Movie Type: Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Romantic Mystery
Themes: Infidelity, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Kevin Anderson, Pam Gidley, Bill Pullman, Kim Novak, Thomas Kopache
Release Year: 1991
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Liebestraum is a moody, stylish suspense thriller written and directed by British director Mike Figgis. Nick (Kevin Anderson) is an architectural writer who goes home to be with his dying mother, Mrs. Anderssen (Kim Novak) from whom he was separated as a baby. There he meets an old friend and has an affair with the friend's wife, who was herself adopted after her mother went insane. Through a series of coincidences and a good deal of investigation Nick learns some terrible truths concerning everyone. The film, while beautiful to look at, and with a wonderful score composed by Figgis, is more interested in style and emotion rather than cogent explanations for the actions of the characters, however, taken for what it is, a mood piece, Liebestraum succeeds beautifully. Figgis has beautiful technique and is greatly aided by Juan Ruiz-Anchia's stark and evocative images. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Catherine Hicks - Mary Parker; Graham Beckel - Sheriff Ricker; Zach Grenier - Barnett Ralston IV; Joe Aufiery - Buddy; Lorie Blanding - Barmaid; Taina Elg - Old Mother Ralston; Sarah Fearon - Young Mrs. Munnsen; Scott Garrison - Actor on Soap Opera; Harper Harris - Nurse #2; Roger Howarth - Bot in Rain; Hugh Hurd - 2nd Orderly; Ele Keats - Actress on Soap Opera; Anne Lange - Nurse #1; Tom McDermott - Night Porter; Joe McKenna - Day Clerk; Max Perlich - 1st Orderly; Lydia Radziul - Waitress; Alberto Sanchez - Waiter at Party; Nola Mae Sanders - Maria; Bernie Sheredy - Barnett Ralston III; Karen Sillas - Nurse #3; Joe Taylor - Ex-Boxer; Tracy Thorne - Nurse #4; Jack Wallace - Mike; Penny Jo White - Girl in Rain; Alicia Witt - Girl in Dream; Ian Rob Witt - Boy in Dream; Waldemar Kalinowski - Butler; Bill Raymond - Matt; Shani Ginsberg; Carrie Frazier; Deborah Brown
Credit
Florence Fellman - Art Director, Michael Perry - Art Director, Michael Flynn - Co-producer, Sharon Simonaire - Costume Designer, Mike Figgis - Director, Martin Hunter - Editor, Mike Figgis - Composer (Music Score), Waldemar Kalinowski - Production Designer, Juan Ruiz-Anchia - Cinematographer, Eric Fellner - Producer, Florence Fellman - Set Designer, Mike Figgis - Screenwriter
Two affairs, a generation apart. Nick (Kevin Anderson), a professor of architecture in upstate New York, comes to an Illinois town to be with his birth mother (Kim Novak) in the final days of her illness; he was adopted and has never known her. On the first day, he runs into Paul (Bill Pullman), a college friend, whose construction company is demolishing an old, downtown department store where a murder-suicide happened 30 years' before. The building is of beautiful cast-iron construction, so Nick wants to study it before the demolition. Paul introduces Nick to his wife, Jane (Pamela Gidley), and over the next four days, their attraction grows as Nick explores the old building, attends his mother's bedside, and unravels the past.
Written by the distinguished J. Hailey, published and edited with permission by the honourable D. Oud
Much of the movie, especially its external shots, was filmed in Binghamton, New York. The plot centers on a building with a cast iron frame, and Binghamton's downtown area includes one of the few cast-iron buildings still standing.
When Mike Figgis' 1991 erotic thriller Liebestraum made its VHS debut, it was in two editions — the R-rated theatrical release and the unrated director's cut. Now the film is making its DVD bow as part of MGM's Avant-Garde Cinema series, but only in a single, R-rated edition. However, the deleted scene that marks the difference between the two versions is included as a bonus feature.[2]
