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Cul-de-sac

Cul-de-sac

1966
Comedy, Drama
1h 52m
A wounded criminal and his dying partner take refuge at a beachfront castle. The owners of the castle, a meek Englishman and his willful French wife, are initially the unwilling hosts to the criminals... (imdb)
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Cul-de-sac

1966
Comedy, Drama
1h 52m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 60.24% from 545 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(545)
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Rated 21 Dec 2022
70
65th
A gorgeous film, the story was ripe with the opportunity for introspection but I was left a little untouched by the choices made between the husband and wife. Something like Straw Dogs or even The Ref is able to take a relatable relationship and force understanding upon its audience along with the characters. Here the marriage itself is so bizarre that a lot of their actions detract from the overwrought tension that could hang. Ultimately it just seemed like a dead-end marri...oh. Now I get it.
Rated 12 Sep 2007
80
91st
This is really hard to review. It's at least as odd as anything Polanski has ever made. Its plot anticipates Peckinpah's Straw Dogs but the atmosphere is proto-Herzog. It's tense and dramatically complex and laced with black humor that almost seems too cruel. It arouses moral repulsion but it's an excellent movie.
Rated 28 Aug 2009
80
61st
An interesting reflection on power dynamics, social conventions and the variety of human reactions to stress. The actions of the characters are somewhat frustrating but it generally still works as it provokes a 'what would I do' reaction.
Rated 02 Jun 2014
76
57th
Better cinematography than anything else
Rated 17 Oct 2017
74
33rd
An unsatisfying kind of blackly unfunny thriller, focused more on social rules and the way people push each others' buttons, sometimes deliberately and sometimes out of necessity. The plot baffles because Lionel Stander is not a very imposing villain, Pleasance is some bizarre sort of camp, emasculated anti-hero, and Dorléac an impotent Gallic firebrand. Each a contradiction of sorts. The plot seriously lacks threat and urgency... a far cry from the Polanski of Repulsion or Chinatown.
Rated 01 Jun 2014
8
80th
Odder and funnier than I expected, with great photography and amusing and richly created character dynamics. But it also drags, and the absurdist bent is a little forced and sometimes unfunny and dull. Still, Polanski is very good at grouping humans together in a claustrophobic setting and stirring the pot, and I'd say he won me over in the end. I like weird things.
Rated 16 Feb 2012
65
23rd
An absurdist comedy should first and foremost be that: comedic. Unfortunately, as interesting as a concept this film may be--and I do grant it that--it was, for the most part, a slog to get through. I'd be wary of Polanskiites overhyping this--it is rather weak Polanski.
Rated 22 Jun 2021
75
89th
Excellent.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
62
39th
# 758
Rated 26 Jul 2011
75
83rd
Mostly fun movie with some uneven examinations of gender roles. Pleasance is great.
Rated 31 Jan 2012
90
69th
90 for using Lindisfarne Castle location, and for Jackie Bisset as a Carnaby St fashion hipster lost among the nasty British stereotypes at the mead, vodka and omelette lunch party.
Rated 20 Aug 2011
93
87th
One of the strangest atmospheres I've ever seen a film take on. The whole thing is fairly slow paced but remains energetically engaging with its loony characters and black humor. I'd almost call it fun. I'm just thinking of the tide coming over the highway that sets up the wacky mood throughout the film. I can't really pin this film down, it's that unique. All I can say is watch it.
Rated 15 Jul 2017
85
91st
Polanski should've made more films like this one.
Rated 25 Jun 2013
70
59th
Of course charming like hell, and with a truly lovable setting in the middle of nowhere, with great rising tides to shell the plot from anyone meddling. But at the end, I didn't like the meek Englishman in the lead, and I didn't really take much from the film either.
Rated 13 Aug 2019
80
79th
This does work on multiple level simultaneous; it has enough suspense to work as thriller, but at the same time eccentricity of it make it also work as a black comedy, while the surrealness and the setting also give it some elements of a gothic horror.
Rated 07 Jul 2015
5
70th
well, that was definitely polanski's strangest movie. starts off very unique and interesting but sort of drags after a while.
Rated 02 Dec 2011
56
12th
#888
Rated 19 Dec 2008
61
22nd
780
Rated 13 Jan 2011
98
95th
This film is a real gem. It's one that I hunted a long time for, because it is (or was) difficult to find in the USA on home video. I loved all of the performances. It achieves a unique atmosphere and is beautifully filmed. If you've seen the film "The Ref" with Kevin Spacey and Dennis Leary, you'll be surprised with the similarities that the two films share.
Rated 11 May 2014
87
78th
Pulling off a delicate balancing act of stark minimalism and absurd flamboyance, Polanski is in fine form, even if some touches seem a little too obvious (Pleasence camping it up in a dress for instance). Stander's magnificently subtle, menacing lead (with echoes of Mitchum in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER) is a highlight, though Pleasence and Dorleac are also fine; the ultimate masochistic undertones of the Dorleac-Stander relationship are developed in fascinating ways.
Rated 11 Jul 2012
86
65th
Although it may seem like not much is happening (and it does start at a funeral pace), there are many elements that are subtly working under the surface much like Knife in the Water. Just the relationship between the characters and their interactions between one another are rich enough to sustain the entire film, although Polanski is manipulating our expectations with the circumstances and the history of the characters as well. It'll require some patience to fully appreciate.
Rated 01 Dec 2020
92
76th
I like this movie very much. A battle of wills, the Brit and his French wife vs a boorish American.
Rated 02 May 2012
58
26th
Didn't find this too funny and it doesn't work as well as a drama, so it bored me. Another odd film in Polanski's uneven career.
Rated 26 Jan 2015
8
76th
I have seen a few couple-taken-prisoner-in-their-own-home-by-a-runaway-bandit movies in my time but this felt like the original. Great cinematography. Great acting, which makes the characters and the interactions between them very enjoyable, although I actually didn't think that the film went deep enough. But I'm talking about the content here of course. The form however, I mean the photography, the pacing, and the cinematic expression that results from all that, is all Polanski, and it's all
Rated 11 Nov 2017
76
53rd
Interesting little film, whose very slight tonal weirdness is perhaps what makes this so engaging. It could've been a pretty boring time if it weren't for how peculiar the characters behave, a mix of exasperation and banality, which is also matched by the slightly weird turns in the story -- not to mention the masculinity dynamic between the two male leads that never gets into obvious territory.
Rated 16 Oct 2013
78
58th
77.500
Rated 13 Oct 2008
60
31st
It's decent drama but there wasn't a single funny moment in it.
Rated 27 Feb 2015
70
50th
Polanski viewed the seminal Repulsion as a stepping stone to this forgotten, bizarre black comedy he intended to be a hit. For all its quirky and amusing antics and characters, Cul-de-sac bears the distinctive mark of a Polanski film in that he psychologically traps his characters and invites us to observe how they respond. There are plenty of laughs to be had here, but the pacing in how much the camera shows is extremely liberal and a good 10 minutes or more should've been cut. Check this out.
Rated 04 Feb 2008
83
88th
"Agnes!" (Who's Agnes?)
Rated 19 Aug 2017
65
62nd
Someone else has noted this as well but the story here and the film "The Ref" are remarkably similar. The biggest difference here is that none of the characters are even remotely likeable and the comedy is much darker.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
59
18th
828
Rated 06 May 2014
69
73rd
Always entertaining. Always mildly annoying. Donald Pleasence partly shines and struggles with his (strange) character.
Rated 05 Apr 2009
76
88th
Good Movie
Rated 13 Jan 2011
77
79th
I thought it was hilarious!
Rated 21 Nov 2011
65
42nd
Neither as quietly compelling as "Nóz w wodzie" nor as spectacularly daring as the psychosexual freak-out of "Repulsion", "Cul-de-sac" still bears the marks of a typically surreal, beautifully crafted and darkly humorous Polanski thriller. Although the plot isn't exactly engrossing which results in several dull stretches, the memorable acting interplay, beautiful cinematography and Polanski's directorial trademarks make this a highly intriguing if uneven film.
Rated 19 Sep 2011
85
59th
Similar to Knife in the Water, Polanski puts three characters - a husband, a wife, a stranger - in a situation and lets them duke it out. This is a strange movie, a nicely directed and filmed movie, but not a masterpiece. Donald Pleasence is quite good, as is the rest of the cast and Polanski was an incredible talent, but I don't think everything works. Definitely something I want to rewatch, though.
Rated 20 Dec 2011
70
54th
Interesting concept and characters. Weak acting and dialogue.
Rated 05 Aug 2012
60
20th
This didn't work for me. Awkward, not-very-funny comedy, very broad performances, especially from Pleasence, and a bunch of dumb, unpleasant characters with whom I didn't particularly appreciate spending time. I'm sure I'm missing something, but for me this wasn't fun at all.
Rated 18 Oct 2011
78
61st
78.375
Rated 09 Jan 2011
74
50th
Here Polanski shows a slightly better knack for comedy than in Fearless Vampire Killers. Slightly, but not much... though it's an amusing farce, only once did it bring me close to an actual laugh. But the interplay between Pleasance, Dorléac and Stander is inspired and the film has a few sly comments about gender roles and 60's social politics. Most impressive was cinematography, with imagery rivaling that of Repulsion. Few comedies have such strong visuals. Fun, but falls short of greatness.
Rated 20 Apr 2013
79
71st
Yüzeysel olarak "Sudaki Bıçak"ın daha mizahi versiyonu olarak özetlenebilir. Bu kötü olduğu anlamına gelmiyor tabii ki. Zira çok iyi bir sinematografisi ve tıkır tıkır işleyen bir senaryosu var.
Rated 19 Feb 2010
80
81st
2nd viewing: a Fabulous Dark comedy with actually more bitterness, than humor, but nonetheless a comedic approach to the subject of humiliation and philistinism, but in the heart of it it tells us about true loneliness.
Rated 20 Sep 2018
78
48th
Cul-de-sac is Polanski letting us watch him toy with a canvas of his choosing. Shot in a marvelous location, it could not be more suiting for this dark, strange comedy. Although it doesn't dive deeper than I expected, these characters touched on the human psyche and this idea of altering egos. A mixture of Freudian beliefs on human behavior was my way of depicting the bizarre menage a trois.
Rated 22 Jul 2019
55
21st
roman polanski'ye karşı ön yargım vardı "şimdilik" bu ön yargımı kırmadığı için kendisine teşekkürü borç bilirim.
Rated 06 Oct 2019
89
85th
Em honra do centenário do grande Donald Pleasence filme #2. Taí um filme do Polanski que dependeu totalmente do talento extremo dos atores para dar certo, tanto Stander quanto Pleasence tiveram aqui o grande papel de suas carreiras e eu incluiria a Dorleac se ela não tivesse passado por Demy antes. BRRip Classics.
Rated 07 Feb 2021
55
39th
A peculiar film with superb cinematography.
Rated 20 Jan 2023
60
21st
Polanski has made some of my favorite films, but this was just ok for me. Definitely on the interesting side of okay, but I didn't get what Polanski was going for. There are standout elements, the main one being an amazing and often darkly hilarious performance by Lionel Stander. I've seen a few things with him in them but don't really remember them, but I'll have to look into his filmography more. It's weird, because I liked so much of it, but I ultimately just found it kind of unsatisfying.

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