Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

nocheblanche Lifespan is a paced euro movie that sets your brain thinking after you have watched the end credits. Shot in the Netherlands with some very nice location shooting locations , perhaps because i live in Europe and know Amsterdam a bit i can relate to the film more. Director Sandy Whitelaw seems with this movie offers Klaus Kinski in a more solid more relaxed part playing the Swiss Man with that European style himself asking and wanting and is prepared to pay for it. This movie has a fresh brisk pace rather like a Autumn morning in Amsterdam Centrum.

Leofwine_draca Here's a bizarre thriller from Holland which doesn't really go anywhere despite an intriguing premise - and bizarrely ends up caught up in the dream world of a raving maniac! LIFESPAN is similar to films like FRAGMENT OF FEAR and SPIDER LABYRINTH in its depiction of an outsider finding himself going deeper and deeper into a world of mystery and death but it doesn't come close to the power and effectiveness of those two movies. Despite being classified in the "horror" section, the only true horror comes from the scene of a gruesome hanging, and otherwise this sits firmly in the mystery/thriller genre.The plot doesn't really ever get too deep but despite this, I still found myself confused by the film. This is a shame as it starts off well, with much promise of things to come, and an oppressive air of mystery as well. The Amsterdam locations are used very well to give the film an unusual, European look and the acting isn't bad either, although the post-dubbing is occasionally echoey and unrealistic. Hiram Keller takes the lead role of the young scientist caught up in the intrigue and does a pretty good job of it in my opinion, although his droning voice-over is pretty sleep-inducing. Tina Aumont is good as the femme fatale, and Euro-favourite Klaus Kinski also pops up as a mystery Swiss who hangs around on street corners mysteriously.Sadly as the film goes on, it begins to become apparent that nothing much is going to happen in it, despite vain attempts to throw a bit of kinky sex and grave-robbing into the brew to make it appeal to exploitation fans. In the end it becomes irritatingly insubstantial and the lack of any real, interesting, explanation for the mysterious events is pretty annoying. LIFESPAN is a missed opportunity which should only be watched at a last resort for the spooky atmosphere it contains, and at least it's short. But the lack of any decent action or plot development is very boring and its one of the few films that has nearly sent me to sleep.

merklekranz This movie is hard to categorize. Klaus Kinski has a minor part, so it really can't be considered an important Kinski movie. It is not a horror film, with only one unsettling grave desecration scene. What it is, is an intelligently made sci-fi, that deals with the unique subject of trying to overcome death, by extending lifespans. Beautifully filmed in Amsterdam, the film has sharp editing, and narration that keeps things on track, Hiram Keller is the rather detached American scientist who is trying to unravel a dead colleague's immortality experiments. Klaus Kinski is the Swiss pharmaceutical company owner seeking death control for his own use. Tina Aumont is a love interest for both Keller and Kinski, with her totally gratuitous bondage scene unnecessary except perhaps for some titillating promotion. The ending leaves things hanging uncomfortably, but if you go in with realistic expectations, "Lifespan" will reward. - MERK

MARIO GAUCI Despite the rather lethargic pace, this is an absorbing conspiracy thriller on an existentialist theme. As it was shot in English, even if most of the voices were eventually re-dubbed at a later stage, Fons Rademakers' heavy accent makes his dialogue hard to understand at times! Anyway, many have found Hiram Keller's inexpressive performance a detriment to the film but I rather liked it (and so, apparently, does director Whitelaw!); the fact that a lot of the exposition is imparted through narration has been criticized as well, but I also thought this worked very well for the film. Much has also been said about the notorious (and oft-censored) bondage scene involving Tina Aumont (well cast here): actually, it's very discreetly done and pretty short in itself! And though Klaus Kinski doesn't get to exert his acting muscles a great deal, his Mephistophelean presence adds to the film's uniquely disquieting aura. Besides, the Amsterdam setting (and Eddy van der Enden's lugubrious photography of it) is a big plus, as is Terry Riley's electronic score.Whitelaw's rather choppily edited interview and full-length Audio Commentary (moderated by Mondo Macabro's Peter Tombs) are very interesting: the director explains several points which may not have been very clear and draws attention to the irony which is present in his script. Besides recounting many an amusing anecdote about the production (Kinski turning up on set dressed as a Mexican bandit and Whitelaw having to calmly persuade him that his role of "The Swiss Man" was somewhat different!; Kinski's minimal dialogue was also the result of his dislike of the script, whereupon whole chunks of lines he was supposed to say were unceremoniously thrown out!) and the censorship problems the film encountered (the director tried to convince the U.K. censors that the bondage scene was relevant to the main theme by arguing that this kinky act highlighted a woman's breasts which, by storing milk, are themselves a symbol of immortality!). Whitelaw also puts the unresolved and apparently downbeat ending in the context of the film's theme by saying that a picture about immortality, i.e. the desire that one's life doesn't come to an end, could never have a conventional finish as that would mean it was actually embracing death! Interestingly, he mentions too that Roman Polanski (who was a member of the jury where LIFESPAN won an award) had admired the picture a lot - and this was eventually reflected in his own next film, THE TENANT (1976), to which it bears a striking resemblance plot-wise (though itself based on a work of fiction by Roland Topor, of which Whitelaw was completely unaware at the time)!!