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ACTOR
John AmplasLincoln MaazelChristine ForrestElyane Nadeau
DIRECTOR
George A. Romero
SYNOPSICS
Martin (1977) is a English movie. George A. Romero has directed this movie. John Amplas,Lincoln Maazel,Christine Forrest,Elyane Nadeau are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1977. Martin (1977) is considered one of the best Drama,Horror movie in India and around the world.
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Martin (1977) Reviews
One of horror's greatest character studies!
Over the years George A. Romero has created a number of landmark horror films for the genre. This modern 'vampire' flick ranks among his very best films! Shy teenager, who believes himself to be a century old vampire, comes to live with his superstitious old cousin in Pittsburgh. Romero's Martin is a truly unique, one of a kind psychological thriller. It is a memorable journey from its disturbing opening sequence to its chilling conclusion. Martin, like most of Romero's classics, is a film with plenty of social commentary and believable characters. The driving force behind the films premise is the question of whether or not our title character really is a vampire. Martin has no fangs, no fear of the sun, in fact he actually uses razors and syringes to seize his victims. Yet, Martin has memories of an attack that apparently he did ages ago and his elderly cousin fully believes his young relative to be an evil creature. Romero throws out all of the old fashion vampire conventions for this symbolic clashing of the ways. Romero's direction is, as always, very nicely done with plenty of suspense, atmosphere, and gruesome moments. Romero makes this drama stylishly operatic and adds an occasional moment of dark humor. The haunting music score also adds greatly to the atmosphere. The cast is excellent, but it's star John Amplas who really drives this show. Attractive youth Amplas is a greatly sympathetic character, even as he is the films monster and hero all at once. A film unlike any other of the horror genre, Martin remains a terrific low-budget masterpiece that is as hauntingly effective today as ever. **** out of ****
Great Revisionist Horror Movie
Sometimes it seems to me that the "users" who comment on movies here go out of their way to miss the point. The horror storyline here isn't just "vampire nonsense" nor does Romero succeed in spite of his "lowbrow intentions." The film IS a horror film, as successful in "revising" the typical vampire films as other 1970's classics like McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Point Black were in "revising" the western and gangster genres respectively. The film would hardly be as interesting if it were some kind of slick production with the usual trappings. Instead Martin is a low-key intense underplayed film that reverses the usual expectations without rejecting its genre. I don't think Romero is somehow upholding the ideals of faith either; the religious zealot, Martin's uncle, is the least sympathetic figure in the movie, though he may be right in thinking that Martin is "nosferatu." Or his fanaticism may have created the delusion in Martin's mind, an attempt to reject the religious dogma by adopting its traditional/mythic opponent. In any case, Romero's take on faith is very complex and is as interesting in this film as his complex take on individuality and consumerism is in Dawn of the Dead. Romero makes great use of the depressed area of Braddock Pennsylvania, the kind of down on its luck, conservative, fading neighborhood I know from my own experience. The setting is essential to the movie, but Romero doesn't overplay it. The radio talk-show angle isn't as well handled but it is interesting. I thought this film was very impressive in its deadpan update of the vampire story and Martin is a strangely moving character. Ultimately the movie is a much more convincing dramatization of the "serial killer" figure than we get in most films now, despite the current fascination with that type. (P.S. Romero was so good in the 1970s..how did he fall to the likes of Creepshow?)
One of the most underrated movies of all time!
George A. Romero will always be associated with his innovative and spectacular zombie trilogy ('Night Of The Living Dead', 'Dawn Of The Dead' and 'Day Of The Dead', all classics). Dig deeper and you will find he has made several less discussed but worthy movies, including this one, quite possibly the best movie he has ever made. 'Martin' manages to be both a disturbing psychological drama and a genuine horror movie at the same time. It is complex and mult-layered enough to be read in more than one way. It's up to you, the viewer, to decide whether Martin (John Amplas, in an impressive debut) really is the vampire he claims to be or is simply deluded. It's a pity that this movie slips through the cracks. Hard core horror nuts often undervalue it because it isn't what they expect from the genre, and movie buffs who can appreciate downbeat 70s classics like Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver', and Toback's 'Fingers', will dismiss it as "just another horror movie", not realizing just how much it has in common with the aforementioned. Too bad. 'Martin' is a real gem, and highly recommended. I think it's absolutely brilliant, and a classic.
A dark family drama in the guise of a typical Romero horror-fest; one of his best as writer/director
One of the two horror film sleepers of 1977 were not necessarily definable under the usual typecasts of the genre: David Lynch's Eraserhead, which drew itself more to a kind of surreal horror from paintings and animation; and this film, George A. Romero's Martin, where the horror is not what is usually expected from the director. Indeed, before I saw this film I generally related Romero to the status of a horror-film maverick, where he brings out much of the violence and tension in his films that we as the audience wouldn't get on TV. His subversion's of the genre, however, can be sensed in his zombie satires, as he makes his characters and situations, for the most part, far more believable aside from the dark fantasy/graphic comic-book quality of the designs and look of the films. There's something to think about with his films, even as flesh and blood get tossed about. But this time, for Martin, he made a story that deals with the human relationships even more so than the creepy and supernatural elements of his other works. Martin is a vampire movie, and there are some key scenes that deliver the good for the fans (and, again, going against expectations, as if Romero was a "new-wave" filmmaker from Europe), but also giving something for people who may not be expecting depth in the themes and situations with these people. The main characters of the film, aside from the protagonist Martin (a twisted and very confused protagonist at that), are all developed very well, and aren't necessarily one-sided or even two-sided portraits of caricatures in other vampire movies. For example, the sort of 'Van Helsing' character in this film is in the form of Martin's uncle Tada Cuda, played by Lincoln Maazel. He's the only one that knows, and is terrified of, Martin's secret life, and upon first bringing him into his home, Tada tries to use crosses and holy water on Martin. Martin can't be fooled, and so Tada resigns, for the moment. While Tada is the kind of typical, harsh old man that acts like something of an antagonist for him and Tada's daughter, he may not be entirely one-sided by the end of the film. The theme of Christianity, as shown in certain variables as the film cuts to black and white flashbacks, explores it in a very on-target way. Why do vampire movies have this kind of magical ability to wash everything with a cross and silver and garlic? Martin seems to ask these same questions, when he calls up a radio show (his only real output of his frustrations, though a media that still treats his despair as a joke). Martin himself, played in a peculiar, low-key way is John Amplas (an actor who has his peak in this film, having only appeared in bit parts in other films, mostly Romero's). He is often observing, never sure what it is he'll say, and much to how his character is and evolves, has skills of a predator. He was perfect for the role, as he has a level of vulnerability and sincerity that can be connected to, while at the same time in a conflict about what to do with his craving for blood. That the other actors, all indie actors (one of them, Christine, played by Romero's wife), are really quite good with the material, helps the feel and flow of the film. Some directors can't stand editing their own films (John Ford once said he hated sitting in on it, as other have as well), and while they sit in with the editors and make notes, few actually go to the machines and do the work themselves. Romero is one of the few that seems to really enjoy the process, and has fun with it. In some ways his movement within the frame, and with the pacing of Martin's sense of reality and of the past, makes the film seem like it should almost belong in an art-house (so to speak) as opposed to at a midnight cult-horror theater. That's not to say he doesn't have it in him to give people their money's worth expecting to get the pants scared off their waists. In fact, there is one big sequence in the film (where Martin stalks and attacks, needle in hand, a married woman who's having an affair) that is one of Romero's most suspenseful and unusual. Not to mention there is an ending that wraps everything up rather terrifyingly- one knows something like this would be coming, but not from this direction. Simply this, Martin is smarter for it's regularly intended audience out for simple thrills and cheesy characters- it's a drama that involves searching for companionship, the significance of religion on people, and trying to fit in to one side or another. And it's also a low-budget 70's horror film with a few scenes that hit more on a visceral level than on cheap effects (not to say there aren't a couple, ho-ho). To put it another way, I viewed the film for the first time on a video released in the 80's. Now I'll be on the look-out for the DVD a.s.a.p.
Unflinchingly original.
Between seminal 'zombie' flicks "Night of the Living Dead", and the follow-up, "Dawn of the Dead", George A. Romero created two of the most overlooked horror movies, not only of the 1970's, but maybe of all time. Four years after the socio-political horror of "The Crazies", he returned with "Martin", a vampire film like no other before or since. Romero's intelligent movie turns on its head all the things associated with the genre, and presents us with a modern day story of addiction, sexuality, and obsession. Martin is your average gawky teenager, a little boy lost in a chaotic world, with an insatiable appetite for human blood. But, where previously that vampiric bloodlust is a sign of great sexual prowess, and overpowering self-importance, here it is a curse. Martin's world is one of unfulfilled desire and confusion. He is ostracised from family, with few friends - his only confidante is the faceless radio talkshow host - and our sympathies are with him throughout. His attacks are fuelled not by pleasure, but more by a fruitless search for intimacy with his victims, who aren't picked off indiscriminately by uncontrollable urges, but rather chosen. When he finally finds 'the sex thing', his need for blood is overcome. Although gruesome and calculated, his attacks aren't excessively violent, and the opening scene is perfectly written to repulse and reprieve in equal measure. What initially appears to be a brutal rape, is twisted by Romero into an almost tender love scene between attacker and victim. With brilliant use of locations, and nondescript atmosphere, "Martin" is a horror movie that both disturbs and intrigues. The performances are erratic, and Maazel is way too OTT, spouting "Nosferatu!!" all histrionics and melodrama. But Amplas, as Martin, is genuinely affecting, and steeped in pathos. Unflinchingly original, a horror movie with gore, but plenty of brains to go with it.