Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
As a study in kinky insanity, Cul-de-Sac creates a tingling atmosphere. This sags riskily at times when the director unturns the screws and does not keep control of his frequently introduced comedy.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
If the subject matter is bleak and bitterly serious, the tone throughout is darkly comic, while the precise imagery effortlessly conveys the tension, the claustrophobia, and the madness of the situation.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
After two clean hits -- Knife in the Water and Repulsion -- Roman Polanski is entitled to one wild swing.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
This much sounds like a standard horror-film outline, especially since Stander looks amazingly like Frankenstein. But Polanski ignores the horror to concentrate instead on macabre humor.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
One of the best and purest of all his works.
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Matthew Sorrento, Film International
Polanski tributes the [gangster-invasion film] by adding his own conceit: when there's no community worth salvaging, a threat will leave all involved floating, sans shoreline.
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Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com
Polanski uses all kinds of off-kilter angles an close-ups and his actors are absolutely fearless. The pacing is a little off, as there are stretches where it gets a little long, but it upends convention at every turn and that s pretty thrilling.
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
pure Polanski through and through, made with no restraints and little outside influence, but it stumbles on its own absurdist tendencies, demonstrating how sometimes too much is too much
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Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
... as assured and as perfectly crafted as anything in Polanski's career, a miniature where every facet offers multiple reflections.
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Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
A violent spoof of social dead-ends blisters beautifully on Blu-ray.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's an actor's pic, where plot is insignificant.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Neat little chiller with Polanski honing his abilities as a director and standout performances from Pleasence, Stander, and Dorleac.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
I kind of expected the film to keep up some kind of momentum with a slam-bang beginning like that. It never slows down to a crawl, but it never gets as good as its first ten minutes.
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Roman Polanski's character study is strange, creepy, and often compelling.
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Jason Anderson, eye WEEKLY
The troubled dynamic of a castle-bound couple is further distorted by the arrival of a gangster who is marginally less vile than Carol's phantom.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
At once bitterly funny and deeply disturbing.
Read all 16 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Roman Polanski's "Cul-De-Sac" is probably the most 'Polanski-ish' film the director has made. Every sensibility of the famed auteur is on display here. From the genre bending, to the mental games of imposition, to the stylish cinematography, to the loopy… More
Roman Polanski's "Cul-De-Sac" is probably the most 'Polanski-ish' film the director has made. Every sensibility of the famed auteur is on display here. From the genre bending, to the mental games of imposition, to the stylish cinematography, to the loopy performances. "Cul-De-Sac" also delights in being non-comformative and always hiding it's true intentions. After all, this is more of an abstract art film than a piece of narrative cinema (maybe the most peculiar and obscure film he's made). What the film means seems to be a question Polanski is not concerned with. He once said "It's just a film...". If that's the case, why does it feel so decided and precise? Like everything we are meant to see is specially chosen? Polanski seems to suggest that his film is without a specific intent, which is odd. If that is what he really meant, then why did he fight for so long to get it made? Curious, indeed.
Whether "Cul-De-Sac" is utterly worthless, or, like I believe, tantalizingly alive inside it's mental threesome unreality, there is no denying it's a one of a kind motion picture.
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Well, this was quite the pleasant surprise! (Pun Very Intended!!) Cul-De-Sac is the tale of a gangster, whose past is left ambiguous; and the (kind of) newly-wed couple he holds hostage in their precious island "fortress." The movie is incredibly stylish, and should be… More
Well, this was quite the pleasant surprise! (Pun Very Intended!!) Cul-De-Sac is the tale of a gangster, whose past is left ambiguous; and the (kind of) newly-wed couple he holds hostage in their precious island "fortress." The movie is incredibly stylish, and should be recognized as much more than just Polanski finding his style. The island setting is, of course, beautiful; and the special effects are pretty good. (The violence still holds up today!!) The acting is also very believable, which is crucial for a character study like this. The movie is about paranoia, which is hard to convey; but through Polanski's editing and direction, the movie nails it.
Polanski's sophomoric effort is likable and has some depth to it, but it's just not a big enough of a step up from his previous feature, Knife In The Water. (Which is a masterpiece and is a bit more concise and focused in its study of paranoia.) Still, Cul-De-Sac earns a 93%. I'm definitely going to re-watch this one! (It's hard to top KITW, so it'd be unfair of me to gage CDS against it.)
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Considered something of a hidden treasure for some time, there's really nothing all that great to say about this. While it's by no means a terrible movie, it just bathes itself in mediocrity and corny/annoying moments. It's odd that a director like Roman Polanski can… More
Considered something of a hidden treasure for some time, there's really nothing all that great to say about this. While it's by no means a terrible movie, it just bathes itself in mediocrity and corny/annoying moments. It's odd that a director like Roman Polanski can make true classics that define the medium, but then make something as uninteresting and forgettable as this. Between the Donald Pleasence in drag and the slop of a gangster, I just really wish I didn't waste my time.
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This is an interesting comedy thriller from Polanski, one of my favourites of his. Really good, i highly recommend it.
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The best performance by the great Lionel Stander I've seen. Pleasance is good until Polanski pushes him to the nerd-level of Eddie Deezen. The best kind of theatrical staging of characters in the shots The movie asks what individuals become without their loyalties or when their… More
The best performance by the great Lionel Stander I've seen. Pleasance is good until Polanski pushes him to the nerd-level of Eddie Deezen. The best kind of theatrical staging of characters in the shots The movie asks what individuals become without their loyalties or when their loyalties are exposed as conveniences. But it doesn't ask it too well. It's a marital comedy by way of Beckett-Godot, where the cuckold is the funniest and last joke.
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Lionel Stander and Donald Pleasence are marvelous, as well as the screenplay and direction, with Polanski's intense, bizarre and darker than night humour. both delightful and warped piece of art.
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Cul-De-Sac is Polanskis favorite film an its truly a unique and Ironic one. It was shot so perfectly,every single angle was perfect. Polanski created a new world on this island. A new isolated strange disastrous world. This is what shows that he is the bet director, ever. The plot is… More
Cul-De-Sac is Polanskis favorite film an its truly a unique and Ironic one. It was shot so perfectly,every single angle was perfect. Polanski created a new world on this island. A new isolated strange disastrous world. This is what shows that he is the bet director, ever. The plot is simple, a man who gets in "trouble" holds a married couple hostage. He ruins there telephone, chicken ken, and there relationship. The wife seems to wear the pants in the relationship and the husband is a coward. It is something new but it's not something great. Good but not great, as I would call his films of The Pianist, Rosemary's Baby, and Chinatown. It's Black & White which gives it a mediaeval effect which is reflected in the beautiful character of the wife, who was casted at the last moment. I can see why some call it the best and why some hate it, I certainly don't feel either. It is enjoyable and is the first and last of its type, therefore as an art house film it gets a positive rating from me.
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Reminds me of "A Clockwork Orange" but goes farther in depicting and giving a sense of alienation Confusing and compelling film from the first few minutes to the last. Very quirky characters in a very absurdist story. Dickie, a gangster, comes to a remote island castle to… More
Reminds me of "A Clockwork Orange" but goes farther in depicting and giving a sense of alienation Confusing and compelling film from the first few minutes to the last. Very quirky characters in a very absurdist story. Dickie, a gangster, comes to a remote island castle to contact his boss to come pick him up. His stay at the castle involves taking the couple who live there hostage. His weird associate dies there and things get even crazier when the couple receive some unexpected guests and Dickie must play butler. Interesting to watch despite being very out there. The characters of George and Teresa are very disturbing to watch because their relationship is quite strange. Overall a good and unique film viewing experience.
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While Repulsion is my favorite Polanski film to date, Cul-de-sac is the most artistic and filled with dark humor. The combination of said humor and drama combined with the suspense and violence throughout makes it almost genre elusive. It is a Polanski film, period. Recommended, if… More
While Repulsion is my favorite Polanski film to date, Cul-de-sac is the most artistic and filled with dark humor. The combination of said humor and drama combined with the suspense and violence throughout makes it almost genre elusive. It is a Polanski film, period. Recommended, if you can watch Polanski and don't have some moral issues with him...I think everyone should at least respect him as a Director.
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"Cul-de-sac" is an absolute madhouse of a film. Unpleasant as it is to watch, there are some interesting scenes that are occasionally very funny. Muddled cinematography doesn't make looking at "Cul-de-sac" an easy task, but the acting is so wacked-out and… More
"Cul-de-sac" is an absolute madhouse of a film. Unpleasant as it is to watch, there are some interesting scenes that are occasionally very funny. Muddled cinematography doesn't make looking at "Cul-de-sac" an easy task, but the acting is so wacked-out and crazy that it's very hard to look away. Overall, "Cul-de-sac" is a a very, very strange film. Those accustomed to mainstream cinema should look elsewhere.
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Sandwiched between two of the 1960's greatest shockers <i>Repulsion</i> and <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>, I reasonably held high hopes that <i>Cul-de-Sac</i> would provide many unsettling moments. To my surprise, this turned out to be a very… More
Sandwiched between two of the 1960's greatest shockers <i>Repulsion</i> and <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>, I reasonably held high hopes that <i>Cul-de-Sac</i> would provide many unsettling moments. To my surprise, this turned out to be a very different animal.
The premise is perfect fodder for Polanski: two thugs are stranded at a remote seaside estate and hold the resident husband & wife hostage until they can reunite with their gang. However, in this instance the director chose to explore the comedic aspects of the situation! There are more laughs than chills to be found here. Only infrequently do we feel real danger in this situation - lead thug Lionel Stander presents a menacing air, but he is more oafish than threatening. He doesn't even present a gun until halfway through, yet meek Donald Pleasance capitulates to his orders almost immediately. The arrival of unexpected guests only results in more hijinks, particularly involving the bratty son, instead of tension.
Just because I expected one kind of movie and got another should not affect my rating. The question is, how good are the results onscreen? Well, the peculiar tone of <i>Cul-de-Sac</i> makes it difficult to judge. I found it passably entertaining, not funny enough to succeed as an outright comedy and certainly not gripping enough to qualify as a thriller. I am left puzzled wondering exactly WHAT Mr. Polanski was aiming for. Perhaps the same kind of scary comedy he would perfect with his next film, <i>The Fearless Vampire Killers</i>? If that's the case, this mixed experiment was well worth the ultimate payoff.
Read all 11 featured audience ratings
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