The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
The film portrays Peter Sellers as a complex and tormented genius, whose success as a film star concealed his difficult and relatively unhappy private life. This “troubled life” is the primary focus of this biopic, which personalizes “one of the greatest comic actors in the history of the British cinema,” and shows the many masks he wore and characters he played as an actor.
The film presents much of Sellers’ initial success and identity as dependent on his domineering and doting mother. Eventually this success, first in radio and eventually in film, led to his succumbing to destructive mood swings and insecurity, and contributed to the deterioration of his marriages. Discovering his gift for comedy, his ego began to undermine his personal relationships with friends and co-workers. His personality became more turbulent. The film presents Sellers’ own personality as having often merged with that of his film characters, and his self-learned skill as a method actor as being used to mask his real self.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Geoffrey RushPeter Sellers  Charlize TheronBritt Ekland  Emily WatsonAnne Sellers  John LithgowBlake Edwards  Miriam MargolyesPeg Sellers  Peter VaughanBill Sellers  Sonia AquinoSophia Loren  Stanley TucciStanley Kubrick  Stephen FryMaurice Woodruff |
The film portrays Peter Sellers as a complex and tormented genius, whose success as a film star concealed his difficult and relatively unhappy private life. This “troubled life” is the primary focus of this biopic, which personalizes “one of the greatest comic actors in the history of the British cinema,” and shows the many masks he wore and characters he played as an actor.
The film presents much of Sellers’ initial success and identity as dependent on his domineering and doting mother. Eventually this success, first in radio and eventually in film, led to his succumbing to destructive mood swings and insecurity, and contributed to the deterioration of his marriages. Discovering his gift for comedy, his ego began to undermine his personal relationships with friends and co-workers. His personality became more turbulent. The film presents Sellers’ own personality as having often merged with that of his film characters, and his self-learned skill as a method actor as being used to mask his real self.
