Watch The Man Who Could Cheat Death For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Admirable film.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Paris 1890: A doctor and sculptor called Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring) has discovered the secret of immortality. Every ten years he commits murder and removes the victim's parathyroid gland to replace his own. However, after 104 years his surgeon, Ludwig (Arnold Marle), who knows his secret is too old to perform the necessary operation. Bonnet, in desperation to save his life, blackmails a young surgeon, Dr Pierre Gerard (Christopher Lee) into doing it for him by kidnapping and threatening the life of the girl both men love, Janine De Bois (Hazel Court)...Inevitably tame nowadays compared with contemporary horrors and, indeed, with some of the stuff Hammer were turning out even at that time. Nevertheless, this is still a rewarding early offering from that studio and its best known director Terence Fisher. The screenplay by Jimmy Sangster at times plods along like a tedious drawing room play - it was, after all, adapted from a stage play by Barre Lyndon - but it is rich in period detail thanks to impeccable costume design and Bernard Robinson (the production designer) was a master at turning out lavish looking sets giving the films the impression of being more expensive than was actually the case. Hammer's master cinematographer, Jack Asher, sees to it that the film has a dreamlike quality with its wash of warm yellows and the luminous greens of Diffring's laboratory. Fisher succeeds in generating maximum suspense where the opportunity affords like when Diffring abducts Court and reveals his intention to make her like him thus preserving her beauty and keeping his lover under his thumb forever. It is up to Christopher Lee and the police inspector, Francis De Wolfe, to save her. But can they? With three of Hammer's top talents involved, the general mood of the work is enough to carry it through despite its shortcomings in the script and shock department.

Recently picking up the DVD/Blu-Ray of Dracula,I started looking out for other Hammer Horror films. Taking a look to see what was on the Horror section of Netflix UK,I was surprised to spot a lesser-known Hammer title,which led to me cheating death.The plot-Paris 1890:Looking for ways to make life eternal, scientist Georges Bonnet makes the discovery but also finds one catch,that one ingredient for eternal life is the parathyroid glands of a women. Over the next decades,Bonnet kills one women every 10 years and continues to live. Moving to Paris in order to get his next locals, curious locals soon discover that Bonnet has no past. View on the film:Rushed into the movie just days before production due to Peter Cushing suddenly quitting, Anton Diffring (the only one to put on a French accent!) gives a good performance as Bonnet,with Diffring getting an easy feel of the "Hammer Gentlemen" side of Bonnet,and displaying a clear delight in leaping into the wide-eyed madness of the everlasting scientist. Despite pretty much being limited to screaming on the sidelines looking pretty, Hazel Court gives the title a quality touch of beauty as Janine Du Bois,whilst Christopher Lee gives Dr. Pierre Gerrard a considerate edge.Cut onto screens a year before the "Mad Scientist" epic Eyes Without a Face,the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster gets Hammer Horror into first place in some parts,via openly revealing the body parts Bonnet needs to survive. Based on Barré Lyndon's play, Sangster is unable to break from the stage roots,from the dialogue having a dusty atmosphere,to the limited locations draining the movie of any real shots of menace.Finding room for style in the uncompromising stage roots,directing auteur Terence Fisher and cinematographer Jack Asher heat Bonnet's madness up in a blaze of primary colours,where lines of ultra- stylised lime green dash across the screen and get under the ageing skin. Stuck in limited locations,Fisher pushes the movie open with creepy,tightly-held close-ups pulling out the deranged ideas of the man who cheated death

"The Man Who Could Cheat Death" is certainly entertaining, with the kind of period recreation and atmosphere that the Hammer studio always did so well. The acting is first rate and the story is a pretty good one. The problem is that one can tell this derived from a stage work, as it gets bogged down in talk without having too many really good horror moments.Previously filmed as "The Man in Half Moon Street", it tells the tale of an eminent doctor, Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring, who stepped into the role after Peter Cushing backed out) who dabbles in sculpting. Bonnet is maintaining a pretty big secret: he's actually a LOT older than he looks, managing to stay healthy and youthful looking by a scientific process involving removing glands from unwilling donors. An old girlfriend of his, Janine Du Bois (the lovely scream queen Hazel Court) wants to come back into his life, despite being involved with a surgeon named Pierre Gerrard (Sir Christopher Lee). It's up to Gerrard and the intrepid Inspector Legris (Francis De Wolff) to do something to stop the mad doctor.The film has an impressive pedigree, with frequent Hammer director Terence Fisher doing a more than capable job, and Jimmy Sangster (Fisher, Lee, and Sangster, having previously done "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "Dracula" together) writing the script. The settings of late 19th century Paris are moodily photographed, and the music score composed by Richard Rodney Bennett is excellent. The cast has a field day with the material, with Diffring managing to be equal parts demented and sympathetic. It's nice to see Lee in a heroic role, and in support Arnold Marle and De Wolff do great work.Hammer completists will want to see this but due to the films' more-talk-than-action nature, it won't be for all horror fans. Still, with the amount of talent in front of and behind the camera, it does have a fair bit going for it.Six out of 10.

The Man Who Could Cheat Death is a remake of The Man In Half Moon Street, the stage version of which also starred Anton Diffring. The book of this title gives much more back-ground to the character of Georges Bonnet which explains his actions, but unfortunately is lost in the film version, but I think Anton Diffring conveys the torturous life of Bonnet very well. Although he appears cold and heartless he is in fact in desperate need of being loved in a secure relationship, but because of his past he cannot allow himself to achieve this. He is incapable of understanding why his actions are so wrong, and this makes him a vulnerable character despite his obvious intelligence, success and wealth and in the end invokes pity from the audience. I believe Peter Cushing was originally down to play the starring role in this film opposite his familiar adversary Christopher Lee, but because of other commitments he had to turn down the part and suggested Diffring instead. From appearing cold and heartless to pleading and frightened I think Anton Diffring excels in this film and was the perfect choice for the role, although in some parts the acting would have benefited from more positive directing. Christopher Lee and Hazel Court are excellent in their roles and give fine performances in what is a thought provoking and beautifully shot film.