Valar_MorghuIis I started watching this movie by chance and the first few scenes were so captivating that I had to watch it till the end.. at that time I was not aware that its a movie by 'William Wyler' who's famous for movies like 'Ben-Hur', 'The Best Years of Our Lives', and 'Roman Holiday'.A two hour drama focused mostly on only two characters (Freddie Clegg and Miranda Grey) with many long scenes with no dialog at all apparently seems a boring idea but screenplay is brilliant, editing is prefect and each moment is deliberate.. the element of suspense is heightened to the point of tension that just kept me hooked into watching more to know what will happen next.. and above all, the dark instability of Freddie's character and his gradually intimate series of arguments, conflicts, confrontations and negotiations with Miranda was more than enough to keep me on edge throughout..Freddie Clegg, the shy and introvert bank clerk who got a chance to make true what had previously been only his fantasy.. there are so many shades in this character.. driven by obsession & regression.. one moment he seems harmless, eager to please, and dismal in his desire for love and care.. and next moment he is bitter, stubborn and self-centered to the point of becoming blind to anyone else's feelings and thoughts.. one is always uncertain of what to expect from him next.. Terence Stamp is just terrific as Freddie Clegg and portrayed each and every shade of Freddie's personality with utmost brilliance..Miranda Grey, a young art student.. the object of Freddie's desire.. her real personality is of an extrovert, confident, independent and dynamic girl who want to do so much in life but owning to circumstances imposed on her, she has to become an obedient and submissive person.. Samantha Eggar played this character perfectly.. one can see how initially she's in anger and pain of denying her real personality but near end how she actually become the one..Stories where characters are portrayed as black & white, evil & innocent, wrong & right seems boring to me.. I enjoy situations when both the right and wrong person are equally confident that they're right.. confident to that extent that you become doubtful that who is right in real.. or if both are right at the same time.. this movie certainly offer such experience.. throughout the movie viewers must try to understand both character's perspectives..I love how the title of the film reflects the hobby of collecting butterflies and the subject of the film as two sides of the same coin.. smart, beautiful yet creepy.. dialogs are effective and kind of that stays in memory.. one that is on my mind is 'It's no good shouting. You can't be heard. And anyway, there's no one to hear.' and yes, 'They're looking for you, but nobody is looking for me.', and then that entire argument over the Picasso's painting.. so many scenes, dialogs are just stuck into mind and will stay here for long I guess..

innerboyka I found "The Collector" simply fascinating. On the one hand, it is about a man who is a social outcast and abducts a girl with whom he is obsessed, in an effort to make her love him. He just wants to be seen and heard and cared about for who he is, despite his shortcomings. On the other hand, it is about a twisted, sick, manipulative, self-centered person who uses force and coercion to try and get what he wants. The dynamics of these two opposing aspects of the protagonist's character make you alternately empathize with his lonely plight and then recoil in horror at his cold stony interior. Terence Stamp, who I have known from his later roles as a villain, does an admirable job as the sociopathic young man, going from vulnerable and frail to keen and clever to hurtfully honest. Definitely a must see movie that will make you think and provide for some interesting after movie analysis.

Film Watchin Fool Watch this if.... you are a fan of psychological thrillers. Although a bit dated, this is still a very fine film in this genre.Acting/Casting: 8* - Let me say that I was blown away by the performance of Terence Stamp, who I thought portrayed a troubled and disturbed young man to a tee. Samantha Eggar is solid as well, but her performance is second rate to Stamp in this film.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 8* - I thought the film was well directed by Wyler and had nice music and scenery to accompany the movie. There are some slow spots, but it keeps the audience engaged for the amount of dialogue that is involved.Plot/Characters: 6.5* - A man kidnaps a local art student in hopes of making her fall in love with him. I thought the storyline was intriguing and it came together really well while watching the film.Entertainment Value: 7* - I was pleasantly surprised by this film considering that it was made in 1965 and would recommend to anyone that is looking for a good psychological thriller.My Score: 8+8+6.5+7 = 29.5/4 = 7.375Email your thoughts to filmwatchinfool@gmail.com

ConDeuce Director William Wyler's adaptation of a novel by John Fowles concerning a disturbed young man's obsession with a beautiful woman who he eventually kidnaps and places in a basement room. The film is solidly made and acted and while it is interesting to watch, it is never gripping or compelling. It doesn't have any of the sordid messiness that the material requires and would have given it the edge it needs. Wyler's solid direction is at odds with the material. It's too neat and tidy. Samantha Eggar is a standout despite the fact that the ending feels like a cop out.I was interested in seeing "The Collector" only because it was directed by William Wyler who was one of the top directors in Hollywood from the 1930's through the 1950s. "The Collector" is fascinating because the story itself is a bit perverted and falls into the realm of Hitchcock, not Wyler (I kept thinking about Hitchcock's "Psycho" throughout). Why would Wyler, a solid veteran of Hollywood Movie Workhorses, be drawn to a dark film about an egotistical "head-case" who collects butterflies and decides that he wants to collect a beautiful woman he has long admired and keep her to himself? I have not found anything about his reasons but his involvement makes "The Collector" worth a look. Certainly, nothing about the story makes it worthy. What might have seemed daring and cutting edge back in 1965 now seems tame and has been done numerous times and better (the film is like "Misery" with the gender roles reversed). Nothing about what happens between the beautiful Miranda (a painfully beautiful and likable Samantha Eggar) and creepy Freddy (Terence Stamp) is really unique or even very interesting. But "The Collector" does hold your interest. The movie's opening moments are confusing. Wyler's attempts to establish Freddie as a character does not work completely enough to substantiate the act of kidnapping. Once Freddie has kidnapped Miranda and places her in a dungeon like setting, "The Collector" starts to come together. It becomes a character study of a demented, delusional loser who still pines for love and his prisoner's attempt to some how get out of the situation alive. In the scenes between Miranda and Freddie, Wyler's strength shines and Eggar is particularly good. She's lovely to look at and you can certainly understand why Freddie is attracted to her. Eggar's eyes show us how she is trying to assess the situation for an escape while Freddie keeps changing his methods and reasons for holding her captive. Without Eggar or a comparable actress, "The Collector" wouldn't work at all. It is too bad that what limited success the film does achieve falls squarely on Eggar's shoulders because Terence Stamp's Freddie is the reason the film fails to compel. It's not necessarily Stamp's fault. He is a great actor and though he is playing a stiff (or a demented dork), Stamp is never stiff or dull. "The Collector" simply does not establish how we are meant to feel toward Freddie until the very end when a piece of throwaway narration finally lets us know that he is psychotic (probably a sociopath). I doubt the intention by Wyler's was to create this ambiguity. If the film had made Freddie's character clear, then we would feel more peril for Miranda and her situation. As it plays out, we are confused by him and never really know if he is dangerous or just a bit of a lonely nut looking for love. This confusion elicited some seemingly contradictory and expected reactions. Take for example the scene where Miranda is tied up in the bathroom while the neighbor visits Freddie. When Miranda turns the bathtub water on so it overflows I found myself actually not wanting the neighbor to notice. I was actually on Freddie's side for some reason. If Hitchcock had made "The Collector" then I could see him doing something like this. He's the type of director who would have loved to have the audience side with the psycho but he would have made Miranda somehow unlikeable. In Wyler's film, he has not convinced us of Stamp's true nature (the upbeat, chirpy music that underscores many of Stamp's scenes certainly does not help). Therefore, the film feels uncertain and unfocused and it kills any tension.In the end, it comes down to the direction. As good as Wyler is, material like this is not something that is within his expertise. Perhaps he was, in his late career, trying to do something new. Having been a long time film maker, he might have sensed the changing times and tried to stay relevant. It's a worthy effort. "The Collector" required a director with a vision to create a sense of constant menace. The material should not have been smartened up the way Wyler does it but played for it's pulpy, scary aspects. Hitchcock could have done it. Certainly Polanski could have too and his "Rosemary's Baby" just three years later managed to be lot of what "The Collector" could have been.