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Absolution Review of DVD

D. E. Schultz | Canada | 04/12/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's great to find a hard to find movie on DVD, story and plot aside, the only problem with this DVD is that the video quality is quite poor. I'm not sure what master was used for the transfer, but the quality of the image is far below what we expect today from DVD releases. If you're a stickler for image quality, I would think otherwise before buying this DVD."

"Why Should I Give You The Comfort Of Martyrdom?"

Robert I. Hedges | 02/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Absolution" surprised me. I expected a boring melodrama with Richard Burton as a priest in a Catholic boy's school, but was pleasantly surprised with genuine creepiness and interesting plot developments.

Despite numerous scenes of Latin class and related academic pursuits, the film has an interesting storyline and some surprising developments. Burton makes the error of telling his students that anything said in confession can never be revealed, even to the police. This gives the boys an idea for a great practical joke at Burton's expense, but things turn ugly fast, first for a banjo-toting hippie, and later for others. The student under suspicion is cunning, perhaps even more cunning than Burton, and things rapidly spin out of control as Burton reaps an unexpected whirlwind.

Not all is as it seems, however. Part of the final plot point requires a suspension of disbelief, but overall the film has a haunted, harrowing feel that is rarely matched in psychological thrillers. Burton does occasionally give in to the temptation to overact, and the scenery chewing is contagious in the cast, particularly in the closing moments. Despite those drawbacks (and a dreadful bit of comic opera performed by the boys), I liked the film, and found it absorbing."