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)
对文艺cult的接受度还是比较低，但至少比《羊崽》更值得回味一点。
这能叫电影？不就是拼凑的乐色吗，我就不信有人不快进能看完这东西
我不懂最后为啥看到女主把自己的孩子变成了女巫，那位老巫和这位女主要两眼泪汪汪……
换囊之下，讲的是性别身份和母权反抗...相当有深度。
女巫的人类体验，女人，男人，女孩，妻子，母亲，孩子的纯洁打动了女巫，也让她学会了爱，诗一般的台词很适合夜深人静的时候独自观赏。
可能因为视角是女巫的，有些点还觉得挺感人。取景和配乐挺好的！！！
点子还算有趣 但拍的很乏味 该说是文艺片吗 又不是很有内涵 最重要的是那烂脸老太婆很恶心啊 简直污染眼睛
2.8，韩剧剧本不妨碍relate到泪流满面
让自己大热天的倒吸了一口冷气...............
可能会是年度十佳。与其说像马利克（如果他能拍成这样子我会爱他），不如说更像前几年那部外出偷马混合鬼魅浮生，镜头极致诗意的拍一个关于轮回和时间更迭的故事，这真的很美又真的很惆怅。
年轻女律师阿尔斯海默，
就是现在连魂穿都要以女巫作为视角了吗？可是有没有想过，穿过去了后不把女巫的人物属性带过去会好看以及合理以及drama吗？
我也曾幻想过用不同的身体去感受世界，就像别人问起下辈子想当什么，我会说想当一棵树、想当一条狗、想当天上的鸟、想当男人、想当欧洲人、想当天才。最深刻的感受往往不需要嘴，而只用眼或手。台词很美！
披着恐怖外套下的文艺片，逐渐融入自然与朴实乡村生活的记录。。。摄影与节奏一流，看着还不算太沉闷。
前面拖沓的节奏完全抵消了后边剧情的魅力，两代女巫像两种女性的人生对照组，借贪狼女之口讲出的那句为什么对你而言这么容易，当然容易，被爱和被胁迫相比起当然是前者的人生更容易。
残酷却又温暖，当电影来到最后一个镜头，属于“她”每一段人生的面庞交织在一起时，失去的人生在寄居于这些他人之躯的岁月中仿佛重新获得了意义。
差点因为不看恐怖片错过一部好电影，优秀的视听语言，散文一样的台词，有点意思。
多一星给徐玄振的演技 年轻人得阿尔兹海默症感觉更痛心
又是泰伦斯·马力克的风格，充满诗意的静默的荒野志怪故事。是女巫，是女人，是男人，是小孩，这个世界如此走一遭也不付光阴了。
这个女巫牛呀，男女老少的人生都体验了一遍。
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