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The Keep

  • 19831983
  • RR
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Keep (1983)
Home Video Trailer from Paramount Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:29
1 Video
58 Photos
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
Nazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.Nazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.Nazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Michael Mann
  • Writers
    • F. Paul Wilson(novel)
    • Michael Mann(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Scott Glenn
    • Ian McKellen
    • Alberta Watson
Top credits
  • Director
    • Michael Mann
  • Writers
    • F. Paul Wilson(novel)
    • Michael Mann(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Scott Glenn
    • Ian McKellen
    • Alberta Watson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 198User reviews
    • 94Critic reviews
    • 34Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    The Keep
    Trailer 2:29
    The Keep

    Photos58

    Ian McKellen in The Keep (1983)
    Ian McKellen in The Keep (1983)
    Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Ian McKellen, and Alberta Watson in The Keep (1983)
    The Keep (1983)
    The Keep (1983)
    The Keep (1983)
    The Keep (1983)
    The Keep (1983)
    Scott Glenn and Alberta Watson in The Keep (1983)
    Wolf Kahler in The Keep (1983)
    Michael Carter in The Keep (1983)
    Jürgen Prochnow in The Keep (1983)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Scott Glenn
    Scott Glenn
    • Glaekenas Glaeken
    Ian McKellen
    Ian McKellen
    • Dr. Theodore Cuzaas Dr. Theodore Cuza
    Alberta Watson
    Alberta Watson
    • Eva Cuzaas Eva Cuza
    Jürgen Prochnow
    Jürgen Prochnow
    • Woermannas Woermann
    Robert Prosky
    Robert Prosky
    • Father Fonescuas Father Fonescu
    Gabriel Byrne
    Gabriel Byrne
    • Kaempfferas Kaempffer
    William Morgan Sheppard
    William Morgan Sheppard
    • Alexandruas Alexandru
    • (as Morgan Sheppard)
    Royston Tickner
    • Tomescuas Tomescu
    Michael Carter
    Michael Carter
    • Radu Molasaras Radu Molasar
    Phillip Joseph
    • Osteras Oster
    John Vine
    • Lutzas Lutz
    Jona Jones
    • Ottoas Otto
    Wolf Kahler
    Wolf Kahler
    • S.S. Adjutantas S.S. Adjutant
    Rosalie Crutchley
    Rosalie Crutchley
    • Josefaas Josefa
    Frederick Warder
    Frederick Warder
    • Border Guard 1as Border Guard 1
    Bruce Payne
    Bruce Payne
    • Border Guard 2as Border Guard 2
    David Cardy
    • Alexandru's Sonas Alexandru's Son
    John Eastham
    • Alexandru's Second Sonas Alexandru's Second Son
    • Director
      • Michael Mann
    • Writers
      • F. Paul Wilson(novel)
      • Michael Mann(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Michael Mann's original cut of the film ran three and a half hours.
    • Goofs
      When Dr Cuza is translating the writing on the wall, he says "The form is the imperative" i.e. that it's a command. That's taken from the source novel, where the writing is translated as "Strangers, leave my home!" But in the film the translation is "I will be free", which is not an imperative statement.
    • Quotes

      Major Kaempffer: [frightened] What are you? Where do you come from?

      Molasar: Where am I from? I am... from YOU!

    • Crazy credits
      The Keep Production Pays Tribute To Wally Veevers
    • Alternate versions
      Some television versions include additional footage after the original downbeat ending, showing Eva Cuza (Alberta Watson) turn around, entering the Keep and finding the body of Glaecen (Scott Glenn), dead after the final battle with Molasar. Eva hugs Glaeken, who is revived by the power of her love.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: D.C. Cab/Two of a Kind/The Man Who Loved Women/The Keep (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      Gloria
      (from the Mass for Four Voices by Thomas Tallis)

      Arranged by Tangerine Dream

    User reviews198

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    The bad dreams of your keep are nursery rhymes in comparison.
    It remains one of the most frustrating experiences for a Michael Mann fan to go through. The Keep is by definition a mixed bag, a collage of weirdness, tackiness and visual smarts that are great but in all honesty are in the wrong movie. It even boasts a cast of considerable talent, where Messrs Jürgen Prochnow, Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen and Gabriel Byrne lead off from the front. But the troubled production and numerous edits and cuts of the piece have left it as a scarred but fascinating oddity.

    Based on F. Paul Wilson's novel of the same name, plot is set in World War II Romania. When members of the German army hole up at a Carpathian Castle, they get more than they ever could have bargained for when greed unleashes an evil demon upon all who dwell in the vicinity. In short order the German's are requested to seek out the aid of a Jewish historian (McKellen), who is freed from a death camp and hurried along to Carpathia to help the Nazis. Then there is the mysterious Glaeken Trismegestus (Glenn), a man of seriously scary eyes who is making a journey to the castle for the sake of humanity.

    Now, there are a lot of reviews out there for The Keep, but since there are quite a few versions out there with different endings, it's difficult to know which one is being reviewed. But the over riding factor leans towards it being a mess of a movie. Wilson himself was greatly angered by the version he watched, which may well have been the original 3 hour plus cut? Calling it an incoherent monstrosity. This latest cut I saw was the "theatrical" version, complete with an extra "fan edit" ending, and I'm indebted to an on line friend and those "fans" who have given me the chance to see two endings that I hadn't seen before! Yet the one constant is Tangerine Dream's LSD inspired musical score!

    Mann is early in his career here and trying his best to make something thematically potent and visually arresting, but it ultimately is done down by mixed ambitions and budget restrictions, where no amount of editing and fog machine usage can mask the problems. In fact it's now thought that Mann wasn't even directing come the second half of the movie?! It was an experience that would send him away from the big screen and into other work for the next few years. Thankfully for us Mann fans it proved to be a blessing in disguise, for he would return to make a serious mark on cinema from the director's chair. But with that still comes the disappointment that The Keep is not the thoughtful atmospheric classic that Mann envisaged when he started out to make it. 6/10
    helpful•9
    4
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Oct 27, 2013

    FAQ3

    • Why hasn't this movie been released on DVD?
    • Why is the evil entity named Molasar?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 16, 1983 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die unheimliche Macht
    • Filming locations
      • Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Associated Capital
      • Capital Equipment Leasing
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $11,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,218,594
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,032,295
      • Dec 18, 1983
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,218,594
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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