stone with a creepy story. The plot is developed in slow pace and the mystery remains until the last scene when the viewer finally understands what happened. Michael Caine has a great performance as usual and the movie is intriguing and engaging. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Mão" ("The Hand")