Absolution (Murder by Confession) (1979)

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(394 ratings)

Two Catholic boarding school students (Dominic Guard and Dai Bradley) embark upon a carefully calculated campaign to drive their hated headmaster (Richard Burton) insane. The boys launch their scheme by cooking up the most bizarre and depraved of imaginary sins, then recite these infractions in the… More Two Catholic boarding school students (Dominic Guard and Dai Bradley) embark upon a carefully calculated campaign to drive their hated headmaster (Richard Burton) insane. The boys launch their scheme by cooking up the most bizarre and depraved of imaginary sins, then recite these infractions in the Confessional. This sadistic little game gets wildly out of hand, resulting in murder. It's a toss-up as to who is the most repulsive character; the headmaster or his two charges. One of a long line of 1970s stinkers barely redeemed by the presence of Richard Burton, Absolution was not released until 1988, long after Burton's death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Anthony Page
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

Studio: Trans World Entertainment

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This unusual drama is from 1979 but it waited nine years to be released, in 1988, long after the main character's (Richard Burton) death... some critics say with a reason... not a favourite one of most of them! Directed by Anthony Page and written by playwright Anthony Shaffer… More
This unusual drama is from 1979 but it waited nine years to be released, in 1988, long after the main character's (Richard Burton) death... some critics say with a reason... not a favourite one of most of them! Directed by Anthony Page and written by playwright Anthony Shaffer the film stars Richard Burton and the story builds up around two Catholic boarding school students (Dominic Guard and Dai Bradley) who decide to start a carefully calculated campaign to drive their hated headmaster (Richard Burton) insane. They start these confessions of most bizarre sins and enjoy recite them in the Confessional to the priest. But their little little game gets wildly out of hand, when a man, Blakey (Billy Connolly), was murdered by one of the boys... and priest's life is spiraling out of control. I am a fan of Richard Burton, and I admit that I never heard of this movie before! It was a surprise for me, but not actually a negative one. Richard Burton's style is maybe a little bit too intense and powerful in this case for a screenplay originally written for a stage play but it was a much better choice than Christopher Lee who was considered for the lead before Burton agreed to it. Nothing special, but still watchable.