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A young scientist doggedly pursues the aging research on immortality of a colleague after his unfortunate suicide. Euro film features the tremendous Klaus Kinski as the mysterious 'Swiss Man', albeit in more of a subdued but important supporting role.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
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Audience Member
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<B>Pam's Quick-takes - Just A Quickie</B>
In <I>Lifespan</I> a doctor uses residents of an old folks' home as unwitting guinea pigs in his quest for an mortality formula -with shocking results. It's a neat story with some interesting ideas and clever self reflexivity. There's a surprising amount of kinky bondage, sex, and lengthy shots of Tina Aumont full frontally nude, but omg, is this movie ever talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.
It's the gabbiest gabfest I've seen since <I>My Dinner With Andre</I> (which was supposed to be gabby, and was actually quite good, but that's a movie with an entirely different purpose.) <I>Lifespan</I> could seriously have benefited from a good shredding (sound of phonograph needle being ripped off vinyl record, please) by a script doctor like Michael Wilson, who rewrote Rod Serling's 1968 yack-attack, <I>Planet Of The Apes</I>.
IRRELEVANT PONTIFICATION:
While we're on the subject, <I>Planet Of The Apes</I> (1968) is a textbook example of how to tell a story with pictures instead of words, the contrast made even more dramatic when it is compared with sections of Serling's original script, as filmed to test early attempts at the ape makeup effects for concept credibility. Poor Rod was still locked into the teleplay concept, (literally, tele<I><B>play</I></B>), and was more interested in relating the philosophical and moral ramifications raised in Pierre Boulle's novel. Wilson was brought in to turn Serling's humanitarian dialectic into an adventure movie. And it worked. Wilson did such a good job of trading discussion for images, that you can literally turn the sound off and still understand everything that happens in the movie.
So anyway, to make a long pontification short, <I>Lifespan</I> could be a really racy sci-fi thriller with the right script help. Now HERE is a film that would actually benefit from a remake. As long as Hollywood does not do the re-making, because Tinseltown completely and utterly misses the point about <I>everything</I>. God I hate the major studios.
OK I feel better now. As you were.
Go on. Off you go now.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A hotshot young scientist trying to achieve immortality for all humanity travels to the Netherlands to work with a hotshot older scientist who hangs himself soon after a conference. He delves into elder researcher's life and discovers that he was on the verge of a treatment that would reverse aging... and that he was also into bondage and experimenting on the residents of a nursing home who all died. He hooks up with the dead scientist's kinky mistress as well as a Swiss pharmaceutical company rep who wants the secret so that he can live forever. They all team up to slowly talk the viewer to death over an hour and a half.
Lifespan is, in large part, an intelligent film that asks probing questions on the nature of scientific inquiry and morality. Unfortunately, it doesn't do it well. The acting is rather wooden, particularly when it comes to lead actor Hiram Keller. Much of the action takes place inside of his head; he wrestles with the actions of those around him and his own ideas, and this struggle is delivered in the form of narration. Keller's Dr. Land talks and talks and talks while the on-screen action moves at a snail's pace. Klaus Kinski bugs his eyes out a lot and dons a devil's mask in a mild sex scene with the ice cold mistress, Anna (Tina Aumont). There's a lot of plodding intellectualizing here but also a complete lack of passion.
"Lifespan" is left an unsatisfying and deservedly forgotten film. It was director Sandy Whitelaw's first film, which shows, but it was notably one of only three films he ever helmed. If you can make it through "Lifespan" without dozing off, you'll understand why. It defies genres; this isn't strictly science fiction or drama, and it certainly isn't horror. It's something that fell through the cracks, and is probably best left there.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
the total cheese-ball narration made it worthwhile--also, the bondage element.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
Full Review
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