Retro Varda/Demy

The PIED PIPER

Jacques Demy
GBR 1972
90 min
V'06

<![CDATA[<i>]]>The Pied Piper<![CDATA[</i>]]> eschews the romanticism of Robert Browning's poem and returns to the Grimm Brothers source. Pop singer Donovan plays the 14th century piper hired by duplicitous burgomaster Donald Pleasance Donald to rid the town of Hamelin of its rats. The piper does what he's asked, but is denied the payment promised. In revenge, he leads all of Hamelin's children out of town, never to be seen again. Though the story is a familiar one, this 1972 Pied Piper is not a kiddie movie. Director Jacques Demy's depiction of the 14th century as a muddy, backward, superstitious, disease-ridden, vermin-infested era transforms this fable into a squalid tale of revenge (incidentally, all those repulsive rodents are real; note John Holmes' screen credit as \"rat trainer\"). Donovan is quite good in the lead, and is matched by a remarkably restrained Jack Wild as the crippled boy. If you want the sugary sweet Pied Piper that your mother used to recite at bedtime, stay away from this film. (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)

Credits
  • John Hurt
  • Donald Pleasence - Dr. Michaels
  • Roy Kinnear
  • Donovan Leitch
  • Jack Wild
  • Michael Hordern
David Puttnam, Sanford Lieberson
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