Lolita (1997)

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writers (WGA):

Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Stephen Schiff (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A forbidden love. An unthinkable attraction. The ultimate price.

Plot:

A man marries his landlady so he can take advantage of her daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Forbidden Love | Jealousy | Police | Lolita

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Irons	...	Humbert Humbert
Melanie Griffith	...	Charlotte Haze
Frank Langella	...	Clare Quilty
Dominique Swain	...	Dolores 'Lolita' Haze
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Miss Pratt
Keith Reddin	...	Reverend Rigger
Erin J. Dean	...	Mona
Joan Glover	...	Miss LaBone
Pat Pierre Perkins	...	Louise (as Pat P. Perkins)
Ed Grady	...	Dr. Melinik
Michael Goodwin	...	Mr. Beale
Angela Paton	...	Mrs. Holmes
Ben Silverstone	...	Young Humbert Humbert
Emma Griffiths Malin	...	Annabel Lee (as Emma Griffiths-Malin)
Ronald Pickup	...	Young Humbert's Father

Also Known As:

Lolita (France)
Лолита (Russia) [ru]
Lolita (Greece) [el]
Lolita (Argentina) [es]
Lolita (Poland) [pl]
Lolita, de Adrian Lyne (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for aberrant sexuality, a strong scene of violence, nudity and some language.

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Brazil:14 | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Germany:18 (w) | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austin High School - 3500 Memphis Avenue, El Paso, Texas, USA

Company:

Guild

Trivia:

Frank Langella discovered belatedly that director Adrian Lyne had kept a full-frontal nude-shot of him (during Quilty's death scene), and left it in the movie. Langella was furious with Lyne over what happened; he still gets embarrassed talking about it.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the jawbreaker scene, the jawbreaker is at first bright yellow, then in the next shot, is white. However, jawbreakers often change color as they are sucked, so it is conceivable that the yellow layer had melted off, revealing the white underneath.

Quotes:

Clare Quilty: He can smell if you're sweet. He likes sweet young people. People like you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of Adrian Lyne" (????)

Soundtrack:

Stormy Weather

Lyne's Lolita emphasizes tragedy of Nabokov's novel

Lyne's point of departure from the Kubrick version of Nabokov's great novel lies primarily in tone: the later version focuses more on the tragic, dramatic elements of the book and less on the comedic ones. I will not go so far as to suggest that Lyne made a better film; he did not. I do think, however, that he did pinpoint one of the key components of the novel's genius: a capturing of life on the newly paved highways of mid-century America. As Humbert, Jeremy Irons is as good as his predecessor James Mason. Frank Langella's interpretation of Quilty entirely diverges from the one given by Peter Sellers (and rightfully so; who wants to compete with Sellers?). But it is Dominique Swain, outdoing Sue Lyon, who comes closer than what ever seemed possible to embodying the essence of the doomed Dolly Haze.