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IMDbPro

Gothic

  • 19861986
  • RR
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
13,176
1,191
Natasha Richardson and Kiran Shah in Gothic (1986)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:18
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaFantasyHorror
The Shelleys visit Lord Byron and compete to write a horror story.The Shelleys visit Lord Byron and compete to write a horror story.The Shelleys visit Lord Byron and compete to write a horror story.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
13,176
1,191
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Ken Russell
    • Writers
      • Stephen Volk(screenplay by)
      • Lord Byron(story)
      • Percy Bysshe Shelley(story)
    • Stars
      • Gabriel Byrne
      • Julian Sands
      • Natasha Richardson
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Ken Russell
    • Writers
      • Stephen Volk(screenplay by)
      • Lord Byron(story)
      • Percy Bysshe Shelley(story)
    • Stars
      • Gabriel Byrne
      • Julian Sands
      • Natasha Richardson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 78User reviews
    • 59Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:18
    Official Trailer

    Photos111

    A1, 23 x 33 Movie Poster
    Gabriel Byrne, Natasha Richardson, and Julian Sands in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson and Kiran Shah in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson and Kiran Shah in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson and Kiran Shah in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson, Julian Sands, and Myriam Cyr in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson and Julian Sands in Gothic (1986)
    Timothy Spall in Gothic (1986)
    Gabriel Byrne, Natasha Richardson, Julian Sands, Timothy Spall, and Myriam Cyr in Gothic (1986)
    Gabriel Byrne, Natasha Richardson, Julian Sands, and Timothy Spall in Gothic (1986)
    Natasha Richardson in Gothic (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gabriel Byrne
    Gabriel Byrne
    • Byron
    Julian Sands
    Julian Sands
    • Shelley
    Natasha Richardson
    Natasha Richardson
    • Mary
    Myriam Cyr
    Myriam Cyr
    • Claire
    Timothy Spall
    Timothy Spall
    • Dr. Polidori
    Alec Mango
    Alec Mango
    • Murray
    Andreas Wisniewski
    Andreas Wisniewski
    • Fletcher
    Dexter Fletcher
    Dexter Fletcher
    • Rushton
    Pascal King
    • Justine
    Tom Hickey
    Tom Hickey
    • Tour Guide
    Linda Coggin
    • Turkish Mechanical Woman
    Kristine Landon-Smith
    • Mechanical Woman
    Chris Chappell
    Chris Chappell
    • Man in Armour
    • (as Chris Chappel)
    Mark Pickard
    • Young William
    Kiran Shah
    Kiran Shah
    • Fuseli Monster
    Christine Newby
    • Shelley Fan
    Kim Tillesly
    • Shelley Fan
    • (as Kim Tillesley)
    Ken Russell
    Ken Russell
    • Tourist
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ken Russell
    • Writers
      • Stephen Volk(screenplay by)
      • Lord Byron(story) (uncredited)
      • Percy Bysshe Shelley(story) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The painting that Mary Shelley sees on the wall, and that subsequently comes to life in her dream, is Henry Fuseli's "Nightmare."
    • Goofs
      Claire Clairmont (Myriam Cyr) falls out of the rowboat in the opening scene, but just a few seconds later, as she's running with Percy toward the house, her clothes and hair are totally dry.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Tour Guide: And there, ladies and gentlemen, on the other side of the lake we have the famous Villa Diodati where Lord Byron, greatest living English poet, resides in exile. Romantic, scholar, duelist, best-selling author of Childe Harold, he was forced to leave his native land after many scandals including incest and adultery with Lady Caroline Lamb. "Mad, bad and dangerous to know" she called him.

      [the guide squeezes a lady's hand and points]

      Tour Guide: Bedroom - top right.

    • Alternate versions
      American versions contain a title-card before the credits. This title card contains Mary Shelley's quote from the foreword to Frankenstein where she discusses the night the movie centers around. A brief explanation is then provided mentioning that both Frankenstein and Dracula were born on that night.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Project X/Wild Thing/Heaven/Gothic (1987)

    User reviews78

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Style at the expense of substantive storytelling
    Gothic, directed by Ken Russell, is a rather interesting film that deals with, among other things, the dark side of creativity and imagination. More specifically, it's about the night when Mary Shelley came up with the idea that she would later turn into the novel "Frankenstein." By and large, the performances are quite good, although I didn't really care for Julian Sands. However, the story was almost non-existent and ephemeral, existing merely to have a bunch of people go around saying stuffy lines and get scared out of their wits by creatures borne of their imaginations. Granted, some of these sequences and images were haunting and surreal, but it all added up to a lot of style with very little substance. As far as the score is concerned, I thought that the work Thomas Dolby did was impeccable as far as its musical quality, but some of the cues didn't really fit (to me) with this kind of period piece. The story takes place in the early 19th century, but a lot of the music sounded very 1980's with synthesizers and programmed drums. It's a score that I'd buy, but I'm not too sure that it completely fit the film. From a technical standpoint, I thought it was very well-made, i.e., it was well-lit and the shot composition was varied. There were also some Dutch angles that accentuated the disorienting feel the filmmakers seemed to be going for. Overall, if you're looking for a well-told story that has characters you care about and identify with, this might not be the best choice for you. However, if you like heavily stylized and surreal horror, this will probably suit your fancy.
    helpful•9
    3
    • brchthethird
    • Dec 25, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 10, 1987 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Готика
    • Filming locations
      • Gaddesden Place, Herfordshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Virgin Vision
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $916,172
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $32,061
      • Apr 12, 1987
    • Gross worldwide
      • $916,172
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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