Equus (1977)

I have heard complaints about Equus not measuring up to the stage play, because the play/ story demands the manner in which the play is presented, the arrangement of the props, the production, etc. I've never seen the play, however, and consider the film a piece on its own, as I think it should be viewed anyway. And on its own, it is superb. The acting is first rate, particularly Burton and Firth. All the actors though contribute their best or close to their best work. Sidney Lumet works his magic as always and perfectly weaves the present and the flashbacks and Burton's narration into a powerful, psychological detective story. The questions posed by it strike at the foundations of western civilization and individual existence. Pretty heavy stuff and Burton, Lumet, et al. pull it off with wonderful precision. Anyone who questions what the heck they are ultimately doing in or with their lives should find this film worth watching.

Fmovies: "All right! The normal is the good smile in a child's eyes. There's also the dead stare in a million adults. It both sustains and kills, like a god. It is the ordinary made beautiful, it is also the average made lethal. Normal is the indispensable murderous god of health and I am his priest."

Richard Burton's last truly great performance came in Sidney Lumet's screen adaption of Paul Shaffer's play; reprising the celebrated role that he himself had already wowed critics with on stage.

When a disturbed young man, Alan Strang (Peter Firth), blinds six horses with a metal spike he is referred by the magistrates to the care of psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart (Burton). Determined to unravel the mind of his patient and discover the trigger for this most brutal act, Dysart slowly forges a bond with the youth; unearthing, fragment by fragment, a childhood shaped of sexual repression, religious confusion, maternal overload and, of course, a burning equine obsession. However, as Dysart plunges deeper and deeper into Strangs psyche, he not only begins to question his own professional merit but begins to envy the World of passion and fantasy that the youth has retreated into.

Highly regarded for his character driven films, Equus is up there amongst Sidney Lumets very best. The script is extremely intelligent whilst there are a handful of small but eye-catching supporting roles that help Dysart slot the pieces of his puzzle together; most notably from Colin Blakely and Joan Plowright as Strangs parents and Jenny Agutter as the young girl who introduces Alan to the stables where his madness finally spirals into violence. There are also some evocative flashback sequences throughout that are impressively disturbing and yet, at the same time, succeed in capturing the wonder and beauty of Strangs obsession.

However, the film really stands as a two hander between the brooding Burton and the revelatory Peter Firth; a relationship that is light years more nuanced and evolved than the somewhat soft-centred dynamic between Robin Williams and Matt Damon in the similarly themed Good Will Hunting. Firth turns in a wonderfully sensitive performance as the shy, deeply damaged youth who is overwhelmed by his adolescence, repressed yearnings and befuddled sexuality whilst Burton is absolutely terrific as Dysart; his disillusionment with his own sterile existence and unhappy marriage diffusing slowly through his (sexually muted) conversations with his friend (Eileen Atkins) and spilling out in a string of acidic monologues that both narrate events and serve as vents to the emotional conflicts of a man whose career is devoted to unravelling them.

It's a most eloquent and rewarding performance in an eloquent and rewarding film. Equus is a film that asks no easy questions and offers no easy moral judgements. It is a mature, articulate and bruising character study that demands to be seen.

This is Richard Burton's most powerful performance. It his his story that gives the movie's its narration. Although this is the story of Peter Firth's character and his struggle with his love and connection with horses, it is Burton's power that makes this movie deep. Anyone in the field of psychology and / or therapy needs to watch this movie. It is a story of ones search of meaning and redemption. Somewhat hard to understand at times, this is more than a story about a young man and his confusion with life and his beliefs. Jenny Agutter is once again pure eye candy. To say she is Posh is beyond fact. Although she has a limited role, her time spent on screen is great. Each time she appears, she lights up the screen with her beauty. Still, it is the power of Burton and Firth that makes this drama somewhat of a masterpiece.

Equus fmovies. I don't know what's the deal with the stage-play, I never saw it, but a film is a film and a play is a play. It's quite normal to me that the two of them should not be compared. Anyway. On the film. I have seen some of Lummet's great overall work both newer and older (Network, Serpico, Night Falls over Manhattan, Critical care, The hill a.o.) and I must say I liked them all. Lummet is one of the greatest and underrated directors of all time. Why? He extracts awesome acting from his actors and he's got a choice for stories.

Equus, is my best Lummet film I have seen so far - I always had a tendency to take interest on and see subtext in extreme, weird, negative situations on film. You have much to take from negative stuff, if they're handled properly. Here, there are so much stated for the viewer to think. Questions on the point of psychotherapy, on the nature of perversion (and its possible causes), importance of religion combined with lack of knowledge, isolation, lust for life and so much more I don't want to refer to here.

Beware! The film features strong material - both visuals and texts - this is no easy film for Hollywood audience. But its not uneasy in a way that it's slow, or 'arty' or anything. Far from that, it's original, deeply involving, with gripping atmosphere... Its subject matter though, might force the more coward or less open-minded viewers to trash it or mock it, for fear of what it could unleash or because they simply couldn't understand it. But intelligent film lovers, take a little tolerance and SEE this. It is worth the search. This is film is a masterpiece of film-making!

Richard Burton gave his finest performance in this adaptation of the Peter Shaffer play about a psychiatrist (Burton) who must unravel a mystery surrounding the blinding of a number horses from a young boy,played to perfection by Peter Firth. The film loses the play's theatricality immensely, but the performances in the film are so incredible all around that none of that will matter. Joan Plowright stands out as the young boy's mother. Burton and Firth were Oscar nominated.

I watched this film several times as a teenager. It meant a lot to me and altered many of the concrete ideas I was trying to understand. Its a shame this film is not more widely available and better known. Its filled with brilliant performances and a shattering script by Peter Schaffer.

It is hard not to be shaken and stirred by the ideas of this film/play. It is a powerful indictment of the complexity of the human mind and the limits of science in attempting to translate, understand and reform the wild and fantastic reaches of human consciousness. It is a film with so many subtexts and ideas about the human mind - it encompasses questions of religion, psychiatry, dreams, forbidden sexuality, fantasy, taboos, psychology, youth and history. Well, these are the most crucial in the films narrative.

Equus tells the story of a adolescent's counselling after he commits a violent, extreme crime. Alan Strang (Peter Firth) has been interned under the guidance of Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) to work through the issues surrounding his actions. Alan is clearly disturbed and withdrawn but the devastating secrets he bears threaten not merely his own family but Dysart's own sense of self and truth. And audiences too.

Its a film noted for its male nudity - which is quite notable - but its the swirling, subversive ideas which spring forth from this film which make it even more challenging and provocative. An important, intelligent film.