Pandaemonium (2000)

Friendship and betrayal between two poets during the French Revolution.

Director:

Julien Temple

Writer:

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Stars:

Linus Roache, John Hannah, Samantha Morton

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linus Roache	...	Samuel Coleridge
John Hannah	...	William Wordsworth
Samantha Morton	...	Sara Coleridge
Emily Woof	...	Dorothy Wordsworth
Emma Fielding	...	Mary Wordsworth
Andy Serkis	...	John Thelwall
Samuel West	...	Robert Southey
Michael Harbour	...	Walsh
William Scott-Masson	...	Tom Poole
Clive Merrison	...	Dr. Gillman
Dexter Fletcher	...	Humphry Davy
Guy Lankester	...	Lord Byron
Andrea Lowe	...	Edith Southey
Jacqueline Defferary	...	Miss Holland
Andy de la Tour	...	Andrew Crosse

Storyline

Friendship and betrayal between two poets during the French Revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

child | lord byron character | samuel taylor coleridge character | william wordsworth character | voice over poetry | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Pandemonium

Filming Locations:

Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arts Council of England, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andy Serkis is best known for his role of Gollum on a blockbuster film franchise The Lord of the Rings in all 3 sequel films while Dexter Fletcher is best known for his part on a TV series Hotel Babylon & his prominent role on a 1998 Guy Ritchie film ...

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Goofs

As they are rolling around from the effects of "Thornapple", the shot of the clouds rolling by show the quick streak of the exhaust of a jet airplane zipping from bottom to top of the picture.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Like one that on a lonesome road doth walk in fear and dread, and having once turned 'roud walks on and turns no more his head, because he knows a frightful fiend doth close behind him tred. 'Tis a strange place this limbo, not a place yet named so.

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Crazy Credits

The credits start with one letter, which becomes the name of the person involved. They don't seem to make any sense, but most are letters incorporated in the word PANDAEMONIUM (the last Text before the Cast Listing starts).

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Connections

References Xanadu (1980)

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Soundtracks

Xanadu
Written by Jeff Lynne
Published by EMI Songs Ltd.
Performed by Lisa
Courtesy of Almighty Records, London

User Reviews

Very Enjoyable Film

I saw the movie on DVD and really enjoyed it. I guess I thought Wordsworth and Coleridge were more friendly than this (and maybe they were) in reality. The film sure is biased towards Coleridge. Wordsworth comes off very badly--he gives up on his revolutionary principles, marries a shrewish wife, and seems only interested in how he will be viewed by posterity. Wordsworth goes to visit Coleridge and to collaborate with him, but can't seem to put a single word to paper. Then, suddenly, _Lyrical Ballads_ is finished and published and filled with Wordsworth's poetry!

The performances are excellent, particularly Linus Roache as Coleridge and Emily Woof as Dorothy Wordsworth. I was reminded of a similar film, _Haunted Summer_, which portrays the meeting of Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. The film is a bit odd at times, with jet trails moving across the skies of the 18th century, but it does a great job of getting at the creative impulse, showing the feverish bouts of imagination that gave rise to Coleridge's _Rime of the Ancient Mariner_ and the fragment _Kubla Khan_ (interesting that it shows an interruption by Wordsworth as the cause of STC losing his train of thought). Also, the scene with frost forming on the window while Coleridge cares for his son Hartley, leading to one of his more memorable early poems, is a standout. This film is well worth your time and isn't the boring, stodgy take on biography that some might be fearing.