Bedazzled

The humor is good and typical British. Most of the jokes work really well, it's just too bad that some of the sketches are dragging on for too long and the movie itself feels a bit long. Man oh man, let me start of by saying that Peter Cook and Dudley Moore are horrible actors. It was really painful to watch at times for me but since this is a comedy, the acting really is secondary. The real power of course lies in its jokes and one-liners. Who cares really that Dudley Moore and Peter Cook weren't the world finest actors? The quality of the most sketches is good even though some of course are better than others. But like I said it drags on for a bit too long at times, some more pace wouldn't had been such a bad idea at times. After 2 sins I already got a bit tired thinking about it that I had to watch 5 more sins but luckily the movie never really weakens and keeps you watching to the end. It is a very recommendable movie to kill some time with, also because of Raquel Welch small role! 7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I first saw the Hollywood remake of this movie a few years ago. I don't remember much about it, except for the fact that I wasn't really convinced by it. This evening however I saw the original version and I really liked it. Yes, it looks a little bit dated and the acting may not be the best you've ever seen, but the story is nice and timeless. It's about a man who is afraid to ask the girl of his dreams out for a date. In return for his soul the devil promises him to help him. He sells his soul and he gets 7 wishes. Of course the devil always knows how to fool the man by making his wishes not coming true the way he had imagined it. I had a good time watching it and I really had a few good laughs. The humor may look a little bit innocent by today's standards, but I still prefer this kind of humor over what is considered as humor today by some (a man running with a dead deer around his body, getting hit by a truck for instance - part in Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered). You may call me old fashioned (even though I'm only 26 years old), but sometimes I prefer the old kind of humor over the new kind. Overall this movie looks a bit dated from time to time, but don't let that be a reason not to watch this movie. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it. I did and I give it a 7.5/10 for it.

Cooke and Moore were possibly the finest comedians the UK has ever produced before Python and others followed Pete and Dud were the undisputed kings of the new cutting edge of comedy/satire in the UK. But always just under the surface (and later out in the open) there was a sadness and dis-satisfaction to both Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore and I think some of that shows up in this film. Think of the old lady taken for all her money by the Devil and the cheery goodbye she still manages. Also part of the film seems to be dealing with the moral flexibility of people given their circumstance. Stanley Moon (Moore) has limited opportunities as a short order cook all he desires is the love of Margaret one of the waitresses at the Wimpy he works in. But he is a good person, when after a botched suicide attempt he sells his soul to the devil (Cooke) he has all the opportunities in the world but it is easier for the devil to corrupt him. Throughout the seven wishes (in accordance with 7 the mystic number, 7 days of the week, 7 deadly sins, 7 brides for 7 brothers..)Stanley can only think of his own needs and perhaps this is why they fail to make him happy. On his one opportunity to give a wish away to stop one of the devils petty tricks (sending a swarm of bee's to harass some flower children) he refuses saying 'Their mine and iv'e only got four left!' The other main theme of this film is more to the forefront dealing with Cooke and Moores attitudes towards religion and it's place in what at the time was the modern world. People were beginning to come away from the church and for the first time non-believers were becoming the majority. Part of the film lampoons religion particularly the bouncing nuns, but at the end it's god who wins out over the devil all be it by a technicality. In a way they showed the obvious contradictions and flaws in the Christian faith - religion nice idea but surely it cant be that way? If all of the above makes this film sound heavy going be assured it's not, and where as in others hands it may have become a pretentious mess it becomes a light hearted very funny comedy romp. If you just want a laugh on a Saturday night this will provide it, if you want to look deeper in and start divining meaning from every little aspect you can it's that sort of film. Highly recommended 9/10 NOTE - AVOID THE REMAKE LIKE THE PLAGUE IT'S Awful

Definitely the finest fruit of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's comedy partnership, one of the funniest films ever made, and one of my all-time favourite films ever. It's been unavailable for years, with crappy old commercial VHS copies with the soundtrack hanging off changing hands for silly money (I taped mine off the TV like everyone else.) But now it's out on DVD! As of this week (end of July '05). I haven't bought one yet but I'm sure I will. I hope there are some nice extras. But the film itself is an absolute joy. So it was made on the cheap, so the production values are utterly 60s generic, so the sets were banged together with spit and sawdust - who cares when Peter Cook is just the best devil you could ever imagine, when the jokes are that thick and fast and that good, when Dudley Moore is the perfect hapless foil, when his music is so memorable, when Raquel Welch is such a good sport as Lillian Lust ("pick yer clothes up Lily, you're due down at the Foreign Office"). Now to complete my joy, they have to withdraw and destroy all copies and prints of the hideous Liz Hurley re-make which must NEVER, EVER be confused with this timeless gem which has given me and so many friends and acquaintances so much pleasure for so many years. Watch it and when you've finished laughing (and thinking - after all, it is a perfectly plausible version of the Faust legend) raise a glass to the genius that was Peter Cook at his best (and this IS Peter Cook at his best) and to the beauty of his absurdly unlikely partnership with a sharp witted, sad-faced jazz piano player who was half his size and who went on to be perhaps the unlikeliest Hollywood movie star of them all. They're both gone, but in this perfect little film they will always be with us to mock us for our absurd vanities and follies, to make us laugh and think and feel.

I had seen the Brendan Fraser/Elizabeth Hurley version long before this original from director Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain) and written by the two leading actors. It is exactly the same premise, a guy - Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore) - wants to be with a girl - Margaret Spencer (Eleanor Bron) - and along comes The Devil, aka George Spiggott (Peter Cook), and the guy signs a contract for seven wishes in exchange for his soul. Throughout the film Stanley becomes articulate intellectual, a wealthy industrialist, a brief rock star, has an affair, a fly on the wall and a nun, oh, and gets an ice lolly. In the end though, instead of the Devil demanding he makes a final wish and it isn't for himself, Stanley uses them all, and the Devil simply turns nice to get God to take him back into Heaven. Also starring a pretty brief Raquel Welch as Lilian Lust, Alba as Vanity, Robert Russell as Anger; Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage as Envy, Parnell McGarry as Gluttony, Danièle Noël as Avarice, Howard Goorney as Sloth, Michael Bates as Insp. Reg Clarke, Bernard Spear as Irving Moses, Robin Hawdon as Randolph, Michael Trubshawe as Lord Dowdy, Evelyn Moore as Mrs. Wisby, Charles Lloyd Pack as Vicar and Lockwood West as St. Peter. In my opinion, this isn't as good as the much more lively and modern remake, this just feels too 60's, it seems much more chatty, and there was not much to laugh at. Cook is not as fun as the sexy interpretation by Hurley, Moore is not as concerned as Fraser, I think Welch would been a very seductive Devil, probably more so than Hurley, but if you like old fashioned comedy, this is worth seeing, at least once. Okay!

Being an Amerikanisch swine, more of an Anglophile than a xenophobe am I. Most of my favorite bands are English not to mention my favorite actors, directors, television shows, etc., etc., etc. How was it then that I went 48 years without seeing this "classic" British comedy? Twenty three years after the release of its predecessor, I watched the Brendan Frasier/Elizabeth Hurley remake and lust plain loved it. That made me all the more anxious to see the original, performed by the originators. My initial reaction was a huge *yawn*. The first scene between Stanley Moon and the Devil was soooooo drawn out and sooooo full of boring, long winded exposition that I literally found myself nodding off! To be fair, I soldiered on, hoping and expecting for the film to pick up its pace...I waited in vain. True, the look and feel of the whole movie was dated, but so then is Monty Python, and "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum". That doesn't stop them from being hilarious. The one thing they have that transcends time is...well...timing! Fast paced, snappy dialogue brimming with that deliciously dry English wit. I found that to be sadly lacking here. So, sorry Queen Mum, this match goes to the Americans.

BEDAZZLED was release in the United States on December 10, 1967. Bedazzled is a 1967 film written by and starring Peter Cook along with the gorgeous Raquel Welch and Dudley Moore, retelling the Faust legend in the Swinging London of the 1960s. It was remade in 2000 under the same name. Summary Stanley Moon (Moore) is a dissatisfied introverted young man who works in a Wimpy's restaurant and admires, from afar, the server Margaret (Bron). Despairing of his unrequited infatuation, he is in the process of an incompetent suicide attempt, when he is interrupted by the Devil himself, incarnated as George Spiggott (Cook). Spiggott is in a contest with God, trying to be the first to gather 100 billion souls. If he achieves this first, he will be readmitted to Heaven. In return for his soul, Spiggott offers Stanley seven wishes. Stanley consumes these opportunities in trying to satisfy his lust for Margaret (frequent Cook and Moore collaborator Eleanor Bron), but Spiggott twists his words to frustrate any consummation of desire. On the last occasion, he reincarnates Stanley as a nun in a convent: whilst being specific about nearly every other aspect of the wish, he has forgotten to specify his gender and vocation, and Spigott mischievously takes full advantage of that. Spiggott fills the time between these episodes with acts of minor vandalism and petty spite, incompetently assisted by the personification of the seven deadly sins, most memorably Lust (Raquel Welch). Questions: What did Margaret find that went with Stanley's note? Why could no one find Stanley's body? Why did the inspector become more interested in Margaret Instead of the disappearance of Stanley? Who was Lust? What did Lust have to do with this picture? My Thoughts: As far as the movie goes, don't waste your money! I thought I would ever say that about a Raquel Welch film. This was stupid and it took more than ** ******* before you even saw Raquel Welch. As far as Raquel, well she was as gorgeous as ever, however, how could you waste such talent and a gorgeous body in a piece of junk like this? Raquel was wasted in this movie and they should have showed this movie free. As far as the movie goes, I give this 1 weasel star and that's being nice and as for Raquel Welch, her and her body get 10 weasel stars even for a short performance like this.

I have not seen the 2000 remake of Bedazzled for the same reason I never did see the Psycho remake - why mess with something so good? Dudley Moore as a short-order cook leading a life of quiet desperation and Peter Cooke as the Devil team-up to deliver an extremely funny movie with surprisingly deep theological commentary. The Theodicy, the nature of sin and repentance, and other interesting topics are discussed and explored. The first time I saw this movie I liked the offbeat humor (If you like Monty Python you will like this movie as well). However, I liked it better the second time I saw it and liked it even more the third time around, etc. So the first you see it you may give it a 7, the second time an 8 and by the third time it will rate a 9 or 10! I actually would give it a 9.5. Speaking of a 10, Raquel Welch is appropriately cast for this movie! Some other classic comedies I really like are the Pink Panther Movies, Arsenic and Old Lace (Cary Grant), A New Leaf (Walter Matthau) Dr. Strange Love, Pillow Talk (Doris Day/Rock Hudson),etc. IMHO, Bedazzled belongs in this company. Unfortunately, it is only out on VHS, but I like this movie enough that I will buy the DVD when it comes out. (Note: it is now available on DVD and I did buy it!) It would probably would rate a PG or PG-13 because of appropriately sexually explicit content - a funny seduction scene and some very brief nudity (movie would be fine without it, but it is extremely brief). The movie pokes fun at religiosity. Which might offend some religious people. But if you are a person of faith who doesn't take yourself too seriously, you will find this to be a good watch and you might get an interesting discussion or two out of it.

I first bought this movie on VHS in 1983 as an ex rental from a garage, if it wasn't worn out then it certainly is now and I probably remember every line in the movie, but for some reason I have spent the whole evening searching for a copy I can buy to enjoy it again. The movie is a gem incomparable to the 2000 effort. Why is the movie so good? I believe the secret to the movie is that they played themselves, Cooke cruel, but humorous, arrogant, intelligent but tragic, Moore full of good intention, seemingly one step behind, but with the brighter future; the combination is gripping. At the end of it all, as in life Cooke is exposed as being slightly more fragile than he gives on and an unlikely bond appears to have developed between the two. I was reassured to hear the 60's critics found the movie bland and questioned Cooke's acting ability. Cooke's genius was non-conformity and the movie is full of it, trampolining Nuns, a hypnotically haunting Pop song, thought controlled pigeons, unforgivable abuse of kind old ladies and all captured in a cinematographic magic as were "the Prisoner" and "The Avengers" and which can never be recreated by a sequel. There are so many great asides, lines and scenes, that to mention one or the other does not do justice; it is the wealth of colourful detail in the scenes, the events, the characters and the script. This movie certainly isn't "bland", "bland" is Cooke's appearance in the "One foot in the Algarve" episode and if there is any movie to best remind us why the pairing had a hint of genius this is it. I hope I manage to find a copy to buy in the UK, but am also grateful that it is hard to get my hands on one. This movie like my "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" or "Queen 1" LP is that much more enjoyable because it is mine and not the property of mainstream commercialisation ... However be sure you see it at least once when you can.

Bedazzled just gets better as the years go by, and especially after the fiasco of the Liz Hurley remake. This version was written by and stars Pete 'n' Dud, with Eleanor Bron as the soppy Margaret Spencer, waitress at Wimpy's, Barry Humphries (otherwise known as Dame Edna) as Envy, Raquel Welch as Lilian Lust ... through its segments relating to Stanley's wishes (the 'sophistate', the millionaire, the pop star, the fly on the wall, the leaping nun ...) it scores points on every level, as well as reflecting the time - the pop star segment is very Ready, Steady, Go, George Spiggott's club (like Cook's in real life but hopefully the real one was less sleazy), and of course, the depressing town street burger bar. It is a very funny film and a good vehicle for the leads (their other teaming in Hound of the Baskervilles misfired badly). And it is directed by Stanley Donen, who was partly responsible for a string of MGM movie musicals with Gene Kelly in the 1950s.