VALUTAZIONE IMDb
7,0/10
46.552
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
La cronaca della tormentata relazione di sei anni avvenuta tra il celebre cantante Liberace e Scott Thorson, più giovane di lui.La cronaca della tormentata relazione di sei anni avvenuta tra il celebre cantante Liberace e Scott Thorson, più giovane di lui.La cronaca della tormentata relazione di sei anni avvenuta tra il celebre cantante Liberace e Scott Thorson, più giovane di lui.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Vincitore di 11 Primetime Emmy
- 45 vittorie e 54 candidature totali
Recensioni in evidenza
For a film about a gay relationship - I had my doubts when I discovered the two male leads were to be played by straight men, but I couldn't be more convinced by their on-screen personas.
The kitch was eye-wateringly OTT, Douglas superbly needy yet controlling and Damon sucked into the whole charade. Rob Lowe's performance had me recoiling with his creepiness/plastic surgery face and it couldn't be farther from his more mainstream performances. For a role that appeared for only a few minutes - it stuck with me long after the film was over.
All in all, a very solid biopic film that unfortunately won't be Oscared as its been shown as TV movie in the USA. A great shame - Douglas and Damon deserve nominations - their *chemistry* is totally believable.
Final point - either Douglas is a superb pianist or the CGI of his hands on the keyboard is first rate!
The kitch was eye-wateringly OTT, Douglas superbly needy yet controlling and Damon sucked into the whole charade. Rob Lowe's performance had me recoiling with his creepiness/plastic surgery face and it couldn't be farther from his more mainstream performances. For a role that appeared for only a few minutes - it stuck with me long after the film was over.
All in all, a very solid biopic film that unfortunately won't be Oscared as its been shown as TV movie in the USA. A great shame - Douglas and Damon deserve nominations - their *chemistry* is totally believable.
Final point - either Douglas is a superb pianist or the CGI of his hands on the keyboard is first rate!
It's starting to look like 2013 is Soderbergh's year. Side Effects and Behind The Candelabra seem to be my favourite of his career so far, though that's only relatively, as I'm not a big fan of him. I do have Out Of Sight on my to see list coming up soon and I do need to give Traffic another watch before I make any final assessment on him. Although Soderbergh is frequently the director, cinematography and editor on his projects, he may be efficient but he's far too clinical, pushing the audience as an observer that it's difficult to feel emotionally involved in his films. I can't get excited for his half-baked premises that most likely haven't been fulfilled to their potential. However, Behind The Candelabra may be the first film I've seen of his that suits his style ideally. His style is still distant and voyeuristic, but in this bizarre world where Liberace adopts his lover for a son and pays for plastic surgery to make him look like himself, it feels more deliberate to keep us at a distance.
Instead, the scenes of dramatic conflict, decision and choice are played off for jokes and it's really effective, always earning belly laughs with its brilliant one-liners without feeling like it's silly. Perhaps its nervous laughter but it makes for an entertaining and interesting film. Michael Douglas is terrific as Liberace. I've never seen him take a character on like this. He's nearly up there with Sean Penn's Milk. It feels like it's been a while since Matt Damon has been in films I've wanted to watch and with this and Elysium, I've forgotten how reliable a lead he is. The characters inhabit a flashy world, but its kept on the costumes and sets which are incidental more than anything and the style of the film is kept subtle, besides a great choice of swooping cameras. It does have its flaws with nearly soap opera-esque structure and conflict but my expectations were very low so this is a pleasant surprise. I think I even prefer it to Side Effects.
7/10
Instead, the scenes of dramatic conflict, decision and choice are played off for jokes and it's really effective, always earning belly laughs with its brilliant one-liners without feeling like it's silly. Perhaps its nervous laughter but it makes for an entertaining and interesting film. Michael Douglas is terrific as Liberace. I've never seen him take a character on like this. He's nearly up there with Sean Penn's Milk. It feels like it's been a while since Matt Damon has been in films I've wanted to watch and with this and Elysium, I've forgotten how reliable a lead he is. The characters inhabit a flashy world, but its kept on the costumes and sets which are incidental more than anything and the style of the film is kept subtle, besides a great choice of swooping cameras. It does have its flaws with nearly soap opera-esque structure and conflict but my expectations were very low so this is a pleasant surprise. I think I even prefer it to Side Effects.
7/10
The film is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Scott Thorson (with Alex Thorleifson) adapted for the screen by Richard LaGravenese about the tempestuous 6- year relationship between Liberace and his much younger lover Scott Thorson. This film along with SIDE EFFECTS are purported to be Steven Soderbergh's last films he will direct.
The cast is very solid. Matt Damon embodies the role of Scott Thorson well - a young apparently bisexual man who has been tossed from foster home to foster home while he does odd jobs (he is 17 years old) tending to animals. In a gay bar he meets Bob Black (Scott Bakula) who takes Scott to a Liberace concert (his first exposure to the mega-star) and to meet Liberace afterwards. There is tension in the air with Liberace's current paramour and performing partner Billy Leatherwood (Cheyenne Jackson) and we soon discover that Liberace (impeccably played by Michael Douglas) only keeps his 'boys' around for a while before his manager Seymour (Dan Ackroyd) gets rid of them with a check. Liberace and Scott find common ground in being needy people without confidants and soon Scott becomes Liberace's next lover. All goes swimmingly until Liberace sees himself on a TV show and sees how aged he has become. He engages plastic surgeon Dr. Jack Startz (Rob Lowe in a very fine performance) to perform a youthful face lift and at the same time convinces Scott to undergo plastic surgery to make him look more like Liberace! And here begins the downfall: Dr. Startz prescribes pain meds to Scott who becomes addicted and moves into heavier drugs, and his behavior, along with Liberace's need for a 'new face' (Boyd Holbrook), signals the breakup of a 6 year relationship - the best relationship either has ever had.
There are excellent cameos by Debbie Reynolds as Liberace's mother, Paul Reiser as Scott's lawyer, and others, but the star of the film is in all ways the flamboyant showman Liberace in some of the most interesting outfits ever created. The on screen relationship between Michael Douglas and Matt Damon is entirely credible and neither of these fine actors has a problem with being sexually physical without seeming to be a parody. There are moments that could have been cut, but as Liberace says, less is more and more is wonderful.
Grady Harp
The cast is very solid. Matt Damon embodies the role of Scott Thorson well - a young apparently bisexual man who has been tossed from foster home to foster home while he does odd jobs (he is 17 years old) tending to animals. In a gay bar he meets Bob Black (Scott Bakula) who takes Scott to a Liberace concert (his first exposure to the mega-star) and to meet Liberace afterwards. There is tension in the air with Liberace's current paramour and performing partner Billy Leatherwood (Cheyenne Jackson) and we soon discover that Liberace (impeccably played by Michael Douglas) only keeps his 'boys' around for a while before his manager Seymour (Dan Ackroyd) gets rid of them with a check. Liberace and Scott find common ground in being needy people without confidants and soon Scott becomes Liberace's next lover. All goes swimmingly until Liberace sees himself on a TV show and sees how aged he has become. He engages plastic surgeon Dr. Jack Startz (Rob Lowe in a very fine performance) to perform a youthful face lift and at the same time convinces Scott to undergo plastic surgery to make him look more like Liberace! And here begins the downfall: Dr. Startz prescribes pain meds to Scott who becomes addicted and moves into heavier drugs, and his behavior, along with Liberace's need for a 'new face' (Boyd Holbrook), signals the breakup of a 6 year relationship - the best relationship either has ever had.
There are excellent cameos by Debbie Reynolds as Liberace's mother, Paul Reiser as Scott's lawyer, and others, but the star of the film is in all ways the flamboyant showman Liberace in some of the most interesting outfits ever created. The on screen relationship between Michael Douglas and Matt Damon is entirely credible and neither of these fine actors has a problem with being sexually physical without seeming to be a parody. There are moments that could have been cut, but as Liberace says, less is more and more is wonderful.
Grady Harp
By sheer coincidence, just two nights prior to the debut of 'Behind the Candelabra', I had the pleasure of viewing one of my favorite films, 1965's 'The Loved One', in which Liberace played 'Mr.Starker', a casket salesman. So it was with Liberace's voice, image and mannerisms fresh in my mind that I encountered Michael Douglas' portrayal of the man and boy, did he nail it.
The story itself is pretty much by the numbers with the kind of shorthand one expects from a TV movie bio; it's the performances that bring this to a certain level of greatness. Douglas all but disappears into the role, right from the start. It's truly an amazing thing to watch, and considering the subject, a brave and unapologetic performance. Matt Damon is equally impressive and while I have no idea if he does the real Scott Thorson justice, his transformation from an eager and innocent young man to a jaded, coked-up and surgically altered paranoid boy-toy is stark and convincing. Add to these chameleon-like performances an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds and a truly unnerving Rob Lowe and you have two hours of truly compelling, master-class performances.
Highly recommended.
The story itself is pretty much by the numbers with the kind of shorthand one expects from a TV movie bio; it's the performances that bring this to a certain level of greatness. Douglas all but disappears into the role, right from the start. It's truly an amazing thing to watch, and considering the subject, a brave and unapologetic performance. Matt Damon is equally impressive and while I have no idea if he does the real Scott Thorson justice, his transformation from an eager and innocent young man to a jaded, coked-up and surgically altered paranoid boy-toy is stark and convincing. Add to these chameleon-like performances an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds and a truly unnerving Rob Lowe and you have two hours of truly compelling, master-class performances.
Highly recommended.
I decided to watch this film on HBO because I thought it would be a hoot - one of those catastrophic and pretentious productions which are so laughable. Within 20 minutes I realized that the film was rather important. Michael Douglas captures the late Liberace's mannerisms and voice with astonishing ease. He is quite stellar in his performance, and I see him now in a new light. Matt Damon is excellent as Scott, his protégé. The personages involved are deeply complex, even if one is only familiar with the contemporary "National Enquirer" reports one realizes their is something one can not quite understand about "Lee & Scott's" relationship. Douglas and Damon are brilliant in delving into these characters. They are unrecognizable, at times, from the familiar roles we all know of them. I think the film well worth watching. As a bonus, Matt Damon shows his bum on several occasions, for those who are interested; if not, one cannot help but be interested in the wonderful performances from two of Hollywood's great stars! A courageous undertaking well done indeed!!!
Lo sapevi?
- QuizMichael Douglas turned 68 during filming, making him a few months older than Liberace was when he died. Although played by 42-year-old Matt Damon, Scott Thorson was only 18 when he met Liberace, and 23 when their relationship ended in April 1982. He was still only in his twenties when Liberace died. Played by 30-year-old Boyd Holbrook, Cary-James was also only 18 when he met Liberace.
- BlooperThe tailor uses the wrong end of the tape to measure Scott's waist during the montage where Liberace takes him shopping for a suit.
- Citazioni
Liberace: I have an eye for new and refreshing talent.
Scott Thorson: You have an eye for new and refreshing dick.
- ConnessioniFeatured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2013 (2013)
- Colonne sonoreTico Tico
Written by Zequinha de Abreu (as Zequinha Abreu) and Ervin Drake
Piano Performed by Liberace
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
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Dettagli
- Data di uscita
- Paese di origine
- Siti ufficiali
- Lingua
- Celebre anche come
- Detrás del candelabro
- Luoghi delle riprese
- Aziende produttrici
- Vedi altri crediti dell’azienda su IMDbPro
Botteghino
- Budget
- 23.000.000 USD (previsto)
- Lordo in tutto il mondo
- 13.352.609 USD
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 58 minuti
- Colore
- Mix di suoni
- Proporzioni
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was Dietro i candelabri (2013) officially released in India in Hindi?
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