IMDb > Dominique (1978) > IMDb user comments

IMDb user comments for
Dominique (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Filter: Hide Spoilers:
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]
Index 11 comments in total 

5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Slow-as-molasses., 24 November 1999
4/10
Author: gridoon

"Dominique" is one of those films that the expression "slow-as-molasses" must have been invented for. Too many endless and repetitive sequences (how many times do we see Robertson walking down the stairs slowly because he can hear someone playing the piano?). It is ALMOST redeemed at the end by a surprising twist, which, unfortunately, is followed by a second twist that succeeds only in leaving a bad taste in our mouths. Not a very enjoyable film.

Was the above comment useful to you?

3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Spooky, but middling, film wastes a nice lot of actors., 9 August 2006
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A very remarkable cast of mostly British actors was gathered for this atmospheric, but slowly paced, mystery. Robertson plays a stoic (in too many instances, wooden) man saddled with a mildly-crippled wife (Simmons) he would like to be rid of, thus allowing him to use her fortune to help him out of a financial crisis. Surprisingly enough, Simmons seems to know this, yet allows herself to be manipulated into killing herself after a series of disturbing instances within their large estate. Also on-hand (in a bit of ludicrous casting) is Robertson's half-sister Agutter along with new chauffeur Ward, dour housekeeper Robson, family doctor Moody and close friends Jayston and Geeson. Robertson, however, is hardly off the hook. Soon after Simmons' departure, he begins to be tormented by Simmon's presence, either through piano music she favored being played on its own or through her ghastly image wafting through the hallways of the house. He also finds that a woman in black has ordered a headstone for him to go next to his (!) and he begins seeing what looks like Simmons loitering outside his offices. It all comes to a head in a pretty preposterous climax which, nonetheless does include a fairly impressive bit of latex technology. Robertson is far too reserved in his role, often coming off as either bored or boring. His fluffy, fuzzy hair, as it often did, sort of takes over everything when it's on screen. Simmons is okay in an unchallenging part. Most of the rest of the cast is given very little to do, though they do it well when called upon. Robson, always an interesting presence, only gets one very brief moment to shine. There is certainly an atmosphere of creepiness present in the film, especially at Moody's home, but too often the editing allows characters to roam the halls and climb stairs endlessly and it becomes too tiresome to hold the attention. The plot is also full of holes, as many stories of this kind tend to be. It's worth a look, once, but has to count as a misfire due to its overriding dreariness and lack of emotional investment.

Was the above comment useful to you?

5 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
DOMINIQUE (Michael Anderson, 1978) **, 5 April 2007
4/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

To call a film about a crippled ghost taking revenge from beyond the grave lame and lifeless would be too ironical but this here is an undeniably undistinguished combination of GASLIGHT (1939 & 1944) via LES DIABOLIQUES (1954); while still watchable in itself, it's so cliché-ridden as to provoke chuckles instead of the intended chills. However, thanks to the dire straits in which the British film industry found itself in the late 1970s, even a mediocre script such as this one was able to attract 10 star names - Cliff Robertson (as the conniving husband), Jean Simmons (in the title role), Jenny Agutter (as Robertson's artist half-sister), Simon Ward (as the enigmatic chauffeur), Ron Moody (as an ill-fated doctor), Michael Jayston (as Robertson's business partner), Judy Geeson (as Simmons' best friend and Jayston's wife), Flora Robson (as the housekeeper), David Tomlinson (as the notary reading Simmons' will) and, most surprisingly perhaps, Jack Warner (as a gravestone sculptor) - although most of them actually have nothing parts, I'm sorry to say!

Was the above comment useful to you?

Well—written chiller, 5 October 2009
7/10
Author: Cristi_Ciopron from CGSM, Soseaua Nationala 49

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If you enjoy only those Gothic movies that are exciting and dynamic and expressive, DOMINIQUE might not be for you. DOMINIQUE seems I wouldn't say subdued—but peculiar.

'Dominique' is a certainly interesting, if not overly exciting, spooky outing from '78, year when Cliff Robertson was already 55 (--he was a bit younger than Clift and a bit older than Brando and Newman--) but looked much younger I would say. The script isn't pretentious but genuinely intriguing; the score might seem a bit heavy, and the direction, plagued by some mediocrity and '70s triteness, could be better.

Good Gothic movie, and admissible role for daddy Robertson who plays an English businessman, mean, cold, brutish. A British tale, with accents of GIALLO, a case of the husband pushing his wife towards suicide, that deserved to be better directed and shot. As script now, it reminds one a bit about Clouzot—if you are going to take my meaning.

Was the above comment useful to you?

Slow-moving, plodding, lethargic trashing of good plot, 29 June 2009
2/10
Author: charlytully from Rosebush

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Cliff Robertson as a scheming husband married to a rich wife delivers a razzie-worthy performance here if there ever was one; it's as if director Michael Anderson kept yelling "dial it down; think zombie, only less lively" through his little bullhorn as he coached Robertson's effort. The rest of the cast is barely better; Jennifer Agutter of LOGAN'S RUN fame is hardly seen in what should have been fleshed out as a pivotal role. If the quality of the acting was three times better; if some of the more gaping plot holes were filled; and if the pacing were given a shot of adrenaline, then this yawner might be brought up to a standard acceptable to the Hallmark\Lifetime TV channel crowd. As is, its rating is so inexplicably high one can't help thinking chronic insomniacs are using DOMINIQUE to catch a little snoozing time. Perhaps the late-night TV telemarketers are missing a major opportunity in not shilling it as such.

Was the above comment useful to you?

1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
worth a viewing, 13 August 2008
5/10
Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Back in the early days of home video the trailer for this film seemed to appear on the front of every video tape my family watched, so much so that if anyone says the name Dominque, everyone automatically says "Dominique? Dominique is Dead". the film itself is an okay thriller which concerns a man out for money and the wife who dies and then comes back to haunt him. The film is well made by Michael Andersen who had a long career and turned out films like Orca, Shake Hands with the Devil, The Quiller Memorandum and Logan's Run. The cast which is headed by Cliff Robertson is first rate and it helps to sell the script which is more than just a little clichéd (Frankly if you can't guess where this is going you haven't seen many movies). Its an unremarkable but enjoyable distraction, worth picking up if you should see it in the 99 cent rack.

Was the above comment useful to you?

3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Could've been better, 10 February 2002
3/10
Author: wbells (whisperingbells@webtv.net) from New York

This movie was o.k. but it could have been much better. There are some spooky moments but there aren't enough of them to make me ever want to see this movie again. There are some scenes you could fast forward through & not miss anything. The biggest flaw is that it is so predictable, & that is the reason why I rated it so low. It's watchable but don't expect anything great.

Was the above comment useful to you?

4 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Dominique, 27 October 1999
Author: Janos Smal (jsmal@osi.hu) from Budapest, Hungary

A wealthy wife is convinced that his equally wealthy husband tries to drive her mad by scary voices and haunting portents at their country mansion. After her sudden death, she seems to return to haunt the husband.

Predictable and fairly restricted all-star suspense shocker on the lines of "Les Diaboliques" with very occasional moments of "frisson".

Was the above comment useful to you?

1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A Well Worn Carpet, 8 December 2006
4/10
Author: Hitchcoc from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I think Cliff Robertson certainly was one of our finest actors. He has a half dozen classics to his credit. He does fine here as the heavy, but the direction is so bad and the pacing so tiresome, it never gets off the mark. The story starts off well although it makes me wonder how he could count on his wife hanging herself. Still he mugs well and carries things along. The death knell is twofold. First of all, if we were to take the amount of time characters spend walking from one room to another or one part of the house to another, it would eat up about a third of the movie. Add to that, Robertson's character sitting up in bed in the blue light, looking confused, that might add another chunk. I agree with those that said a half hour shorter would have made it a pretty decent, though insignificant film. The biggest weakness is just a convoluted plot that, when all is said and done, leaves incredible questions. I'm not putting in spoilers, but when it ends, don't think too much. I can come up with ten what-ifs without raising a sweat. It would have been better if it had remained a ghost story.

Was the above comment useful to you?

1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Expecting you to be with me soon, 30 September 2005
5/10
Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA

**SPOILERS** Cliff Robertson looks like he just walked on the set without knowing what the movie's all about and without a script to cue him in this vary slow and and dark,the movie makers must have saved a mint on the low electricity bill, Ghost/Suspense/Thriller "Dominique is Dead".

Stock-broker David Ballard, Cliff Robertson, is on the verge of going bankrupt in his stock picking and investing business and needs loads of ready cash fast to avoid it. With David's wife Dominique, Jean Simmons, in control of the family fortune he has to work fast to either drive her insane or to suicide in order to inherit her estate and rigs up all kinds of gimmicks to do it.

After a while Dominique is totally unsure if she's losing her mind or if what she's been seeing and hearing in the dead of night are real. Before you know it David finds her hanging in the greenhouse dead, an obvious suicide. Things now seem to look up for the scheming and maniacal David with Dominique's dead and him to be the one to get his hands on her money, and keep his stock business from going under, but instead the exact opposite begins to happen. Strange sounds in the night with the piano playing Dominique's favorite musical piece all by itself and even Dominique herself appearing out of nowhere and haunting David driving him out of his mind like he did to her.

David really gets shaken up when he's called by the cemetery manager where Dominique is buried to find his own headstone next to her's stating that he'll be joining her very soon. At his office David sees this women in black outside in the street watching him, the same woman that was supposed to have paid for his headstone, all hours of the day. The man completely freaks out when later there's an inscription carved on his headstone born. June 14, 1931 and died. October 25, 1977 which is just a few days hence!

Going to the cemetery and digging up Dominique's coffin with his faithful limo-driver Tony Calvert, Simon Ward, both David and Tony are shocked to find the coffin empty! Is Dominique dead or is she really alive? Later having Dominique officially exhumed it's found to the shock of David and Tony that her body is really there! what did Dominique do? go back in her grave after David and Tony dug it up? David gets so crazy that he starts to accuse his housemaid old Mrs. Davis, Flora Robson, of being behind all these ghostly incidents that's appearing to him which makes her leave the mansion in both fear and disgust.

With Dominique popping up every night and spooking him has David empty a fully loaded handgun on her only to find, later with Tony,that the bullets not only went through her but ended up embedded in the walls and door of the house! Now totally insane David is driven to the edge of a balcony of his house and falls to his death in the greenhouse; the very place where Dominique's body was found on the early morning of October 25, 1977! the date of his death inscribed on his tombstone.

With Dominique's last Will & Testament read by her lawyer at the end of the movie we get an idea to who was behind this scam to drive David to his death like he did to Dominique. We have to sit through another ten minutes or so for the culprits to reveal themselves and at the same time fall out by double-crossing each other.

Overlong and at times boring "Dominique is Dead" should have ended some ten minutes earlier leaving the audience up in the air to what really was behind all the strange and unexplained happening in the movie. By awkwardly trying to explain them, very unconvincingly, away the film muddled the plot even more and just self-destructed like the tape-recorder in the TV series "Mission Impossible".

Was the above comment useful to you?
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]

Add another comment

Related Links

Plot summary Ratings External reviews
Plot keywords Main details Your user comments
Your vote history