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Iguana

Released Apr 1, 1988 1h 37m Adventure List
Tomatometer 4 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
A disfigured sailor (Everett McGill) becomes king of a desert isle, with a Spanish noblewoman (Maru Valdivieso) as his mistress.

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Iguana

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Hellman's beautifully observed direction makes the film mesmerizing. Rated: 3/4 May 12, 2024 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Stiff and unconvincing, with inefficient editing and wooden performances sinking a provocative island adventure story. Rated: C Sep 21, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Interesting only for its mythical pretensions. Rated: C+ Aug 6, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 14, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (8) audience reviews
Alec B A bizarre and often meandering examination of cruelty and persecution. Fortunately Hellman nails the ending or I might have been inclined to dismiss the movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Audience Member A bizzare and often meandering examination of cruelty and persecution. Fortunately Hellman nails the ending or I might have been inclined to dismiss the movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member "Iguana" is a curious misfire, and perhaps that's the best way to appreciate the film, enjoying the minor bits of behavior it successfully articulates instead of focusing on the creative failures that eventually sink the effort. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Hellman is a master of space and location. Unlike Kubrick who makes the wide expanse sing, Hellman fills the screen with a documentary coldness. Pitting man against man in a hostile environment. Iguana is a landlocked high sea adventure; as such it plays with the coda of Naval procedure and hierarchies. Everett is very good at conveying the anger and lack of education of the title character. His pitiful attempt to remake a world a sad substitution for any other existence he could have, his cynical take on human relationships ultimately go unchallenged and as such the ending is a perfect image. Maru Valdivieso’s Carmen is stunning. Her performance subtle and brilliant as a woman intent on freeing herself from the slavery of social conventions. Ironically it is through the brutality of the Iguana does she come to understand at what cost that freedom is ultimately purchased. A very good movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Flawed but smart and fascinating film by Monte Hellman. It's an odd allegory about freedom and slavery: a "freak" rebels against the world and creates a slave kingdom. Some of the acting is sub-par but the film raises a lot of thoughtful questions. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Monte Hellman tells the story of a deformed sailor who is tormented by his crew members. When he escapes he starts his own form of society on an Island where he is a tyrant to anyone who comes to it. This film is a mean spirited film about a man taking vengence on the world as a whole for what he has suffered. The ending of this film is cynical as hell. I love it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Iguana

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A disfigured sailor (Everett McGill) becomes king of a desert isle, with a Spanish noblewoman (Maru Valdivieso) as his mistress.
Director
Monte Hellman
Production Co
Arco Films
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 1, 1988, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 13, 2018
Runtime
1h 37m
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