Life and Death of Peter Sellers (The)
- Director: Stephen Hopkins
- Writer: Roger Lewis; Christopher Markus
- Producer: Ben Baker; Freddy De Mann
CGiii Comment
Sellers was, according to this, a thoroughly vile man.
Rush does a fine job of bringing this vileness to the screen.
Blake Edwards comes across as a buffoon.
This is a hit and miss affair: the car showroom scene doesn't work, the aeroplane scene is hysterical.
Watch Being There - it paints a different picture.
It's very, very cruel.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
The professional and personal life of actor and comedian Peter Sellers was a turbulent one. His early movie fame was based primarily on his comic characterizations, often of bumbling and foreign-accented persons, characters which he embodied. As his movie fame rose, he began to lose his own personal identity to his movie characters, leading to self-doubt of himself as a person and a constant need for reassurance and acceptance of his work. This self-doubt manifested itself in fits of anger and what was deemed as arrogance by many. In turn, his personal relationships began to deteriorate as his characterizations were continually used to mask his problems. His first wife, Anne Howe, left/divorced him and his relationships with his parents and children became increasingly distant. His relationship with his second wife, Swedish actress Britt Ekland, was based on this mask.
Cast & Characters
Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers;
Charlize Theron as Britt Ekland;
Emily Watson as Anne Sellers;
John Lithgow as Blake Edwards;
Miriam Margolyes as Peg Sellers;
Peter Vaughan as Bill Sellers;
Sonia Aquino as Sophia Loren;
Stanley Tucci as Stanley Kubrick;
Stephen Fry as Maurice Woodruff;
Henry Goodman as Dennis Selinger;
Alison Steadman as Casting Agent;
Peter Gevisser as Ted Levy;
David Robb as Dr. Lyle Wexler;
Edward Tudor-Pole as Spike Milligan;
Steve Pemberton as Harry Secombe