Dean Spanley (2008) ( My Talks with Dean Spanley )

Dean Spanley (2008) (Blu-Ray) (*)

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Original Title: My Talks with Dean Spanley
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio )
German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
German ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
100 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Making Of
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2008 and produced in:
New Zealand ( Australia, New Zealand )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Toa Fraser

Written By:
Lord Dunsany
Alan Sharp

Actors:
Jeremy Northam ..... Narrator - Fisk Junior
Sam Neill ..... Dean Spanley
Bryan Brown ..... Wrather
Peter O'Toole ..... Fisk Senior
Angela Clerkin ..... Cat Lady
Elizabeth Goram-Smith ..... A young lady of stature
Charlotte Graham ..... Woman in Cloisters
Bruce Hopkins ..... Farmer
Art Malik ..... Swami Nala Prash
Miriama McDowell ..... Foxy Lady
Judy Parfitt ..... Mrs Brimley
Eva Sayer ..... Girl
Nick Shaw ..... Man of stature
Dudley Sutton ..... Marriot
Ramon Tikaram ..... Nawab of Ranjiput

Synopsis:

Multiple Oscar nominee Peter O'Toole adds yet another offbeat role to his long resume with the mystical comedy-drama Dean Spanley. Adapted from Lord Dunsany's popular novella - My Talks with Dean Spanley and helmed by Toa Fraser, the film stars O'Toole as Horatio Fisk, an irascible, cantankerous septuagenarian living out his final days at the turn of the 20th Century. Despite his distant and slightly strained relationship with his son Henslowe (Jeremy Northam), Horatio willfully joins the young man on regular outings; the tedium and monotony of these routines eventually grow so overwhelming, however, that the two decide to attend a lecture on the Transmigration of Souls by a visiting Hindu Swami. At the meeting, their paths intersect with the eccentric Dean Spanley (Sam Neill), and a friendship blossoms between Spanley and Henslowe. When Spanley joins Henslowe for a private dinner, and accepts his invitation to sample a rare Hungarian wine known as the Imperial Tokay, Spanley instinctively brings forth reminiscences of a prior life lived out as a canine - and his recollections hold a rather bizarre connection to Horatio's familial past.

The screenplay is an adaptation of fantasy author Lord Dunsany's My Talks with Dean Spanley, a 14-chapter novella published in 1936. It is set in Edwardian England. The narrative is called 'a surreal period comedic tale of canine reincarnation exploring the relationships between father and son and master and dog'. Peter O'Toole said that the film's use of comedy to explore the relationship between a father and son was part of the attraction for him: All of us have had these difficult familial relationships and I think it's a film for all of us who understand the relationship between a father and son. It's been interesting watching how various members of the crew have been looking at the monitors during scenes, because they come up to me and say, 'I had the same thing with my father.

Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 01 December, 2011.

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