Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
总觉得差点啥。我还是喜欢看电视剧那个辅佐官。
在韩国政治惊悚里完全不起眼。最大问题就是太无趣，药剂师角色很突兀，妆化也跟不上，历史感全靠调色。
韩国政治片已经接上犯罪片的棒了，因为可以拍所以层出不穷，李善均和薛景求这一对也很有火花，可看度大大提升
若政治真到了可以“为达目的不择手段”的地步，那么这些政客总有一天会以国家的名义牺牲人民的利益～胸膛里的良心远比围栏里的鸡蛋更重要～
比南山的部长们差太多了 韩国正在大选，这样的电影却不被禁 伪民主比不民主强多了
柏拉图说：如果做得事情是正义的，那就可以不择手段。即便再有崇高的理想，想要开创一个正义的世界，也需要一些特殊的手段来开辟道路。
主角人物光环过于强大，失去了可信性，影响了对剧情的认同感
6/10。延续了韩国电影一贯的犀利，但并无太多惊喜之处，而亮眼的点在于把韩国人追求民主的时间线拓展至六七十年代，而且是寻求体制内的变革，更突显了其来之不易。
是因为拿了影帝和男配所以打算瞅瞅，没有最后二十分钟的话是三星，因为我喜欢爆炸之后的反转。比起薛景求我更喜欢李善均的表演，两人监狱出来那段很有意思，飙戏很爽。我存的这版字幕真的太简翻了，纯靠我多年经验艰难个人理解了一波。
影子都知道怎么做，主人怎么可能不知道。也就到此为此了，政治这东西，真正去嘲笑的人才是二逼，族群社会以后，还有比这复杂的事么，科学1是1，政治上1可能是无穷。
还是不错的，活在王者影子里的人，了不起，也十分伤感，其实完全可以抛开片中政治元素当作架空来看。成功者的背后势必有个背后支持的人，但是最后还是不可避免地分道扬镳，这里的安排反倒有些俗套了
本就是韩国民主化进程中最波澜壮阔的时期，但就电影本身来说前半段观感一般，类型化处理也有待商榷，后一小时才渐入佳境
拍的真是好，民心可以被如此简单的操纵，政治的背后是如此肮脏。结局拍的好有味道，十几年后，活在影子里的男主心中，依然相信老师的大义。你做了同样的事，只不过所处的立场不同罢了。
第一次看薛景求的戏，竟然是 大义就是大义，厉害的坚持
政治被我们谈得津津有味 不厌其烦也不厌其旧 常谈常乐 一直谈得手舞足蹈 面生红光 振振有辞 阴谋诡计像是前菜 有了它 谈资愈发勃勃生机 口水肆意
有南山的部长们同类型电影在前，这部电影显得更弱，轻松的基调和内容也不是那么搭，没什么感触。
字幕的质量不高，但全片的主旨还是有所深度，只是受困于现实，候选人没能在剧情内就荣登大位。
不是，这里怎么也有一个叫昌大的有志青年要拜薛景求为师啊，跳戏了😅hhh
本片所探讨的矛盾令人深思，我们暂且忽略韩国是否有真正代表人民的民主斗士，单就正直的人是否必须用正直的手段战胜对手这个问题，就很值得讨论，其实就这样的问题可以创作很多作品，观众也一定会分为两派，这用来拍更为贴近生活的商业片可能收效会更好。
“柏拉图也讲过，为了正当的目的，可以不择手段！柏拉图是亚里士多德的老师。”
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