Oh, believe me, Vlad, I know  ....  I had to argue my point of view on this book in not one, but two college literature courses....one Victorian English Lit, and the other Women's Lit.

Although we disagree about the book, I've been known to take the less traveled road myself at times ... it can be lonely, but satisfying, to think outside the conventional, accepted views that everyone else seems to repeat like a mantra!

Though I haven't quite finished the novel on which "Eye of the Devil" is based,  I'd have to say the movie is far better than the book -- a rarity indeed.  The author, Philip Lorraine, is a pseudonym for Robin Estridge, who co-wrote the script ... not sure who was responsible for the improvements between book and film.  The novel's  basic story is good, it's just that the writing is atrocious.

One change made from the book to the movie is the name of the estate.  In the movie it's referred to as "Bellenac" ... The "belle-" part sounding very French.  In the book, however, it's called "Bellac," which sounded strange after seeing the movie, so I figured it was made up and then changed/improved for the movie.  Then a couple weeks ago while paging through a historical atlas of France looking for my great-grandfather's home town, my eye was caught by the town of Bellac -- it is an actual place, a small town in the Limousin region.  As far as I can tell, Bellac does not have a chateau as in "Eye of the Devil," although there are several in the region.  The movie was filmed in the Dordogne department of neighboring Aquitaine.  The chateau where the movie was filmed was designed in the 17th century by Nicolas Rambourg, an architect from Lorraine, upon the ruins of a medieval fortress, which in turn was once a Roman fort.  I have been able to discover that an annual festival for the entire village was held at this chateau in the 19th century, and perhaps author Estridge based his account on this.  I don't know if the area really had a history of heresy, but it's not too far from the Languedoc - Roussillon region where Catharism was centered.

Emlyn Williams whom I referred to wrote the plays "Night Must Fall" and "The Corn is Green."


Darren Gross wrote:

They usually show it letterboxed (1.85 or 1.66) from a nice pristine print source so you should be in for a treat.

Unfortunately TCM doesn't have the best reception on my cable service -- every home shopping network, etc. -- perfect, crystal clear.  A channel that airs priceless films you'd like to record for posterity -- faint wavy lines.

I agree it's a terrible story. . .after i finally read it 2 years ago, i
wondered. .what is all the hoopla about..Heathcliff is an absolute sadistic, evil ass!

It is a terrible story, as you say, but so well-constructed and fascinating ...  And who says you have to like the characters?     Anyone expecting a sentimental romance is in for a shock!

Ralph Fiennes brought out Heathcliff's sadism the best of any of the Heathcliffs in the screen versions I've seen.  There is something intriguing about him too -- difficult to capture, though Fiennes definitely got the intensity.

I forgot to mention that "Eye of the Devil" is also noteworthy for the appearance of Welsh actor and playwright Emlyn Williams in a small but important role.

The subtly crafted, atmospheric "Eye of the Devil" with Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasance, and Sharon Tate will air again on TCM on Saturday, DECEMBER 13.

Check your listings for time.  TCM also shows that it will be airing (at the same time) the behind-the-scenes feature on the making of the film, showcasing Sharon Tate.

I was thrilled to discover this movie on my own, never having heard of it previously, which I prefer to both "The Haunting" and "The Wicker Man."

Interestingly, it was only after looking up information on the movie that I discovered that the director, J. Lee Thompson, also directed one of my other very favorite movies, the hard-to-find "Return from the Ashes."  And he directed them back-to-back.

Sadly, neither of these rather edgy films is available on VHS or DVD.

Thank you for the information on Swann, Luciaphil.  I had been doing some checking at the university library, and the only item listed for him in the catalog here is the comedy "Out of the Frying Pan ..."  And unfortunately the copy is missing from the shelf, though I'll ask circulation to check on it.

I didn't know he had written Gothic-flavored novels -- I don't think that had been said during our previous discussion of him.  I had speculated last year in the Victoria Winters thread that perhaps some other work of
Swann's could shed some light on his ideas relating to the VW mystery.  That's sheer speculation, I know.  But with your information, I may try to track down some of those other works.

A new version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" produced by Bravo will air this Saturday evening, I believe.

It will be interesting to see if the sets resemble the DS ones, which were based on one of the movie versions' sets (I think it was the Spencer Tracy/Ingrid Bergman version, which I personally like the best).

Check your local listings for times.   

How exactly was Beth's character changed Vlad?....I saw those episodes but i can't quite figure out what you mean....

Adra,

I was referring to when Beth goes to work for Count Petofi.  My feeling was that this had nothing to do with her character development but was rather an abrupt editorial decision.

V.