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The Spiral Road

Play trailer Poster for The Spiral Road 1962 2h 25m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 27% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A godless Dutch doctor (Rock Hudson) gains faith and honor facing jungle voodoo and an epidemic in 1930s Java.

Critics Reviews

View All (2) Critics Reviews
Sergio Benítez Espinof The movie remains pale by a script that advances without any interest that could make us empathize with the characters. [Full Review in Spanish] Sep 10, 2019 Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Weird but wildly inventive tale of doctors in the jungle, with good visuals. Jan 4, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (9) audience reviews
delysid d its a pretty good story about leprosy Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/17/20 Full Review Audience Member Sprawling, well made if a bit heavy handed drama is helped by good location work and sturdy performances. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member another tale of doctors in the wilds of africa Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member a young, colonial era "gregory house md" type of doctor set to work under a prominent doctor stationed on pre-indonesia dutch east indies. details on colonial period of indonesia are well-presented here: its people, bahasa, and some tiny hints on local culture as well. it started out great and insightful, but becoming preachy at the near-end of the film. the music is somewhat awesome, with jerry goldsmith as the score composer mixing elements of both javanese and balinese gamelan. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Corny colonialist melodrama about finding God among the natives. Has some nice visuals but goes on too long. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I love this film. It has two very interesting characters with good development and well-written dialogue, played by great actors. The climax is very intense and exciting, but the film suffers from basic lack of resolution, preventing it from being great. But what I like about this film is that it's courageous. The message is clear: there is no such thing as a self-sufficient man; cut off from man and God, man becomes an animal. But life is not portrayed as simplistic here. The atheist protagonist's father was a hypocritical preacher who beat his son regularly. A Christian missionary claiming that God will protect her contracts leprosy from those whom she is trying to help. The film does not pretend that life is black and white, but it does hold to objective truth. For that, the great actors (and a very disturbing view into psychological warfare), I will watch this film many more times I'm sure. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Spiral Road

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A godless Dutch doctor (Rock Hudson) gains faith and honor facing jungle voodoo and an epidemic in 1930s Java.
Director
Robert Mulligan
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 3, 2010
Runtime
2h 25m