Boxing Helena is a 1993 American mystery thriller with horror elements directed by Jennifer Lynch, and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, and Bill Paxton. The plot follows a surgeon whose obsession with a woman leads her to amputate her limbs and keep her at home after she has a car accident.
The film gained fame before it was released after a protracted legal battle with Madonna and Kim Basinger, both withdrawing from the lead role of Helena. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1993, where it received critical acclaim. After receiving NC-17 ratings by MPAA, the film was rated R on appeal and released in the United States in September 1993, but received a critical counter-attack and was a financial failure.
Video Boxing Helena
Plot
Nick Cavanaugh is a lonely, obsessed Atlanta surgeon with a woman named Helena. After he suffered a tibia fracture high in a motor vehicle accident that crashed in front of his house, he kidnapped and treated him in his home quietly, amputating his legs above his knee. Then he amputated his arm above his elbow after he tried to strangle him.
Although Helena is a victim of Nick's abduction and mutilation, she dominates the dialogue by continuing to taunt her for all her shortcomings.
Maps Boxing Helena
Cast
- Sherilyn Fenn as Helena
- Julian Sands as Dr. Nick Cavanaugh
- Bill Paxton as Ray O'Malley
- Kurtwood Smith as Dr. Alan Palmer
- The Art of Garfunkel as Dr. Lawrence Augustine
- Betsy Clark as Anne Garrett
- Nicolette Scorsese as Fantasy Lover/Nurse
- Meg Sign up as Marion Cavanaugh
- Bryan Smith as Russell
- Marla Levine as Patricia
- Kim Lentz as Sister Diane
- Lloyd T. Williams as Sam the Clerk
Production
Producer Philippe Caland originally came up with the idea, but wanted a woman to write it, and thus approached Lynch after he gave a poetry reading. At first Lynch did not take that concept, reportedly telling him, "Well, it sounds terrible." But Caland could finally convince him to do it. In writing Lynch was inspired by some elements of his own childhood, proclaiming to the Representative that he was born with club legs, and his grandmother had a replica of Venus De Milo, influencing his insight into the characters, explaining:
It always surprises me how people look at Venus. They do not see it broken, they look beautiful. And it really has a big impact on me. I thought I was devastated and that maybe someday someone would find me pretty. So the idea of ​​this damaged child who is in an obsessive situation that will try to recreate from his own view, one thing that does not hit him or leave it is this beautiful sleeveless woman. And therefore in the dream of creating this obsessive thing in which we take each other until we size and shape that we think others should be for us.
Madonna should have played a major role, but shortly before filming began in January 1991, she dropped out of school, causing the film's production to be stopped. The next month, in an effort to save the situation, Lynch met with Kim Basinger about starring in the title role and while he agreed, closer to the new filming date, he began asking for what the New York Times called the "main script revision" which according to Mazzocone producer is the same as making Helena "not too annoying". After production failed to make a change in Basinger's satisfaction, he also stopped from drawing.
Legal battles involving the two stars then occur. Finally Basinger is the subject of a jury's adverse decision to more than $ 8.1 million. This led Basinger into bankruptcy. The verdict was set aside in 1994, but the actress later set $ 3.8 million.
Meanwhile, Sherilyn Fenn, who previously worked with Lynch's father in Twin Peaks was selected for the title role of Helena in December 1991. Currently the third major star, Ed Harris, has also retreated from the movie as it increases the delay, letting The New York Times , "I have to get on with my life."
Music
Scores were heard during the scene where Helena bathed in the fountain, while the watch party crowd, initially composed by Graeme Revell and based on "Love Theme" was used infrequently elsewhere in the film, with vocals by Bobbi Page. At the request of the producer, "The Fountain Song", written and performed by Wendy Levy, replaces Revell's value in DVD and subsequent releases.
Release
Boxing Helena premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1993 and theatricalally released by Orion Classics in the United States on September 3, 1993, Entertainment Distributor in the UK on June 18, 1993, and the Republic of Pictures in other international areas.
box office
The film performed poorly at the box office, reaching only $ 1,796,389 at the domestic box office.
Critical reception
The film received negative reviews from critics when it was released and is widely considered to be of poor quality, despite receiving praise at Sundance. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 19% score based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. Metacritic reports 26 out of 100 ratings based on 14 critics, showing "generally unfavorable reviews".
The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Lynch won the Golden Raspberry Award for the Worst Director at the 14th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1994.
See also
- List of American films in 1993
- Fetishism is in a hurry
References
External links
- Boxing Helena in IMDb
- Boxing Helena in Box Office Mojo
- Boxing Helena at Rotten Tomatoes
- Boxing Helena in Metacritic
- Boxing Helena , Film Review by James Berardinelli
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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