Peeping Tom
(1960)
review by Head Cheeze

It's truly amazing what kind of effect time can have on the critical perception of art. Something that may have once been dismissed as absolute rubbish can re-emerge several years or even decades later as a masterpiece. Usually these sorts of artistic finds are deemed "ahead of their time", a cliched description if there ever was one, but in the case of Michael Powell's 1960 masterful Peeping Tom, it's perfectly fitting. Pushing the boundaries of British cinema (Peeping Tom featured the first nude scene in a British film) as well as the panic buttons of the country's conservative critics, Powell's film was literally forced out of theaters by bad reviews in under a week, effectively ending the director's career in England, and keeping Peeping Tom out of the public eye until years later when such notable directors as Martin Scorscese, Brian De Palma, Dario Argento and many others began citing the film as a major influence on their work. From the film's opening segment featuring a brutal murder of a streetwalker to it's classically tragic conclusion, Peeping Tom is the more than the "British Psycho", as critics have grown to refer to it; Peeping Tom is the film that SHOULD HAVE BEEN Psycho.

Mark Lewis (Boehm) is a shy German photographer who lives in his deceased father's rooming house. He works as a camera focuser at a movie studio, but has visions of directing a film himself one day once he finds the perfect expression of his favorite subject: Fear. The young man's escalating fetish leads him to commit murders with a cleverly placed blade in his tripod, while filming his victim's shocked expressions in an obsessive attempt to capture his masterpiece. When Carl becomes involved with Helen (Massey), a young woman who lives in his building, he becomes torn between the feelings of joy he gets from her company and his compulsion to fulfill his percieved destiny.

Peeping Tom is an absolute masterpiece of horror cinema, and a landmark of cinema in general. Criterion does this film proud by presenting it in it's original aspect ratio in a virtually flawless transfer. Color is an extremely important aspect of Peeping Tom's distinct visual style, and this print is positively vibrant. The mono soundtrack is bright and clear with not a hint of distortion throughout, even at high volume. This disc features some fantastic extras as well, including a feature length documentary from BBC 4 about the film and the life of it's writer, Leo Marks, that makes for fascinating viewing. Marks was a code breaker for the British Special Forces during World War 2, and the documentary covers that part of his life in great detail and then draws parallels between this and the story behind Marks' script. There's a wealth of behind the scenes material in the special as well, and is a perfect compliment to the film. There is also an entertaining commentary by film "theorist" Laura Mulvey, who offers some great insight on Peeping Tom's influences as well as moments in the film that have influenced others. Add to that a large collection of stills and ephemera as well as a the film's original trailers and extensive liner notes, and you have a great package for a truly outstanding piece of cinema.

My absolute highest recommendations.