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Gothic (film)
''Gothic'' is a 1986 British psychological horror film directed by Ken Russell, starring Gabriel Byrne as Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy Bysshe Shelley, Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley, Myriam Cyr as Claire Clairmont (Mary Shelley's stepsister) and Timothy Spall as Dr. John William Polidori. It features a soundtrack by Thomas Dolby, and marks Richardson's and Cyr's film debut. The film is a fictionalized retelling of the Shelleys' visit to Lord Byron in Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva, shot in Gaddesden Place. It concerns their competition to write a horror story, which ultimately led to Mary Shelley writing ''Frankenstein'' and John Polidori writing "The Vampyre." The same event has also been portrayed in the films ''Mary Shelley'' (with Elle Fanning as Mary Shelley), ''Haunted Summer'' (1988) (with Alice Krige as Mary Shelley) among others, and alluded to in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935) (with Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley and the Bride of the Monster). The film's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptations of existing texts, or biographies, notably of composers of the Romantic era. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he made creative adaptations of composers' lives which were unusual for the time. He also directed many feature films independently and for studios. Russell is best known for his Oscar-winning film ''Women in Love'' (1969), '' The Devils'' (1971), The Who's '' Tommy'' (1975), and the science fiction film '' Altered States'' (1980). Russell also directed several films based on the lives of classical music composers, such as Elgar, Delius, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Liszt. Film critic Mark Kermode, speaking in 2006, and attempting to sum up the director's achievement, called Russell "somebody who proved that Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychological Horror
Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgenre of psychological thriller, and often uses mystery elements and characters with unstable, unreliable, or disturbed psychological states to enhance the suspense, drama, action, and paranoia of the setting and plot and to provide an overall unpleasant, unsettling, or distressing atmosphere. Characteristics Psychological horror usually aims to create discomfort or dread by exposing common or universal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities/fears and revealing the darker parts of the human psyche that most people may repress or deny. This idea is referred to in analytical psychology as the archetypal shadow characteristics: suspicion, distrust, self-doubt, and paranoia of others, themselves, and the world. The genre sometimes s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haunted Summer
''Haunted Summer'' is a 1988 drama film directed by Ivan Passer. Plot summary In 1816, authors Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley (née Godwin) get together for some philosophical discussions, but the situation soon deteriorates into mind games, drugs, and sex. It is a fictionalization of the summer that Lord Byron and the Shelleys, together with Byron's doctor, John William Polidori, spent in the isolated Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva. It is there they devise a contest to produce the best horror story to kill the dullness of summer. It is also there that one of the world's most famous books was given life—Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein''. Cast * Philip Anglim as Lord Byron * Eric Stoltz as Percy Shelley * Alice Krige as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin * Alex Winter as Dr. John William Polidori * Laura Dern as Claire Clairmont See also Other films about this meeting of authors include the following: * ''Gothic'' (1986 film) * ''Rowing with the Wind'' (1988 film) * ''Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, including ''Babel'' (2006), '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'', and '' Phoebe in Wonderland'' (both 2008). In 2010 she starred in Sofia Coppola's '' Somewhere'' (2010) earning her a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer nomination. In 2011 she received attention for her starring role in J. J. Abrams' science-fiction film '' Super 8'', earning a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. She subsequently had leading roles in the comedy-drama film '' We Bought a Zoo'' (2011), the drama film '' Ginger & Rosa'' (2012), and as Princess Aurora in the fantasy films '' Maleficent'' (2014) and '' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil'' (2019). Following ''Maleficent'', Fanning began working in independent cinema, collaborating w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Shelley (film)
''Mary Shelley'' (working title ''A Storm in the Stars'') is a 2017 romantic period-drama film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour and written by Emma Jensen. The plot follows Mary Shelley's first love and her romantic relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, which inspired her to write her 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. An international co-production, the film stars Elle Fanning as Shelley, with Maisie Williams, Douglas Booth, Bel Powley, and Ben Hardy in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017. It was released in the United States on May 25, 2018, by IFC Films, and in the United Kingdom on July 6 by Curzon Artificial Eye. Plot Mary Godwin was the daughter of the pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft and her husband, the publisher and political philosopher William Godwin. Mary Wollstonecraft had died shortly after giving birth, and when the film opens 16 years late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vampyre
"The Vampyre" is a short work of prose fiction written in 1819 by John William Polidori taken from the story Lord Byron told as part of a contest among Polidori, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley. The same contest produced the novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. ''The Vampyre'' is often viewed as the progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The work is described by Christopher Frayling as "the first story successfully to fuse the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent literary genre." Characters * Lord Ruthven: a suave British nobleman, the vampire * Aubrey: a wealthy young gentleman, an orphan * Ianthe: a beautiful Greek woman Aubrey meets on his journeys with Ruthven * Aubrey's sister: who becomes engaged to the Earl of Marsden * Earl of Marsden: who is also Lord Ruthven Plot Aubrey meet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821. Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815, moving along the river Rhine in Germany, and stopping in Gernsheim, away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist had engaged in experiments.This seems to mean Johann Konrad Dippel (1673–1734), one century before (not two). For Dippel's experiments and the possibility of connection to ''Frankenstein'' see the Dippel article. She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. Galvanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horror Fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society. Prevalent elements of the genre include ghosts, demons, vampires, werewolves, ghouls, the Devil, witches, monsters, extraterrestrials, dystopian and post-apocalyptic worlds, serial killers, cannibalism, cults, dark magic, satanism, the macabre, gore and torture. History Before 1000 The horror genre has ancient origins, with roots in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaddesden Place
Gaddesden Place, near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England, was designed by architect James Wyatt and built between 1768 and 1773, and was the home of the Hertfordshire Halsey family. The house is set in an elevated position overlooking the Gade Valley and is said to enjoy one of the finest views in the Home Counties. History The Halseys moved to Great Gaddesden in 1458 and later became lessees of the Rectory of Gaddesden until 12 March 1545. When King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries during the Reformation, he granted the estate of King's Langley Priory to William Hawes (or Halsey, also Chambers). The Halsey family residence was at the Golden Parsonage, a sixteenth-century mansion situated in Gaddesden Row. Thomas Halsey (1731–1788) MP erected a new mansion, Gaddesden Place, to Wyatt's design, about a mile south-west of the Golden Parsonage. In 1774 the family moved to Gaddesden Place, and the Golden Parsonage was partially demolished. In 1788, Thomas Halse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lake , inflow = Rhône, Dranse (Haute-Savoie), Dranse , outflow = Rhône , catchment = , basin_countries = Switzerland, France , length = , width = , area = , depth = , max-depth = , volume = , residence_time = 11.4 years , shore = , elevation = , islands = Île de Peilz, Château de Chillon, Île de Salagnon, Île de la Harpe, Île Rousseau, Île de Choisi , cities = Geneva (CH), Lausanne (CH), Évian-les-Bains, Évian (F), Montreux (CH), Thonon-les-Bains, Thonon (F), Vevey (CH) (''see #Cities and places, list'') , pushpin_map=France Rhône-Alpes#Canton of Vaud#Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villa Diodati
The Villa Diodati is a mansion in the village of Cologny near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, notable because Lord Byron rented it and stayed there with John Polidori in the summer of 1816. Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley, who had rented a house nearby, were frequent visitors. Because of poor weather, in June 1816 the group famously spent three days together inside the house creating stories to tell each other, two of which were developed into landmark works of the Gothic horror genre: ''Frankenstein'' by Mary Shelley and ''The Vampyre'', the first modern vampire story, by Polidori. Origin Originally called the “Villa Belle Rive”, Byron named it the Villa Diodati after the family that owned it. The family was distantly related to Italian translator Giovanni Diodati, uncle of Charles Diodati, the close friend of poet John Milton. Despite the presence of a plaque at the Villa heralding a supposed visit of Milton in 1638, in fact the villa was not built until 1710, long after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John William Polidori
John William Polidori (7 September 1795 – 24 August 1821) was a British writer and physician. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the short story " The Vampyre" (1819), the first published modern vampire story. Although the story was at first erroneously credited to Lord Byron, both Byron and Polidori affirmed that the author was Polidori. Family John William Polidori was born on 7 September 1795 in Westminster, the oldest son of Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and his wife Anna Maria Pierce, an English governess. He had three brothers and four sisters. His sister, Frances Polidori, married the exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and thus Polidori, posthumously, became the uncle of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, and Christina Georgina Rossetti. William Michael Rossett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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