Sadly Over-hyped

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The young lover of a student artist in 17th century Holland is spirited away in marriage by her guardian to a grim, wealthy suitor. Years pass, and the student becomes successful, but then he finds her again ...A strange, cold story, with a fabulously eerie climax. Shot with all eyes on recreating the image of Dutch interiors, still lifes and portraits from the era, and very spare with the dialogue. I did feel the lovers' relationship should have been given more substance, but the performances are excellent, and the psychology of the protagonist is deep and not easy to understand. The outstanding theme is the treatment of women as objects, but the message is complex and rounded out with inevitable terror as life's betrayals and compromises accumulate.Pace is a little slow and solemn. Music is harpsichord, sometimes contrasting in mood with what's on screen.Overall, very interesting and the scene in the vault is a good 'un.

The atmospheric work of Dutch portrait and genre painter Godfried Schalcken provided the inspiration for Sheridan Le Fanu's Gothic horror story "Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter" written in 1839.I must say that I rather enjoyed Leslie Mehagey's "Schalcken the Painter" which is based on Le Fanu story.The film plays like a documentary and it carefully recreates the interiors made famous by the Dutch painters.The action is slow-moving,but "Schalcken the Painter" has plenty of Gothic atmosphere.There is also plenty of female nudity including nice full-frontal at the end.The climax is wonderfully evocative and eerie.If you like "The Woman in Black" or similar subtle British chillers you can't go wrong with "Schalcken the Painter".7 skulls out of 10.

Having read several 10 out of 10 reviews for this TV play, I have to say that the reviewers must be high on nostalgia. This play has not aged well. The print quality is terrible, the acting minimal, the atmosphere non-existent.It is overlong and tedious. It is actually quicker, and more gratifying, to read the short story upon which this play is based. Too much time is taken up with pointless long shots of irrelevant action - 4 minutes of close-up on a goldsmith testing the quality of coins AFTER the narrator has told us what he's doing - absolutely awful. 5 minutes of just watching a room full of students paint a still life, with no dialogue or music, and no narration? Just boring.The action really kicks in 10 minutes from the end, where we actually find out what's going on. Up to that point, we have almost an hour of virtually silent footage telling us the most simple story imaginable (art apprentice falls in love with master's daughter, but has no chance), coupled with a narrator reading out sections of the original text.If you're tempted to watch this wooden old effort - don't. Read the short story, and then go and seek out some of the BBC's MR James adaptations instead for some real chills and decent acting.

I saw it and taped it when it went out and have never forgotten it. Sadly that was on Betamax in a former life. I agree entirely with everyone's observations on the piece.And I have seen the original painting. Many years ago I was stood in the doorway of a huge room in an English stately home, listening to the information being given by the guide when I casually glanced to my left.This was a very warm summer's day but my blood froze. I was resting against a wall covered in paintings and there next to my left elbow was the very painting of the girl shielding the candle, with her ghastly suitor's face in the shadows...I can't remember which house it was though it might have been Woodstock near Oxford. But I will never forget that shock! The piece, from the Omnibus series, does still exist as a print so there is still hope...