Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
黑色幽默，冷漠的，所谓的互惠互利和格斗演练都有点可爱
导演可能借克隆人表达人生，无论本体还是克隆人都想改变，做不一样的人生。结尾的是本体还是克隆人其实不重要，因为人生就是这样，还得面对不爱的男友和她的母亲！
平静的表面下波涛汹涌，荒谬的情节令人细思极恐，这两年有几部不错的关于克隆的伦理悖论困境的片子，大多表现都还不错，挺好玩的
1499【谷阿莫】她創造了複製人，政府卻說兩個只能活一個，請生死決鬥2022《雙重軀體》#界里剧好看##花式刷片挑战# #亲情电影的治愈力#
每一幕都偏离了我的预想，震惊程度堪比去年我心中的神作墨西哥电影《新秩序》
中间本体去买衣服回来的时候手机摔了，屏幕都碎了花了，当时给了个特写镜头，我看到这里还以为有什么特别的结果并没有。直到结局的时候有个特写镜头，活下来的本体用的手机就是本体之前那个摔过的手机，屏幕都是花的。明显是本体活了下来，如果是克隆体活下来根本没必要用那个摔过的手机，结局也不必给特写。最后她哭，是因为母亲说买变色隐形眼镜给她，她知道还要扮成克隆体跟母亲还有黑鬼生活，最感到人生的讽刺。这么明显，认为是克隆体活下来假扮本体的，你们确定有认真看吗？
想给2.5分。决斗场上出现的女人穿着本体的外套+复制体的内搭+裤子+本体鞋子，人不可能穿自己觉得不舒服的鞋子开车的。本体赢。
其实还可以的！除了结局本以为是场女子格斗结果变成了一个突如其来的下毒!
克隆的概念已经非常常规了，影片新意有，但心意不够！情节发展有明显的跳跃，情绪断裂较严重，共情感处理较差！剪辑上问题挺大。
看了这么多评论，所以说，结局到底是什么呢？谁杀了我，我又杀了谁？
剧情三星，结尾值得加一星，我更偏向本体活下来的说法（ps原来是星云啊，我就说女主很熟悉！）
其实还可以的！除了结局本以为是场女子格斗结果变成了一个突如其来的下毒!
①如果复制体活下来，她哭是因为，自己必须隐藏人格，完完全全活成了本体。
有一个好想法，但是没有完成一部好电影。过于简单的表述，结构不足以支撑，故事的层次太弱，流于表面。活着，随着时间延续，看来无论是本体，还是克隆体，都会厌倦。为了活下去，显然假的，会更狠。
首先我承认我脏了，多次提到性我以为和教练的互惠协议也会是性结果却是紧凑剧情里难得的幽默桥段，又多了一重反转。现代法律尊重个体赋予新身份是更合理的方式，片里选择了复古的决斗，用这种荒谬的生存决斗为前提展开故事，最后是本体还是复制体怎么说都有可佐证的细节，但由于在车内哭泣，哪种结局都充满了绝望感
纯真大傻妞找个花心萝卜丑男友，还被个克隆人给阴了，还有比这更惨的吗？
电影院不会有英文字幕版.也许是因为《火药奶昔》里的女刺客还不够出名。
这个剧情……就是，明明可以更深刻的，但是都一笔带过了，着重于女主的训练……就是，没必要……这个故事可以更加精彩的……
设定很棒。我们常说“我们只有家人不能选择”，当家人也可以选择的时候，你会怎么选？
回味无穷的黑色幽默，看似荒诞的背景却又合乎逻辑的设定。开放式结局也为电影增色不少，难得的小成本佳作
Copyright © 2015-2023 All Rights Reserved
