Compulsion

UPC: 024543238515

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations, Not For Children]

Summary: Compulsion is a compelling, stylish thriller, loosely based on the famous 1924 murder trial of thrill-killers Loeb and Leopold, two homosexual students who murdered a young boy to demonstrate their intellectual superiority. Artie Straus (Bradford Dillman) is a sadistic, mother-dominated bully. Judd Steiner (Dean Stockwell) is a submissive, introverted sissy. Having been raised by wealthy, arrogant families, both Artie and Judd consider themselves above conventional morality. Unfeeling and conceited, the boys, after the killing, take delight in offering to aid in finding the culprits. It is this arrogance which leads to their capture and prosecution for the murders. Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles), playing a Clarence Darrow-like criminal defense attorney, takes on the case, and puts on a defense, without the cooperation of his clients, who will offer no explanation for what they have done. Bradford Dillman gives an outstanding performance, as does Dean Stockwell as the utterly unsympathetic murderers. Orson Welles is flamboyantly imposing as Wilk, who must use all his wits to try to save the boys from execution. Compulsion is a suspenseful courtroom drama, even though most viewers will know the outcome. Tautly directed by Richard Fleischer, the film is an outstanding, believable courtroom drama. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best British Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival

Features: cc
Widescreen feature with Theatrical Trailer
Teaser
Fox Flix: St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Murder, Inc

Compulsion

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/23/2006

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD4.0 Dolby Digital 4.0, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Complusion
1. Perfect Crime
2. Main Titles
3. Anything You Say
4. Superior Intellect
5. Too Big
6. Coming Up Empty
7. Blame Game
8. Strange Birds
9. Deflecting Suspicion
10. Emotionally Detached
11. Afraid
12. Three Pairs of Glasses
13. A Coupel of Tramps
14. Dining Out
15. Pointing the Finger
16. Best in the Country
17. Like a Child
18. Legal Tactics
19. Building a Defense
20. Change of Plea
21. Mental Condition
22. Pity
23. In the Name of Justice
24. Hand of God

Brendon Hanley

The Leopold and Loeb trial of the 1920s captured the popular imagination of the American people for much of the 20th century. The sociopathic notion of two affluent young men committing murder just to prove they could get away with the crime has a nihilistic, modern feel to it, and in many ways it still influences the way we think about crime. It's no surprise, then, that the case has been the basis for three fine films: Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, Richard Fleischer's Compulsion and Tom Kalin's Swoon. Of the three, Compulsion is arguably the best, as it sticks closest to the facts of the case. Fleischer's emphasis is on the courtroom drama, and to that end, he's aided by the outstanding performances of Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman as the Leopold and Loeb-derived criminals and Orson Welles as their lawyer, modeled on Clarence Darrow. Welles' impassioned pleas to save the boys from the death penalty -- written by Richard Murphy, though the actor may have been responsible for much of his dialogue -- provide the film with some of its finest moments. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Peter Brocco  Actor 
Ina Balin  Actor 
Henry Kulky  Actor 
Frank Conroy  Actor 
Jack Lomas  Actor 
Robert Simon  Actor 
Dayton Lummis  Actor 
Wendell Holmes  Actor 
Richard Fleischer  Director 
Richard Murphy  Screenwriter 
Lionel Newman  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard D. Zanuck  Producer 
Orson Welles  Actor 
Dean Stockwell  Actor 
Bradford Dillman  Actor 
Diane Varsi  Actor 
E.G. Marshall  Actor 
Martin Milner  Actor 
Richard Anderson  Actor 
Edward Binns  Actor 
Robert Burton  Actor 
Wilton Graff  Actor 
Louise Lorimer  Actor 
Gavin MacLeod  Actor 
Terry Becker  Actor 
Russ Bender  Actor 
Gerry Lock  Actor 
Harry Carter  Actor 
Simon Scott  Actor 
Voltaire Perkins  Actor 

Country: USA