User reviews

When DEATHTRAP was first released, the poster--reproduced on the cover of this DVD--offered a graphic akin to a Rubik's Cube. It is an appropriate image: originally written for the stage by Ira Levin, who authored such memorable works as ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE STEPFORD WIVES, the play was one of Broadway's most famous twisters, and under Sidney Lumet's direction it translates to the screen extremely well.

DEATHTRAP is one of those films that it is very difficult to discuss, for to do so in any detail gives away the very plot for which it is famous. But the opening premise is extremely clever: Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is the famous author of mystery plays, but these days he seems to have lost his touch. After a particularly brutal opening night, an old student named Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve) sends him a script for a play he has written. It is called "Deathtrap," and Sidney recognizes it as a surefire hit. Just the sort of hit that would revive his career... indeed, a hit to die for. And when Clifford visits to discuss the play, events suddenly begin to twist in the most unexpected manner possible.

Like Anthony Shaffer's equally twisty SLEUTH, DEATHTRAP is really a story more at home on the stage than the screen--to reach full power it needs the immediacy that a live performance offers. Still, under the expert guidance of director Sidney Lumet, it makes a more-than-respectable showing on the screen. Much of this is due to the cast, which is remarkably fine. Michael Caine gives a truly brilliant performance, Dyan Cannon is funny and endearing as Sidney's relentlessly anxious wife, and Christopher Reeve gives what might be the single finest performance in his regrettably short acting career. If you can't see it in a first-rate theatrical production, this will more than do until one comes along.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Nothing's more enjoyable for me than a who-dun-it or suspense tale that keeps you guessing throughout as to how the whole thing will end. And that's precisely what happens in DEATHTRAP, based on a chilling play by Ira Levin ("Rosemary's Baby").

And in it, MICHAEL CAINE and CHRISTOPHER REEVE get to do the kind of stunt that Caine and Laurence Olivier pulled off in SLEUTH--with just about as much skill and as many puzzles as ever existed in that extraordinarily clever play.

But because it's meant to scare you, surprise you, and keep you guessing as to the outcome, it's difficult to write a review about the plot. Let's just say that what we know in the beginning is all you have to know about the film for the present. MICHAEL CAINE is an insanely jealous playwright whose latest play has failed miserably. When a young aspiring writer CHRISTOPHER REEVE sends him the manuscript of his play, Caine realizes that passing it off as his own would solve all his problems and get his reputation back.

From that point on, it's a matter of fun and games for the audience as Ira Levin's story unwinds, managing to trump Agatha Christie for the number of twists.

Caine and Reeve play off each other brilliantly, each bringing a certain dynamic tension to the tale as well as some humorous touches that come from a script that laces drama with humor.

Summing up: Well worth seeing--but not everyone is pleased with the ending.

Unlike Tinseltown's version of HELLO, DOLLY!, Jay Presson Allen's screen adaptation of Ira Levin's hit Broadway thriller couldn't wait for it's stage incarnation to shutter before putting it up on the silver screen, so producers wisely decided to make the most of it's lengthy White Way run! The film's opening and closing scenes are shot inside New York's intimate Music Box Theater where DEATHTRAP played for nearly five years. Even the film's final fadeout on the theatre marquee is a version of the stageplay's famous logo. (Although marketeers decided to go with a more fun Rubik's Cube icon for the movie.)

Now on a low-priced DVD release, DEATHTRAP seems just as fresh and inventinve as ever. The cast is just right (better than their stage counterparts) and location scouts should be applauded for finding a suitably spooky house for our "one room, two act thriller" to take place in. Opened up in surprisingly simple and innovative ways, director Sidney Lumet wisely tags any "new" material onto the beginning and end of the film and leaves Levin's wickedly twisty center alone.

The film's last scene is a major Hollywood departure from the boards, and slightly undermines one of Levin's plot points from earlier in the film [Helga (about a dagger): "Will be used by another woman BECAUSE of play."]. Like Robert Altman's THE PLAYER, however, our new finale helps the film fold in on itself once again and blurs the lines between stage, screen, and (could it be?) real life!

Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) is a struggling playwright. His latest Broadway play is a critical flop. He retreats to his Long Island home with his wife Myra (Dyan Cannon). He has a copy of a play called Deathtrap written by his student Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve). He's bitterly jealous. She wants him to produce it. The question is would he kill for a new play. He invites Clifford to the remote house and bring the original drafts. The discussion breaks down and Clifford wants to send copies of the play to various agents.

There is a bit of tension with Clifford in handcuffs. The story meanders after that. It needs to build on that tension. Then comes the twists. The twists are fine but I need more tension. Sidney Lumet may be more concerned about the kiss which is not so shocking nowadays. This may work better as a play. There are some fair back and forth in the last act but I don't care about which ever way it could turn out.

The comparison to Sleuth, the earlier stage-play-turned-film, is obvious and upon my first viewing I too thought Sleuth was better, but Deathtrap has, at least for me, many more repeat viewings in it than Sleuth.

I purchased Deathrap in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart, figuring that it had Caine and the underrated Reeve and was worth the 6 bucks. It was one of the finest DVD purchases I could've picked up.

It's one of those best-kept-secrets that movie buffs always are always delighted to discover. And it's totally worth repeat viewings.

Though Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine turned in bravado performances in Sleuth, I was doubly impressed with Christopher Reeve as Clifford Anderson. Reeve, rightfully associated with his now legendary portrayal of Superman, stole the show in what should've been an Oscar worthy performance. I've always felt Reeve was a type-cast actor who didn't get much of a chance to shine outside of the Superman films and a few other flawed but entertaining films like Somewhere in Time, but this film shows that his potential was truly tapped and put to use, thank goodness.

I absolutely relished Michael Caine's performance. He was glib, deliciously manipulative and sadistic. And watching him work with Reeve and Dyan Cannon was an absolute pleasure. In fact, it was thanks to this movie that I got into a "Michael Caine phase" and started renting as much of his stuff as humanly possible.

As for Deathtrap, there's enough juicy dialogue in here to fill up its "memorable quotes" section. (Unfortunately, much of the dialogue would inherently spoil the immensely entertaining plot).

It's really, really hard to talk about the movie without spoiling important plot points that are infinitely more fun to discover on your own. Needless to say, it's a must-see. But for me, it was the greatest and most rewarding blind purchase of all time.

Repeat viewings are a must.

And it deserves to sit alongside Sleuth on your DVD shelf.

I'll leave you with this beautifully written quote from the film: "I wonder if it wouldn't be...well...just a trifle starry-eyed of me to enter into such a risky and exciting collaboration...where I could count on no sense of moral obligation...whatsoever."

Deathtrap (1982)

If you have seen "Sleuth," the first version from 1972 or so, you'll know what "Deathtrap" is trying to by. Michael Caine is not the only common thread between the two. Add to this a mysterious murder, a lot of coy double takes and visitors to a rich man's house with peculiar intentions, and a kind of play made into a movie feel, undisguised.

It is fun in the background, it has a bright late seventies feel (I know it's from 1982, don't worry). But if you really pay attention, if you were even to have been in the theater and spent money to be engaged, you might well wish you had tried harder, and that the movie makers had tried a lot harder. There will always be poignance to seeing Christopher Reeve at his pretty and charming best, though he's pretty dull stuff here (compared to both "Superman" of course and the iconic "Somewhere in Time" from just two years before).

Caine is pure Caine, hard to fault, and if you already like him you'll like him still. I do, and he made it sustainable. But the plot? Well, it's all farce to the point of not really caring what happens. Even "Murder by Death," with all its superficial plot twists, revels in being superficial--it's just "fun" all around. This one is not quite fun, nor is it as ingenious or beautifully written as "Sleuth."

The source of "Deathtrap" is a fabulously successful Broadway play, and why it didn't quite transfer to film is something to argue about. Sidney Lumet is certainly a really capable director, with some classic films like "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Fail-Safe." behind him. What "Deathtrap" lacks for a director is true drama, however, and the finessing, the faking, the lighthearted coyness requires a certain sensibility not quite working here.

I think the two women in the cast, the wife and the psychic neighbor, are both so caricatured they're hard to take, too. Add all of this up, and you have mostly the endless twists and surprises to keep you going--and again, "Sleuth" has it all over this one in that camp.

Not that you won't be surprised! If you do watch it and hang in there, you'll be twisted and amused. Which is the main point.

No one better spoil this piece of work! Awesome movie! Written expertly by the likes of Ira Levin and depicted with the best performance of Christopher Reeve's career and one of Caine's very best, this is simply excellent. I wish I could catch a staged version somewhere...maybe someday I will. I hope this grossly underrated, overlooked film has not become too difficult to locate because it a 'must' for any Hitchcockian, Agatha-phile or lover of great film. One of very few movies I couldn't instantly solve or predict and worth a second or even third viewing, "Deathtrap" gets a 9/10 and earns every iota of it. We need and deserve more movies like this!

Playwright Sidney Bruhl (a wonderfully over-the-top Michael Caine) would kill for a hit play. Enter young wonder kid (a solid Reeve) who's just written such a play. Weave into this Bruhl's overly hysterical wife (superbly played by Cannon) and a German psychic (a very funny Irene Worth) and you've got yourself a wonderfully funny suspense flick.

While not up to "Sleuth" standards, "Deathtrap" is none the less a very capable, twist filled comical suspense ride based on a terrific play by Ira Levin. The performers are obviously having a field day with the material, with Caine in particular delivering top notch lines with gusto.

The film loses a bit of steam midway through and the ending is a lot less satisfying than the hilarious one in the original play but overall "Deathtrap" is solid, well acted and suspenseful fun.

As one reviewer said "It's hard to talk about this film without giving too much away" - and I do agree with this statement about the film. This is a movie one just has to simply watch for themselves because if you are told to much about the film then it would ruin the entire movie.

Is Deathtrap good? Yes it is a very good mystery dramedy (comedy-drama). It has it's comical moments but the film also has it's times of drama. If you like mysteries then you may enjoy this film.

Are you wanting a double feature? I would recommend this movie (Deathtrap) along with movies like: "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", "Clue", "Sleuth", or "Murder by Death".

8/10

Enjoyable if forced murder mystery whodunit kind of thing played to the max and beyond pretty much as a two-hander by Caine and Reeve. "Deathtrap" seems to try to send up every Agatha Christie - type concoction there's ever been, throwing in more twists than a Chubby Checker revival show, but seems to forget that Peter Schaffer's "Sleuth" got there before it a decade earlier.

Caine's in on this of course, he now playing the Olivier role as the ageing dominating schemer of the two, with Reeve as the initially submissive but later resistant junior partner in the former's nefarious, ingenious if somewhat far-fetched plan to bump off ailing wife Dyan Cannon (who couldn't look healthier, as a matter of fact) and get his hands on her massive fortune.

The initial twist is well staged and does come as a big surprise but subsequent events fail to repeat the trick and the insertion of the ludicrous Scandanavian medium Helga Ten Dorp (there must be an in-joke anagram in her name I've not yet deciphered) to sweep up the pieces with her thick-as-Nordic-snow accent takes it just too far over the top.

For all that, it's directed at pace with no let up on the camp factor from the normally straight-arrow Sydney Lumet and features a slightly awkward full-on kiss between the leads with a complete lack of conviction on either side. It's one of perhaps too many unintentional comical scenes in this play within a play within...you get the idea, but you sense that no-one minds too much in any case, so irreverent is the whole concept and execution here.

This film is criminally underrated. I love this film to pieces. It keeps you guessing to the very end and refuses to travel in a straight line at all times. If you havent seen this, watch it immediately.

Ira Levin's Deathtrap is one of those mystery films in the tradition of Sleuth that would be very easy to spoil given any real examination of the plot of the film. Therefore I will be brief in saying it concerns a play, one man who is a famous mystery playwright, another man who is a promising writer, the playwright's wife who is much younger and sexier than the role should have been, and one German psychic along for the ride. Director Sidney Lumet, no stranger to film, is quite good for the most part in creating the tension the film needs to motor on. The dialog is quick, fresh, and witty. Michael Caine excels in roles like these. Christopher Reeve is serviceable and actually grows on you the more you see him act. Irene Worth stands out as the funny psychic. How about Dyan Cannon? Love how Lumet packaged her posterior in those real tight-fitting pants and had her wear possibly the snuggest tops around, but she is terribly miscast in this role - a role which should have been given to an older actress and one certainly less seductive. But why quibble with an obvious attempt to bribe its male viewers when nothing will change it now? Deathtrap is funny, sophisticated, witty, and classy. The mystery has some glaring flaws which do detract somewhat, and I was not wholly satisfied with the ending, but watching Caine and Reeve under Lumet's direction with Levin's elevated verbiage was enough to ensnare my interest and keep it captive the entire length of the film.

Michael Caine and the misanthropic humor in the script made for some enjoyable moments, and Christopher Reeve was more than adequate. But I found the old "psychic" neighbor excruciatingly unfunny, so much that I had to fast-forward through much of the scenes with her presence. Her mannerisms and accent (over the top horribly fake mix of German / Eastern European / Russian, even though she was supposedly from Holland) made her very hard to watch. Perhaps her character worked in the play, as on stage there is more of a tendency for over acting, but I think her part here just about ruined the otherwise quite enjoyable movie.

Still worth it for Michael Cain fans, and it was fun to see Reeves play someone other than Superman, but be prepared for the akwardness of the scenes with the psychic.

Deathtrap has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Yeah it's (intentionally?) stagy and full of cornball moments (especially that ending), but it's never boring and entertains me every time. The cast is great. Over the top at times but in the best way. I'm not a big theater guy and movies that are basically filmed stage plays aren't usually my thing but there's just something about this one that appeals to me. It's one of those movies I like that I have a hard time articulating exactly why I like it. I just do and that's enough for me. I hope you enjoy it too.

Definitely one of the most witty and twisted who-dunnit I ever seen. Christopher Reeve and Micheal Caine were brilliant and kept me going through the whole affair.

Very classy set pieces and the props really lend a sense of atmosphere to the proceedings. The minimalist feel works for the whole picture.

My only complain isn't with the film itself but the lack of a decent widescreen edition of the movie on DVD. I own the fullscreen version (which proves I love the film enough to endure fullscreen presentation) but a awesome Deluxe or 'special' edition would most surely get my cash.

Incredible performances from all involved. Very suspenseful. The comic elements don't always land.

This is a chamber piece. Don't expect action or explosions. There is a lot of dialogue. Mostly all in one location. The dialogue is delightful.

It was well written ;)

The writing and acting in this are absolutely top notch, and it shows how great of an actor Christopher Reeve was. He didn't really get a chance to demonstrate it in Superman, which is what he's mostly known for. Casting him and Michael Caine was ingenius. As a kid, I watched this movie multiple times in the 80s and it made me want to be a writer.

I went into Deathtrap expecting a well orchestrated and intriguing thriller; and while that's something like what this film is; I also can't help but think that it's just a poor man's Sleuth. The classic 1972 film is obviously an inspiration for this film; not particularly in terms of the plot, but certainly it's the case with the execution. The casting of Michael Caine in the central role just confirms it. The film is based on a play by Ira Levin (who previously wrote Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives) and focuses on Sidney Bruhl; a playwright whose best days are behind him. After his latest play bombs, Sidney finds himself at a low; and this is not helped when a play named Deathtrap; written by an amateur he taught, arrives on his doorstep. Deathtrap is a guaranteed commercial success, and Sidney soon begins hatching a plot of his own; which involves inviting round the amateur scribe, killing him, and then passing Deathtrap off as his own work.

Despite all of its clever twists and turns; Deathtrap falls down on one primary element, and that's the characters. The film fails to provide a single likable character, and it's very hard to care about the story when you're not rooting for any of the players. This is not helped by the acting. Michael Caine puts in a good and entertaining performance as you would expect, but nobody else does themselves proud. Christopher Reeve is awkward in his role, while Dyan Cannon somehow manages to make the only possibly likable character detestable with a frankly irritating performance. It's lucky then that the story is good; and it is just about good enough to save the film. The plot features plenty of twists and turns; some work better than others, but there's always enough going on to ensure that the film stays interesting. Director Sidney Lumet deserves some credit too as the style of the film is another huge plus. The central location is interesting in its own right, and the cinematography fits the film well. Overall, I have to admit that I did enjoy this film; but it could have been much, much better.

This begins so well and at least for half way it is brilliant with Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon all really good. It is so clever and funny that it is only as two many twists and the actors have to keep changing around that it becomes too much like a play. It is still okay but just it is too long as it needs to keep surprising us but I got by the end and certainly by the play of the play I was done. I have to say that it is really so good at first that it is just about worth a look.