The Ebony Tower

TV Movie
1984
1h 20m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A young artist goes to interview an older painter who lives in the south of France with two young women. He gets caught up in the painter's Bohemian lifestyle and begins to examine his own a... Read allA young artist goes to interview an older painter who lives in the south of France with two young women. He gets caught up in the painter's Bohemian lifestyle and begins to examine his own attitudes towards life and art.A young artist goes to interview an older painter who lives in the south of France with two young women. He gets caught up in the painter's Bohemian lifestyle and begins to examine his own attitudes towards life and art.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

231

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 2 nominations total

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6.5231

Featured reviews

6graffman

Miscast but still worthwhile

This is an early TV-version of one of John Fowles' greatest stories, the first and longest in his collection of the same name from 1974. All highly recommended reading. And perhaps it belongs to a genre better read in retreat, than seen on any screen. Though the effort to make a film of it deserves attention, if not else just because of the archetypal abyss of the story.

The main drawback is that Olivier is terribly miscast. The great ham is no ailing but still dangerously masculine and sharp old Man, as the painter Henry Breasley is supposed to be. Someone like Richard Harris might have been a more congenial choice for the role. And even Roger Rees seems somewhat too anemic here. While Greta Scacchi is pretty perfect. I'd buy it on DVD anytime, if it was available by itself and not just as a bonus in an Olivier collection..

pfaul

Waste of Talent

Boring, puerile tale of a young writer sent to interview a successful wealthy artist (Olivier) at his country estate in France. One of Olivier's more unfortunate films - he is hammy without the fun (not a patch on "Sleuth" or "Marathon Man"). As the "great" artist he gets to pontificate about art in running undergraduate monologues, which include every cliché about artists in film. This is not Olivier's fault, I fear, but Fowles', who likes to write about callow young men who learn the meaning of life from some great older man (e.g. "The Magus"). The scenery is stunning, as is Greta Scacchi - it must have been in her contract at this time that she had to drop her gear in every role (as in "White Mischief", which at least was heaps of fun). Watch for the straight-faced, but unintentionally hilarious recreation of Manet's "Breakfast on the Grass" with 80's pop star Toyah Wilcox. Could have been good if it had even a grain of wit or some real drama. For a film that explores similar territory - but brilliantly - try Alain Resnais' film "Providence". DUD.

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Trivia
Scriptwriter John Mortimer recalls in his 1994 autobiography, "Murderers and Other Friends", that Sir Laurence Olivier's memory for dialogue had entirely disintegrated (he was in his late 70s), so his lines had to be written on large sheets of paper and hung out of shot.

Quotes
Henry Breasley: There was a young lady called Gloria who was had by Sir Gerald du Maurier, Jack Hylton, Jack Payne, Sir Gerald again, and the band of the Waldorf Astoria!