Martin (film)
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| Martin | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | George A. Romero |
| Produced by | Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Written by | George A. Romero |
| Starring | John Amplas Lincoln Maazel Christine Forrest Elyane Nadeau Tom Savini |
| Music by | Donald Rubinstein Goblin (Italian version) |
| Cinematography | Michael Gornick |
| Editing by | George A. Romero |
| Distributed by | Libra Films International |
| Release date(s) |  July 7, 1978 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $800,000 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Martin is a 1977 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. The film is notable as the first collaboration between George Romero and special effects artist Tom Savini. Romero is also on record as saying Martin is his favorite of all his films. It was filmed on location in Pittsburgh.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1977 and was released in US cinemas on July 7, 1978.
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[edit] Plot
Martin (John Amplas) sedates women with a syringe full of narcotics and then slices their wrists with a razor blade so he can drink their blood. Martin, who comes to live with his uncle and niece in the dying town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, has romantic monochrome visions of vampiric seductions and torch-lit mobs, but it is impossible to tell how seriously he takes them.
His uncle, the superstitious old Tada Cuda, treats Martin like an Old World vampire and tries unsuccessfully to repel Martin with strings of garlic bulbs around the home and a crucifix. Martin mocks these attempts and says bitterly, "There's no real magic... ever." Martin strikes up a friendship with a lonely housewife, turning into a full-fledged affair with tragic results. The tone of the film is sad and filled with longing and unfulfilled desire--rather different for the traditional vampire movie, cliches of which are parodied in Martin's dreams and in the mock-silent-film scene where Martin terrorises Cuda in a children's playground. The ironic ending both gives a new twist to the traditional fate of vampires and suggests that Martin's disease is more widespread than we might care to imagine.
[edit] Alternate versions
Originally, the film ran longer than the final version, at 2 hours and 45 minutes. The original release was entirely in black and white. No copies of this cut exist to Romero's knowledge.
Much like Dawn of the Dead, Martin was edited for the European market, under the title of Wampyr. This version is only available in Italian dialogue, and is rumored to be edited by Dario Argento. This version's score was performed by the band Goblin.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Amplas | Martin |
| Lincoln Maazel | Tada Cuda |
| Christine Forrest | Christina |
| Elyane Nadeau | Abbie Santini |
| Tom Savini | Arthur |
| Sara Venable | Housewife Victim |
| Fran Middleton | Train Victim |
| Al Levitsky | Lewis |
| George A. Romero | Father Howard |
[edit] External links
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