Behind the Candelabra
Flamboyant pianist, singer and showman Liberace was the world’s highest-paid entertainer from the 1950s to the 1970s. Behind the Candelabra focuses on the secret and tempestuous five-year affair between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his driver Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) - a heady mix of drug addiction, promiscuity, surreal plastic surgery, sequins and a $US113 million palimony lawsuit.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and based on the biography/memoir written by Thorson. Soderbergh's final film before retiring, he told Yahoo that Behind the Candelabra was turned down by every major Hollywood studio - "They said it was too gay". HBO Films eventually produced the movie.
- Director:
- Steven Soderbergh ('Ocean's Eleven', 'Traffic', 'Contagion', 'Magic Mike')
- Writer:
- Richard LaGravenese
- Cast:
- Michael DouglasMatt DamonRob LoweDan AykroydScott BakulaPaul ReiserDebbie Reynolds
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksBanished to HBO in its native America for being “too gay”, Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace tell-all is actually scrupulously careful not to offend anyone: like Boogie Nights making nice.
Bedazzling Performances
Several moments through this film I found myself almost covering my eyes in disbelief as Matt Damon & Michael Douglas stared into each others eyes before a lovers embrace... I eventually sat through my typical kiwi bloke discomfort as my girlfriend chuckled away to herself and could see the film as a brilliant portrayal of a very flamboyant individual. The...
Camp as a row of tents
It may be a TV movie, but this HBO production deserves to be seen on the big screen. Steven Soderbergh delivers a scintillating drama in his supposed final directorial effort (for this week at least...) Reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's turbulent relationship with young Bosie, this so-over-the-top-it-must-be-true tale centres on a warts 'n' wigs 'n' all...
No Academy Awards :-(
Michael Douglas does a amazing job. HBO made this movie for cable TV so no big screen release in USA means it will only receive Emmys not Academy awards as Michael Douglas performance deserves !!! The behind the scenes story of Scott Thorson played by Matt Damon 6 year relationship with Liberace played by Michael Douglas. Its a love story with all its up...
Variety
pressRe-creates the lavish living environment and stage shows Liberace orchestrated between 1977 and his death in 1986 of HIV-related complications, while presenting the world with a sort of worst-case version of predatory homosexuality, in which an older man of means identifies, seduces and eventually tosses aside a naive, cornfed young country stud.
Total Film
pressDouglas pulls out all the stops while - somehow - avoiding caricature in a glittering celebrity portrait. If Soderbergh's swansong doesn't always mine great depths, it gives fabulous surface.
The Dissolve
pressOne of the most stylish movies Soderbergh has made in years. This is very much Scott’s version of the story, so Soderbergh employs subtle and overt subjectivity in his camerawork...
Hollywood Reporter
pressA wonderfully entertaining and revealing look at Liberace’s final decade.
Empire Magazine
pressWho'd have thought Michael Douglas and Matt Damon would make such an astonishing, convincing on-screen couple? Steven Soderbergh, that's who...
A.V. Club
pressThe story is told less as a cause-and-effect narrative than as a collection of incidents that add up to something with a crushing emotional weight.
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksBanished to HBO in its native America for being “too gay”, Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace tell-all is actually scrupulously careful not to offend anyone: like Boogie Nights making nice.
Variety
pressRe-creates the lavish living environment and stage shows Liberace orchestrated between 1977 and his death in 1986 of HIV-related complications, while presenting the world with a sort of worst-case version of predatory homosexuality, in which an older man of means identifies, seduces and eventually tosses aside a naive, cornfed young country stud.
Total Film
pressDouglas pulls out all the stops while - somehow - avoiding caricature in a glittering celebrity portrait. If Soderbergh's swansong doesn't always mine great depths, it gives fabulous surface.
The Dissolve
pressOne of the most stylish movies Soderbergh has made in years. This is very much Scott’s version of the story, so Soderbergh employs subtle and overt subjectivity in his camerawork...
Hollywood Reporter
pressA wonderfully entertaining and revealing look at Liberace’s final decade.
Empire Magazine
pressWho'd have thought Michael Douglas and Matt Damon would make such an astonishing, convincing on-screen couple? Steven Soderbergh, that's who...
A.V. Club
pressThe story is told less as a cause-and-effect narrative than as a collection of incidents that add up to something with a crushing emotional weight.
Bedazzling Performances
Several moments through this film I found myself almost covering my eyes in disbelief as Matt Damon & Michael Douglas stared into each others eyes before a lovers embrace... I eventually sat through my typical kiwi bloke discomfort as my girlfriend chuckled away to herself and could see the film as a brilliant portrayal of a very flamboyant individual....
Camp as a row of tents
It may be a TV movie, but this HBO production deserves to be seen on the big screen. Steven Soderbergh delivers a scintillating drama in his supposed final directorial effort (for this week at least...) Reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's turbulent relationship with young Bosie, this so-over-the-top-it-must-be-true tale centres on a warts 'n' wigs 'n' all...
No Academy Awards :-(
Michael Douglas does a amazing job. HBO made this movie for cable TV so no big screen release in USA means it will only receive Emmys not Academy awards as Michael Douglas performance deserves !!! The behind the scenes story of Scott Thorson played by Matt Damon 6 year relationship with Liberace played by Michael Douglas. Its a love story with all its...
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