Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
不只是對《迷失Z城》的整蠱，更是真正意義的《改編劇本》；都知道好萊塢市況不好要拍探險片，不知道「天下難事、必作於易」，越簡單的越難拍好，不如把類型片瓶頸開誠布公來得合適；無法擺脫《魔力麥克》的查寧塔圖姆、《迷失Z城》製片人布拉德皮特、過氣影后桑德拉布洛克，通篇都是假惡搞、真懺悔⋯承認吧，異域風情不過是好萊塢掩蓋自身匱乏的遮羞布；Lost City，不是為了Lost and Found而存在，而是為遠離世俗，但見錢眼開卻以冒險精神自居的「斯皮爾伯格後世」又怎會認衰仔？
一点冒险一点喜剧一点爱情，男帅女美，一点热带风情，还有点傻大姐式的轻松。合格的爆米花
皮特领饭盒有点突然，屁股出现也有点突然。我是布洛克的颜粉，不然应该不会看这部片。
这个女主演过不少喜剧，讲真的真不喜欢这个婊砸
比荷兰弟的《神秘海域》好看多了，以及布姐不会老的吗？呜呜呜爱了
很一般般，某些桥段有点好笑。男女主都很啰嗦
“我因为太害怕在生活中再次受到伤害，所以就停止了生活，看不到眼前美好的事物。”
年龄是骗不了人的，60岁的桑德拉不是曾经那个傻大姐了，连笑容都变得疲惫且敷衍；钱老板一脸聪明相演不了傻子；皮特和蛋妞倒是演的很投入。
幸亏没花钱去电影院看，没啥意思。丹尼尔演的这个角色，好像跟他在惊天魔盗团里演的反派是同类型的诶。皮特老了也还是帅，哈哈。
中规中矩的冒险喜剧。完成了我的期待，但没有惊喜那种，可能是俩人对手戏的火花不够吧。
桑婆从最拿手的爱情喜剧换到了寻宝路线上就不太灵了，各种俗套和尴尬，最擅长的喜剧元素也消失了大半，论场面和故事呢似乎还不如<神秘海域>，真的就浪费了一个全明星阵容
怎么只要Daniel Radcliffe参演的电影都有股怪味…皮特真帅，他在的话真的看不进去塔图姆…
确实很多地方的美式幽默，但是无奈对这种没太大感觉。全片靠各种硬汉颜值和身材撑戏！
从《生死时速》到《弱点》再到《生死时速续》，这就是桑德拉的演艺历程。
太一般了 真的所有爆米花电影的老梗都用上了
brad连声音都那么性感 梦中情人了属于。钱老板的肉体还是可以的…桑婆和ryan还是更配一点 可能这个nerd一点的形象确实更适合Ryan 可惜没档期啊…本来期待剧本是一个有点类似国家宝藏和地心历险记的剧本 结果是绑架 解密就一步
完美地诠释了不合格的爆米花片该是什么样的，你以为是《夺宝奇兵》还是《迷失Z城》，恰恰都不是，而是一部屎尿屁的恶搞喜剧片，不过是套了一个探险的皮而已，差就差在明明是一部屎尿屁偏偏又在某些地方搞得即严谨又严肃，整出一个四不像。除了看看皮特的美色，实在乏善可陈。
The adventure is real. The heroes are not.
“你就像个人类木乃伊……”
喜剧和浪漫元素都不足够，皮特和女主之间火花还更充足。
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