The Collector (1965)

Based on John Fowles' influential novel of the same title, The Collector is a dark and pioneering film that presents us with a character unlike most other cinematic psychopaths and a situation ripe with gripping tension. Helmed by experienced director William Wyler - man who turned his hand to, and was mostly successful with, a number of genres throughout his illustrious career, The Collector is an exercise in classy, high quality horror and is an obvious front runner to films like The Silence of the Lambs. Incidentally, The Collector probably stands up better today than it did upon its release over forty years ago. The story focuses on Freddie Clegg, a wealthy but lonely man who lives in solitude in an old Tudor style mansion out in the country. His hobby is collecting and mounting butterflies, and one day he decides to apply what he knows about his hobby to the world of romance, and proceeds to deck out his basement so that a human can live there, and then goes and captures himself a 'girlfriend'. The unlucky lady is Miranda Grey, a woman who isn't too happy to oblige the collector's strange purpose for kidnapping her.

The book that this film was based on not only went on to influence other works of fiction, but also apparently became an influence for real life serial killers. The Collector's influence has allegedly inspired at least five actual serial killers; and if that isn't a harrowing fact about this story; I don't know what is! The story itself never delves into the realms of impossibility, and manages to stay realistic throughout, which lends the film an effective edge. The main focus is always on the relationship between the collector and his captive, and director William Wyler is keen to keep this at the forefront of the film. The conversations they have and the actions between the two represents compulsive viewing, and that is definitely where the true greatness of this film shines through; the scene involving the Catcher in the Eye and Picasso is this film at it's best. The style of the movie is very British, and this is complimented by the central performers. Terence Stamp is wonderfully understated, but still impressively insane, while Samantha Eggar makes a mark as the unfortunate victim. Overall, I guess that the reason why this film isn't too well respected today is down to the fact that it was so ahead of it's time. However, if you want a thriller that offers some brilliant suspense and a realistic story - The Collector is a must see!

Fmovies: Classic psychological suspense. The Collector creates sympathy and understanding for Clegg,a shy,impotent bank clerk who wins a fortune in a football pool that enables him to carry out his plan to kidnap Miranda, an art student. Miranda becomes his prisoner, and Clegg believes his captive will fall in love with him once she gets to know him. Miranda comes to realize that she has become an object to be collected,like Clegg's butterflies. Ironically, Miranda matures in her prison. It becomes a struggle between life(art/Miranda) and death(the collection/Clegg). Wyler's film is a true tour de force. He sustains the film with basically 2 characters;no gimmicks or diversions. Excellent performances. Stamp and Eggar are beautifully matched. And the ending is genuinely chilling. Though overused,the music is effective. 9/10

The Collector is one of the best movies I've ever seen with regards to suspense. This 1965 movie sent chills down my spine several times. Terence Stamp (Freddie Clegg) is exceptional. At first the movie appears a bit silly, but horror soon steps in. Freddie Clegg collects butterflies and then he collects a woman. Literally. He keeps her locked in his basement. Definitely not for children, but this movie is a must for horror fans. I recommend it highly.

The Collector fmovies. Upon second viewing about 40 years apart, this holds up beautifully. Samantha Eggar (as Miranda) and Terence Stamp (as Freddy) are ideally cast in their respective roles as an art student and the psychopath who kidnaps her. The book is more interesting, with more layers to it (i.e a love story that Miranda has with an older artist)but had to be altered for the screen to include dialogue which the book lacks. Terence Stamp is downright creepy, always trying to fit his obsessive requirements to the object of his desire. His mannerisms and slouch make his character completely believable. Trivia buffs will be interested to know that Kenneth More's part, as Miranda's lover, was completely eliminated from the final cut, here he is seen in only one scene and it is in semi-profile. The ending is terrifying and set me to thinking of how many of these crimes are committed while the rest of the world remains unaware forever. 8 out 10. Fabulous film.

I should have commented on this excellent film long ago. I first saw it in the late 1970s on television and was immediately entranced by both Stamp and Eggar whose performances are are simply riveting. It is an almost "Hitchcockian" film, in that tension and suggestion are used to maximum effect keeping the viewer on the edge of their chair. This is a film that I'd love to see re-made or re-discovered, but again like Hitchcock's best, it owes a great deal of its impact to the time in which it was made and would likely suffer at the hands of a lesser director than Wyler. Fowles work is captured (like Miranda) and viewed with microscopic clarity through Freddy's watchful eye. It has also inspired a song called "Chastity" from The Raves CD, "Past Perfect Tense" which relates the whole of the story. SEE THIS FILM.

This intensely creepy film showcases director William Wyler in his intimate, character-study mode, and features a superb performance from Terrence Stamp in the title role, as the "collector" of beauty. Stamp creates a portrait of sexual obsession that is every bit as unsettling in its way as the long legacy of serial killer movies in existence. Samantha Eggar, as one of Stamp's "specimens," is used more as a catalyst for driving the plot and less as a character for whom we have any great deal of interest. Is that a flaw of the material or the intention of Wyler and novelist John Fowles, on whose book this is based? If their intention was to make us sympathize with, and even relate to, the character with the obsession, they succeed brilliantly.

The ending genuinely surprised me, which happens all too infrequently in movies like this. The film feels like a product of independent cinema before independent cinema really existed.

Grade: A