I consider this a worthy effort; especially moving performances by both Lee and Cushing. Admitedly, some of the editing seems "choppy", but I'm not certain it wasn't the poor copy DVD I obtained.
Nonetheless, an intellectual if somewhat conservative approach to the Jeckel/Hyde mythology. For myself 8/10. It is refreshing to view Lee without his customary fangs and the sets from Oliver! were put to good use.
I saw a copy from Spanish TV (there's no TV censorship here, movies are broadcast uncut) and it was just plain cut in Hell. IMDb rating is accurate IMHO, I gave it 5/10. And Lee may have no fangs in this, but he puts his trademark Dracula face (lifting upper lip to reveal teeth and opening eyes wide) to play Hyde (Blake), and the ending is just an obvious rehash of ye ole Dracula/Van Helsing battle (specifically from Fisher's [Horror of] Dracula). Nothing to write home about, really.
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I think this film is very underrated. In fact I would say this is the best version of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' and it is definately the closest I have seen (and I have seen many).
The only thing that bugs me are the name changes.
A great film! Something to write home and to other homes about!
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If you're a Jekyll & Hyde fan, I recommend to you Jean Renoir's The Testament of Dr. Cordelier as the closest one to Stevenson. Sure, it's in French, changes the names, the location, and the time period (now the 1950s), but otherwise it's incredibly close to the book.
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That's my point too - just why is the movie so poorly rated? The performances by Messrs Lee and Cushing were brilliant. Unlike his performances as Dracula, Christopher Lee actually looked really scary in this one. And you could almost feel the emotions of the characters.
For me this is definitely a 9/10.
The films by Stephen Weeks usually have too low ratings, which might suggest that they were seen by mostly the wrong crowd. Stephen Weeks makes some good (and eccentric) low-budget films. I find it hilarious that films like 'Gawain and The Green Knight', 'I, Monster' (especially) and 'Ghost Story' have lower ratings than many of the low budget ''modern horror'' trash and torture porn like 'Saw'.
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I agree with you; and, unlike in the Dracula films, Lee smiles and laughs in this, (which is great to see), even if he's smiling and laughing for diabolical reasons.
shareI didn't enjoy it that much, but I don't think it was bad at all, either. Lee and Cushing are indeed excellent as always.
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Personally, I think the average 5.5/10 rating is fair. I love Cushing and Lee but felt quite let down by this effort. Mind you, I'm not a huge fan of Amicus and prefer Hammer.
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I think it's rated fairly. I explained my beef with the movie in the review below:
http://thebloodypitofhorror.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-monster-1970.html
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I like this film, too. Agreed with ContinentalOP, all kind of modern trash and torture porn crap gets high marks, while a film like I, Monster gets low ratings. Indeed, well-made, beautifully shot Jekyll and Hyde film, with great sets and atmosphere.
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