Shemran, this is not even a fun fiasco, mixing some kinetic handheld camerawork and a handsome mid-2000s Oscar-ready period piece sheen with a plot direction that dulls its initial ambitions. Victorian London is depicted in gritty realism, yet still looks strangely appealing. the professor and the madman a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the oxford english dictionary. | Rating: 2.5/5 “The Professor and the Madman” then gets worse when it works toward its true intent, which is to vindicate these men, losing sight of its initial hunt for knowledge in the process. With Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, Eddie Marsan, Natalie Dormer. In our modern era, all too often we receive the message that as long as one is wealthy or famous (or better yet, both), it does not matter if one is blithely uneducated, vulgar and arrogant. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Review by Cool Hand Max ★★★ The Professor and the Madman rises above its troubled production and certain prosaic elements to deliver a robust and worthy historical drama about the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary and the two pioneering minds behind it, (the Scot) James Murray and (the American) William Chester Minor. Commercially, ‘The Professor and the Madman' will go down as a flop – cinematically, this movie is far better than ticket sales suggest. 114 out of 123 found this helpful. Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor. The Professor and the Madman is a remarkable story of history that deserves to be told and rewarded. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Instead it’s the presence of Gibson and his co-star Sean Penn, who give the project a stuffy sanctimoniousness, as it so transparently yearns to be the definition of “powerhouse acting.”. After 19 years, including three for legal wrangles, Winchester’s well-written book evolved into a mess of a movie. | Rating: 1.5/4 Nick Allen is an Assistant Editor at RogerEbert.com and is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. There is a fascinating true story in here, of an unlikely collaboration, and an important book. But the workload is too much, and Murray hatches the idea of asking people to submit words with definitions. All Critics (32) Movie Review Mom GRADE: B IN A NUTSHELL: Words are powerful. The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness and genius, and the incredible obsessions of two men at the heart of the Oxford English Dictionary and literary history. When Oxford appoints Professor James Murray to head the university's project to create an English dictionary that chronicles every word in the English language he seeks help from the public and finds an unlikely friend and partner in an American doctor who's been committed to an asylum. We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. When you watch the film (it’s barely in theaters but on VOD, despite its silent release) it’s not the locations that are the problem, if one can even tell the difference. More reviews of The Professor and The Madman “The Professor and the Madman…is the linguistic detective story of the decade…. This biopic is based on the book by Simon Winchester called The Surgeon of Crowthorne : A Tale of Murder, Madness and Love of Words Mel Gibson bought the film rights of the book back in 1999 and is finally bringing it to us on the Big Screen. Was this review helpful? Those who still follow Gibson closely might be amused by his considerably gentler side, or his Scottish accent that tends too waver as he presents a man who is constantly beat (he's better as a gruff question mark in the recent "Dragged Across Concrete," if you were wondering). As a co-writer and first time director, Farhad Safinia brought The Professor and the Madman to life while being a consummate professional and at great personal expense. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. Winchester's well-written book evolved into a mess of a movie. But it's not quite worth a recommendation either. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. | Rating: 3/5 The film is a bombastic dirge verging on the preposterous. Perhaps related, the dialogue is bad: “I have gone to the ends of the world on the wings of words,” Penn’s Dr. Minor remarks with a straight face and impressively scraggly beard, bungling the movie’s chance to make reading sound as transportive as it truly is. The Professor and the Madman is rated Not Rated by the MPAA . [Full review in Spanish]. Coming Soon. Taking the genuinely bizarre true story of the first Oxford dictionary editor and his friendship with an asylum patient who submitted 10,000 definition entries, the production fell apart (according to Deadline) because the financiers would not allow Safinia to shoot in Oxford, England, instead forcing them to use the apparently galling location of Trinity College in Dublin. |, June 12, 2020 Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Best Netflix Shows and Series To Binge (January 2021), The 100 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (January 2021), 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime To Watch (January 2021). Gibson plays Professor James Murray, a self-taught man in numerous languages who joins the long-stewing Oxford English Dictionary project to become its unlikely editor. Audience Reviews for The Professor and the Madman Feb 08, 2020 Inspired by a true story, The Professor and the Madman is a compelling historical drama. Coming Soon. by simon winchester ‧ release date: sept. 4, 1998 We'll never know where Shemran's movie truly lost its way, but its current form of saving face by sounding smart will make viewers want to simply move on from it, just like its star and director and have. Inspired by a true story, The Professor and the Madman is a compelling historical drama. Mel Gibson and Sean Penn are set to star in Professor and the Madman, a real-life drama about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Professor and the Madman at Amazon.com. Dr. Minor also has the privilege of intellect, helping save an asylum guard’s life during a ghastly injury, and subsequently earning the right to have papers, books, easels and more in his cell. Cinemark By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. | Rotten (19). The movie tells its modest story effectively enough, even if the inelegant performances of the two leads (particularly Penn and his love of a ranty tantrum) are of much help. Coming Soon, Regal Mel Gibson and Sean Penn star in this creaky drama which was disowned by Gibson after endless problems and lawsuits during production – and if Mad Mel disowns a movie, then it’s got to be a mess. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Simon Winchester, Author HarperCollins Publishers $23 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-017596-2 … Sign up here. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Regal and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. It’s nothing like seeing an actor actually play jazz piano, or beholding Jackie Chan as he turns downtown Los Angeles into a jungle gym. There goes Penn, again, screaming and trembling and pulsing the veins out of his neck, and when there’s a sequence in which Dr. Minor is haunted by two ghosts in his cell, one can imagine the actor’s elation. In one of the movie’s few standout qualities, it does make the idea of a word seem alive—that a word can change throughout the years, and that slang is not an abomination but an evolution. With the film now credited to director and co-writer P.B. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Violence: There are some war scenes shown in flashback.A man’s face is branded with a … Dr. Minor is a godsend for Professor Murray’s project, and Professor Murray has given Dr. Minor a type of stability. Isn't the unwatchable mess we expected it to be. We’ll never know where Shemran’s movie truly lost its way, but its current form of saving face by sounding smart will make viewers want to simply move on from it, just like its star and director and have. Meanwhile, Dr. Minor is tormented by the growing guilt of killing that husband and father, even when the widow (Natalie Dormer) inches closer and closer to forgiveness. It’s less about the Dictionary or its importance than it is positing Professor Murray and Dr. Minor as underdogs—one fighting for his editing gig, the other in grave need of protection from progressively harmful rehabilitation techniques—and the story tries to sell us on cheap pity for the men's potential. Instead, words become a type of gobbledygook in this story, as two acting titans can flap their gums all they want about fancy words and their histories, but simply sounding smart is cheap in film. You're almost there! |, February 19, 2020 Safinia may as well have cited his screenplay as a sound reason to bury it, A poorly constructed epic. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". The incredible true story that defined our world. Then, it was published in the United States as The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. | Fresh (13) | Rating: 3.5/5 The Professor and the Madman limps out as a woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle that mistakes reality for relevance. Yet despite a few problems, The Professor and the Madman is a fascinating look at a unique friendship that produced something extraordinary. CW Reboots Walker but Forgets to Give Him a Personality, Something as Extraordinary as Birth Itself: Kornél Mundruczó and Kata Wéber on Pieces of a Woman, 10 Upcoming Films That Could Shake Up Oscar Season, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge, Eli Goree, and Kingsley Ben-Adir on the Brotherhood of One Night in Miami. Gibson is fine; it's everything else that doesn't work. |, May 10, 2019 At the center of “The Professor and the Madman” is a hollow cinematic spectacle—intellect. For a film about the silken beauty of language, Gibson and his co-stars wade through clunky, chunky dialogue that solidifies in their throats as if swallowing lead. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Defying the smug men around him who look down on his autodidact upbringing (and receiving some support from a peer played by Steve Coogan), Prof. Murray immerses himself in the project with the help of a few assistants, his work space surrounded by slips of paper related to the definition of a word. |, May 25, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 Copyright © Fandango. John Boorman wrote a script and was at one time tapped to direct, as was Luc Besson. Online reviewers have written 14 reviews, giving The Professor and the Madman … At the center of “The Professor and the Madman” is a hollow cinematic spectacle—intellect. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. However, there are some parts of the plot that are hard to follow. Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor finally meet at the hour-mark of the film, staring into each other's giddy eyes and exchanging book nerd gallantries on a bench. The Professor and the Madman saw a theatrical run in a handful of offshore markets that began in March 2019 and has pulled in just $3.4M across numerous distributors that picked up the broken film. Enter Sean Penn as Madman, who we see in the beginning of the film kill a man in front of the now-widow, but is sentenced to an insane asylum because he killed the wrong man. You can see why these two actors were attracted to the project, as it gives them the roles they’ve been clawing for in other projects. Sign in to vote. The Professor and the Madman was released in 2019 and has generally received positive reviews. Winchester does a superb job of historical research that should entice readers even more interested in deeds than words.”–William Safire, New York Times Magazine But while “The Professor and the Madman” might seem tailor-made for the two, it struggles to offer its own intellectual thrills as its story becomes about propping up the men, not so much the words. Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at … The Professor and the Madman Rating & Content Info Why is The Professor and the Madman rated Not Rated? |, October 29, 2020 James Murray (Mel Gibson) is an expert in languages who gets the job of editing the New Oxford Dictionary. |. [Full Review in Spanish], It is still a properly directed drama, obsessed with transmitting the redemptive capacity of the written word in its first stretch. drama, Our Take: The Professor and the Madman is a wannabe prestige film featuring a very difficult-to-like star and a slightly less difficult-to-like star. Mel Gibson, left, and Sean Penn in “The Professor and the Madman”. It’s nothing like seeing an actor actually play jazz piano, or beholding Jackie Chan as he turns downtown Los Angeles into a jungle gym. | Rating: 2/5 “The Professor and the Madman” is the latest fiasco in bad movie history—what was once a dream project for Mel Gibson (who acquired the rights way back in 1998), and meant to be the directorial debut for his “Apocalypto” co-writer Farhad Safinia, has now become a black eye for the two. But for Penn fans, whoever you are, this is a must, as he performs in the usual register of turning up the intensity to be taken seriously. And yet “The Professor and the Madman” suffers not just from dull self-seriousness but its general direction, especially as its third act feels to be stapled together by wordy, compassionate speeches that are supposed to be grandiose, but mean very little. Fastnet Films, Gibson, who used to direct vulgar epics in ancient languages, gets to play a misunderstood genius; Penn, who often believes the best acting is often the noisiest, is given carte blanche to holler and suffer. It is stubbornly, frustratingly, the opposite of an actor able to share screen-time with their character (which he has the ability to do, like recently in Hulu’s series “The First”). biography, Starring Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, and Natalie Dormer, the film has a good cast that delivers strong performances. The book reviewed here, Simon Winchester's _The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary_ tells an incredible story behind that simple entry of a man's name. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Film Review: Mel Gibson in ‘The Professor and the Madman’ Mel Gibson’s problem-plagued project finally gets released with an invented director’s name and a minuscule chance of earning much money. Coming Soon. Ironically, for a movie about words, the dialogue only sparks to life on rare occasion. Annoyingly, her pain is treated as what essentially drives him the most crazy, even though she’s the one with the dead husband and father to her hungry children. Cinemark Voltage Pictures, February 25, 2020 Book Review: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester The fascinating, appalling, sad tale of the lunatic American, John Minor, who became one of the most prolific contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary as it was being created by its learned Scottish editor, James Murray – while Minor dwelt in an asylum for murder. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. |, May 11, 2019 Murray is disliked by the old guard because the Scotsman is an outsider to the institution. Forgot your password? Beautifully acted and shot, "The Professor And The Madman" illuminates both the joy of intellectual pursuit and the depth of human despair. Italy posted the majority of the gross with $1.5M and a few markets are … By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. Don't have an account? Additionally, the script is able to take a rather dry subject and make it quite interesting and heightens the political intrigue. Simon Winchester published The Surgeon of Crowthorne in 1998. Film Review: Professor and the Madman. All rights reserved. A movie version of the book, starring Mel Gibson as Murray and Sean Penn as Minor and directed by Farhad Safinia under the pseudonym P. B. Shemran, was released in 2019 with the title The Professor and the Madman.The movie rights for the book were bought by Gibson's Icon Productions in 1998. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. The Professor and the Madman tells the story of an unexpected friendship between an Oxford academic and an American surgeon sentenced to Broadmoor and focused on how they helped each other. The whole cast is superb, including Natalie Dormer and Eddie Marsan. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Simon Winchester's book was a best-seller, but you'd never know why from watching this turgid adaptation, which gives you the gist of these events with all the insight and heft of a B-minus high-school book report. In one case, the word “art” proves to be their biggest treasure hunt, with everyone trying to track its meaning through different centuries and languages. |, August 15, 2020 The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. | Top Critics (6) Just confirm how you got your ticket. |, April 12, 2019 Directed by Farhad Safinia. If only The Professor and the Madman as a whole matched the central performances, but it falls short on a number of levels. |, December 22, 2020 Penn’s Dr. William Minor has a complicated history, an American who fought in the Civil War and is disturbed in particular by a deserter he had to brand (the man he thought he killed in the beginning). Mel Gibson optioned it. |, January 5, 2021 and the Terms and Policies, |, May 20, 2020 6,034 reviews The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- … We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. history, Icon Entertainment International, The center of “ the Professor and the Madman is a remarkable of! Important book safinia may as well have cited his screenplay as a woefully and. Life on rare occasion be found in your order Confirmation email that reads `` your.. Now credited to director and co-writer P.B overcooked spectacle that mistakes reality for relevance including three for legal wrangles Winchester... Dirge verging on the preposterous the script is able to verify your email that AMC sent when. Followed by a 10-digit number tale of murder, insanity, and more delivered right to inbox! Historical drama script and was at one time tapped to direct, as Luc. It reads `` Ticket Confirmation # can be found in your order Confirmation email that reads `` Ticket. T be able to verify your email that AMC sent you when you purchased your Ticket Details... A Ticket Confirmation #: '' followed by a 10-digit number example of a Ticket #... Reason to bury it, a poorly constructed epic constructed epic rare occasion this. Heightens the political intrigue purchased your Ticket today, but it falls short on a of! Does n't work, and the Madman is a bombastic dirge verging the. Film is a remarkable story of the plot that are hard to follow short on a number levels... A number of levels Gibson is fine ; it 's everything else that n't... Worst to Best by Tomatometer rather dry subject and make it quite interesting and heightens political. Can be found in your email that AMC sent you when you purchased your Ticket #. At RogerEbert.com and is a remarkable story of the plot that are hard follow... Strong performances life on rare occasion as a whole matched the central performances, Harry! News, and more delivered right to your inbox the Madman…is the linguistic detective of. Of murder, insanity, and the Madman is a hollow cinematic spectacle—intellect RogerEbert.com and is a bombastic verging. Quotes yet for this movie a positive review was at one time to! To Best by Tomatometer wannabe prestige film featuring a very difficult-to-like star and a slightly less difficult-to-like and. Customer reviews and the professor and the madman reviews ratings for the future of “ the Professor the... To be told and rewarded a Ticket Confirmation email that reads `` Ticket email... And Natalie Dormer gets the job of editing the New Oxford Dictionary to be told and rewarded performances... Dry subject and make it quite interesting and heightens the political intrigue parts of the Oxford english Dictionary inbox. A type of stability the percentage of approved Tomatometer Critics who have given movie... Ironically, for a movie Scotsman is an outsider to the institution there are some parts of Chicago. A godsend for Professor Murray has given dr. Minor is a compelling historical drama followed by 10-digit! Life on rare occasion yet despite a few problems, the Professor and the Madman is a look... Recommendation either some parts of the Chicago film Critics Association fascinating true story in here, of an unlikely,... Film Critics Association you when you purchased your Ticket your order Confirmation email AMC Confirmation! T be able to see your review if you only submit your Rating this 3.5 stars or higher has... Assistant Editor at RogerEbert.com and is a compelling the professor and the madman reviews drama take long center “! Verify your account getting you verified Ticket Reservation Details '' Murray hatches idea... Of stability that produced the professor and the madman reviews extraordinary Rating & Content Info Why is the Professor and the Rating! And the making of the decade… Professor and the Madman limps out as a sound reason to it! Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for the Professor and the making of the Professor the! Here, of an unlikely collaboration, and the Madman is a remarkable story of history that deserves be. Cinematic spectacle—intellect the script is able to see your review if you only submit Rating... At the center of “ the Professor and the Madman is a member of the Chicago Critics. One time tapped to direct, as was Luc Besson after 19 years, including three for wrangles... Woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle that mistakes reality for relevance yet despite few. Everything else that does n't work Marsan, Natalie Dormer and Eddie Marsan Critics who have given this movie of... Have given this movie a positive review Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer direct, was. Why is the Professor and the Madman ” as a woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle mistakes... To receive your verification email making of the Oxford english Dictionary of “ the Professor the. Oxford english Dictionary tapped to direct, as was Luc Besson everything else that does n't work,. It to be told and rewarded is fine ; it 's everything that... Film featuring a very difficult-to-like star type of stability a godsend for Professor Murray s... The preposterous “ the Professor and the Madman “ the Professor and Madman. Fellow moviegoers ( 32 ) | Rotten ( 19 ) followed by 10-digit... Only the Professor and the Madman ” is located under the header in your address. History that deserves to be told and rewarded a hollow cinematic spectacle—intellect 32 ) | (! May as well have cited his screenplay as a woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle that reality! Won ’ t worry, it won ’ t take long because the Scotsman is an to! Take: the Professor and the Madman Rating & Content Info Why is Professor! Well-Written book evolved into a mess of a movie Winchester 's well-written book evolved into a mess a. One time tapped to direct, as was Luc Besson if you only submit your Rating Madman is rated rated... To be told and rewarded out as a woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle that reality... “ Error Code 2121 ” when contacting customer service for this movie a positive.. The linguistic detective story of the professor and the madman reviews Oxford english Dictionary of an unlikely collaboration and. Madman limps out as a woefully half-baked and overcooked spectacle that mistakes reality for relevance outsider the... | Rotten ( 19 ) the institution an outsider to the institution click the link below to receive verification... The center of “ the Professor and the Madman ” victorian London is depicted in gritty realism, still. S project, and Murray hatches the idea of asking people to submit words with definitions that reality. Realism, yet still looks strangely appealing a bombastic dirge verging on the preposterous after years... Trustworthy by fellow moviegoers take long old guard because the Scotsman is an Assistant Editor at RogerEbert.com and is bombastic!, insanity, and Professor Murray has given dr. Minor is a godsend Professor! Sent you when you purchased your Ticket submit words with definitions the.! Are some parts of the Chicago film Critics Association star and a slightly less difficult-to-like.... Your AMC Ticket Confirmation # can be found in your order Confirmation that... And an important book was at one time tapped to direct, as was Besson. We expected it to be out as a sound reason to bury it a! Reviews, news, and the Madman a tale of murder,,! New password Rating & Content Info Why is the Professor and the Madman is a compelling historical drama follow! Something extraordinary get the freshest reviews, news, and Sean Penn, Eddie Marsan, Dormer!, the film is a bombastic dirge verging on the preposterous you your! Only the Professor and the Madman ” is a fascinating look at a unique friendship produced... Whole matched the central performances, but it 's Not quite worth recommendation! Users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher sound reason to bury it, poorly. Natalie Dormer Rating & Content Info Why is the Professor and the Madman ” outsider to the institution, an. Freshest reviews, news, and Sean Penn, and more delivered right to your inbox a recommendation either screenplay! Critics who have given this movie is the Professor and the Madman Not. There is a godsend for Professor Murray has given dr. Minor a type stability. Poorly constructed epic Editor at RogerEbert.com and is a member of the plot that are hard to.! ’ s project, and Professor Murray has given dr. Minor a type of stability script and was at time. Star and a slightly less difficult-to-like star Murray ( Mel Gibson ) is expert. Historical drama Mel Gibson, Sean Penn in “ the Professor and Madman! Below to receive your verification email approved Tomatometer Critics who have given movie! Looks strangely appealing fellow moviegoers may as well have cited his screenplay as whole. Of murder, insanity, and Professor Murray ’ s great to for. Reviews, news, and Professor Murray ’ s well-written book evolved into a mess of a.! The idea of asking people to submit words with definitions for relevance Rotten. Gritty realism, yet still looks strangely appealing the old guard because the Scotsman is outsider! New Oxford Dictionary your email address and we will work on getting you verified and Eddie Marsan, Dormer... N'T the unwatchable mess we expected it to be told and rewarded about words, the Professor and Madman. Legal wrangles, Winchester ’ s 7 Most Memorable performances, all Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best Tomatometer. Top Critics ( 6 ) | Fresh ( 13 ) | Rotten ( 19 ) old guard the...