It's almost as though the makers of this film had never seen the 1939 version with that awesome performance by Charles Laughton as Quasimodo. Or maybe they had and knew they couldn't match it and bailed, a bit like a contestant on "Fear Factor" who won't eat the bugs.
The approach to Quasimodo by Anthony Quinn is very different, we see him early, between bell sessions, strolling around the town square eating an apple. There is no build up of tension to his head being thrust through the hole during the Festival of Fools, which gave Laughton's first appearance such shock value (actually the way Quasimodo was first introduced in Hugo's novel).
Anthony toned down the whole look by about half. More like he just had a rough night and wears his hump like a small designer haversack under his tunic.
The big entrance in this film is by Gina Lollobrigida as Esmeralda. She bursts onto the set in a fiery red dress. This is a full-on performance by "La Lollo" exotically tanned and slim-waisted, topped off with dark, curly hair and dangling gold earrings. This is the version where Esmeralda saves "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" because without her this film would be hard to sit through.
The story is basically how all the males, good and bad, are drawn to Esmeralda. This includes Claude Frollo, Quasimodo's guardian, whose job description is a bit vague, but who has the run of Notre Dame. His conflicted feelings towards Esmeralda set in motion the key events.
Good score by Georges Auric with a stirring opening theme, but I can't get over how stagy this film seems. They built the sets inside and out and then overlit them. There is little sense of depth or of medieval grunge. Smoke would have helped; the 1939 version is a masterpiece of mood and atmosphere, this one is stark.
However it finished stronger than it started. The last 20 minutes make up for a lot and the last scene as Quasimodo climbs into the vault to be with Esmeralda is powerful; it's the only one of the six versions I've seen that used Hugo's ending.
But the saving grace of the film is Gina. Esmeralda was perfect for her. What a creative force she was on and off the screen. She was a talented sculptor. An art student before movies, she made more than 60 sculptures during her lifetime. Some were based on her film roles including a beautiful one of Esmeralda dancing with Djali the goat. Google it, be gobsmacked.
The approach to Quasimodo by Anthony Quinn is very different, we see him early, between bell sessions, strolling around the town square eating an apple. There is no build up of tension to his head being thrust through the hole during the Festival of Fools, which gave Laughton's first appearance such shock value (actually the way Quasimodo was first introduced in Hugo's novel).
Anthony toned down the whole look by about half. More like he just had a rough night and wears his hump like a small designer haversack under his tunic.
The big entrance in this film is by Gina Lollobrigida as Esmeralda. She bursts onto the set in a fiery red dress. This is a full-on performance by "La Lollo" exotically tanned and slim-waisted, topped off with dark, curly hair and dangling gold earrings. This is the version where Esmeralda saves "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" because without her this film would be hard to sit through.
The story is basically how all the males, good and bad, are drawn to Esmeralda. This includes Claude Frollo, Quasimodo's guardian, whose job description is a bit vague, but who has the run of Notre Dame. His conflicted feelings towards Esmeralda set in motion the key events.
Good score by Georges Auric with a stirring opening theme, but I can't get over how stagy this film seems. They built the sets inside and out and then overlit them. There is little sense of depth or of medieval grunge. Smoke would have helped; the 1939 version is a masterpiece of mood and atmosphere, this one is stark.
However it finished stronger than it started. The last 20 minutes make up for a lot and the last scene as Quasimodo climbs into the vault to be with Esmeralda is powerful; it's the only one of the six versions I've seen that used Hugo's ending.
But the saving grace of the film is Gina. Esmeralda was perfect for her. What a creative force she was on and off the screen. She was a talented sculptor. An art student before movies, she made more than 60 sculptures during her lifetime. Some were based on her film roles including a beautiful one of Esmeralda dancing with Djali the goat. Google it, be gobsmacked.