Lolita (1997)

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

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writers:

Vladimir Nabokov (novel), Stephen Schiff (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeremy Irons, Dominique Swain, Melanie Griffith

2 wins & 4 nominations.

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

Storyline

In early adolescence, Humbert fell hopelessly and tragically in love with a girl his own age, and, as he grew into adulthood, he never lost his obsession with "nymphets," teenagers who walk a fine line between being a girl and a woman. While looking for a place to live after securing a new teaching position, he meets Charlotte Haze (Melanie Griffith), a pretentious and annoying woman who seems desperately lonely and is obviously attracted to Humbert. Humbert pays her little mind until he meets her 13-year-old daughter Lolita (Dominique Swain), the image of the girl that Humbert once loved. Humbert moves into the Haze home as a boarder and eventually marries Charlotte in order to be closer to Lolita. When Charlotte finds out about Humbert's attraction to her daughter, she flees the house in a rage, only to be killed in an auto accident. Without telling Lolita of her mother's fate, Humbert takes her on a cross-country auto trip, where their relationship begins to move beyond the ...

---

Plot Keywords:

14 year old | lolita | promiscuous daughter | foot fetish | forbidden love | 

---

Taglines:

The most talked about, written about, controversial movie of the year.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Лолита

Filming Locations:

New Orleans Athletic Club, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,492, 26 July 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Guild,Lolita Productions,Pathé

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to considerable difficulty in securing an American distributor, the film had a very limited theatrical run in order to qualify for award contention. The final domestic gross income was over $1.1 million on a $62 million budget.

---

Goofs

The movie should end in 1952, not 1950. Like the novel, the year is 1947 when Humbert meets Lolita, but the book states that both cross country trips and the time they spend at Beardsley amounts to about 2 years. The film has the same "3 years later" time jump as the novel, but there's no way from summer of 1947 to fall of 1950 could they have spent a year traveling the country, stayed in Beardsley for most of the school year, had another few months on a second cross country trip, and then have Humbert searching for Lolita for 3 years.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Humbert: [voiceover] 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.
[whispered]
Humbert: Lolita.

---

Crazy Credits

After the credits are over there is a brief clip where Lolita is shown juggling a red apple.

---

Alternate Versions

The film was slightly cut to avoid a 'Not under 18' rating in Germany. An uncut version has been released on video.

---

Connections

References Beau Pere (1981)

---

Soundtracks

Weiner Blut
Written by Johann Strauss

User Reviews

Time is already telling us.

Stanley Kubrick's Lolita dates back to 1962, 56 years ago and the film is as alive and pungent as it ever was. Adrian Lyne's Lolita is only 21 and it's already forgotten. Jeremy Irons is very good but it doesn't have any of the embarrassing self awareness of James Mason's Humbert Humbert. James Mason was monumental. Then, Kubrick has Shelley Winters as Mrs. Haze - in my book, her best performance - she's a jarring human spectacle. superb. Lyne chose Melanie Griffith in what very well be her worst performance and one of the worst in any movie, ever. Kubrick had Peter Sellers and his performance is already part of film legend. Frank Langella is a bit of a shock in Lyne's version, not the good kind. And then Lolita herself Stanley Kubrick had Sue Lyon and although she was a bit older than Navokov's Lolita, she is sensational. The innocent temptress and destroyer. In Lyne's version, Dominique Swain is pretty and crushingly obvious. Kubrick's version is a masterpiece, exciting to be able to say that 56 years later.