Charly (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Charly |
| Original title | Charly |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1968 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ralph Nelson |
| script | Stirling Silliphant |
| production | Ralph Nelson |
| music | Ravi Shankar |
| camera | Arthur J. Ornitz |
| cut | Fredric Steinkamp |
| occupation | |
| |
Charly is based on the novel Charly by Daniel Keyes , who thus expanded his own short story Flowers for Algernon ( Flowers for Algernon , 1959). Charly tells the story of a mentally retarded person who becomes highly intelligent through a new treatment method and, despite the use of this ingenuity, cannot prevent a reversal development from occurring and he falls back on the mental level of a child.
The short story (plot)
The mentally retarded Charlie Gordon, who works as a cleaner in a factory in New York , is to take part in a spectacular experiment to triple his IQ , which is to fulfill his most ardent wish, namely to become as intelligent as the people around him. For this purpose, he attends evening school and follows the months-long attempt, the climax of which is supposed to be an operation . The two senior doctors, Nemur and Strauss, want Charlie to keep a diary which he begins on March 5, 1965. The entire short story consists entirely of these diary entries. The reader can observe the development of 37-year-old Charles in his writing style. At first he made a lot of mistakes in grammar and spelling . Of course, his expression is also rather primitive. As the story progresses, the operating room draws closer and closer, with Charlie making first progress through evening school and experiments in the doctors' laboratories . He also worked there with the Algernon mouse , on which the same experiment was carried out and in which the effect of increasing intelligence was actually observed. After the operation, the main character gets smarter with every passing day, soon he surpasses the abilities of the doctors as well as his teacher, Miss Kinnian. He writes scientific papers, learns several foreign languages and deals with psychology and philosophy . He's constantly becoming clearer about his past stupidity and the fact that his "friends" were just fooling him . He falls in love with Miss Kinnian and is snubbed at Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, always expressing his good, benevolent character .
Towards the end of the short story, however, the first symptoms of a decline in intelligence can be observed in Algernon ; soon the white mouse dies. Charlie Gordon quickly realizes that this process will also apply to him, and he notices how he forgets what he knows every day. His desperate situation becomes very clear to the reader here ("Please ... please, God ..."). Eventually he regains the mental level of a toddler, although it may have improved slightly compared to the beginning of the diary entries. On July 28th, he decides to leave New York to avoid the pitying glances of his acquaintances.
Reviews
"Sentimental noble Schnulze of craftsmanship, whereby the heartbreaking story remains only a pretext for conventional cinema entertainment."
“Sentimentality and resignation characterize this film as well as the love for the mentally weak. From the age of 16 useful, but only understandable for older people. "
Awards
- The Hugo Award category short fiction was given in 1960 for the short story.
- Cliff Robertson won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role .
- The film also took part in the 1968 Berlinale competition, but received nothing when it came to awarding the prizes.
Others
- Algernon is the name of the mouse on which the operation was first performed, which resulted in a threefold increase in IQ . The title of the short story (Flowers For Algernon) , which the reader does not understand until the end, comes from Charlie's last wish (in his diary) to occasionally place flowers on Algernon's grave, which he planted in the backyard of his house Has.
- In the meantime there is still a television adaptation (2000) and a play based on the original.
Premieres
- United States 23rd September 1968
- Federal Republic of Germany March 7, 1969
Web links
- Charly in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Will Smith wants the Oscar
Individual evidence
- ↑ Science Fiction Anthology. The 1950s II, eds. Hans-Joachim Alpers and Werner Fuchs, Hohenheim Verlag, Cologne-Lövenich 1982, ISBN 3-8147-0019-8 , p. 319.
- ↑ Charly. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 11, 2016 .