Old school movie tonight... Stanley Kubrick's
Lolita. Great movie from Vladimir Nabakov's controvertial book (it's the 50th anniversary of its publishing). Kubrick's direction is spot on, as always. But what was jaw-droppingly stunning in this movie is the tour-de-force manic acting of Peter Sellers.
I've always been a huge fan of him as an actor (though certainly less so as a person). And I thought I saw him do some pretty amazing stuff previously (
Dr. Strangelove, etc.). But his psychotic performances in this film were astounding. He makes the neuroses of a Robin Williams at his most maniacal seem like mere child acting.
Shelley Winters supposedly described his performances as a fellow cast member on this movie as, "His acting was from another planet." After seeing this movie, I can entirely see why she said that.