Lolita (1962)
86%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 4 nominations
Kubrick’s Lolita adapts its seemingly unadaptable source material with a sly comedic touch and a sterling performance by James Mason that transforms the controversial novel into something refreshingly new without sacrificing its essential edge
Lolita is a movie that’s as controversial as it is entertaining. Critics are divided on whether it’s a masterpiece or a misfire, but one thing’s for sure: it’s not for kids. The story of a middle-aged man who falls in love with a teenage girl is disturbing, to say the least, but it’s also strangely compelling. Peter Sellers steals the show as the creepy Clare Quilty, and the film’s black humor is a welcome relief from the darkness of the subject matter. All in all, Lolita is a movie that’s worth watching, but be prepared to feel a little uncomfortable.
Production Company(ies)
Revolution Studios, Red Om Films, Hughes Entertainment,
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Warner Home Vídeo, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
El Paso, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for aberrant sexuality, a strong scene of violence, nudity and some language
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 32m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 1962 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2007
Genre(s)
Keyword(s)
starring James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers, Marianne Stone, Diana Decker, directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Vladimir Nabokov, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Geoff Andrew, Dan Fienberg, Bosley Crowther, Dwight MacDonald, David Nusair, Tim Brayton, Simon Miraudo, David Gurney, Rob Nelson, MPAA rating, forbidden love, European professor, American suburb, obsession, teenage daughter, widow, sly comedic touch, controversial novel, essential edge, adaptation, Lolita, garbled, moving, off-beat communication, passion, sexuality, tension, forbidden attraction, bikini, taboo, infatuation, humiliation, road trip, pursuit, endearing, allusions, imagination, disturbing, pedophilia, characters, slow pace, gripping, disapointing, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, anticipated movies, anticipated TV & streaming, renewed & cancelled TV shows 2022, horror movies of all time, TV premiere dates 2022, worst horror movies, best Netflix series & shows
Worldwide gross: $1,071,255
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,965,904
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,422
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 214,384
US/Canada gross: $1,071,255
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,965,904
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,039
US/Canada opening weekend: $19,492
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $35,771
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,311
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $62,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $113,778,742
Production budget ranking: 333
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $61,269,853
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$173,082,691
ROI to date (est.): -99%
ROI ranking: 2,016
Shelley Winters – Charlotte Haze
Sue Lyon – Lolita
Peter Sellers – Clare Quilty
Marianne Stone – Vivian Darkbloom
Diana Decker – Jean Farlow
Director(s)
Stanley Kubrick
Writer(s)
Vladimir Nabokov
Producer(s)
James B. Harris
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (4)
An occasionally amusing but shapeless film.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Where Nabokov was witty, Kubrick is sometimes merely snide, but fine performances (particularly from Peter Sellers, as the ominous Clare Quilty) cover most of the rough spots.
May 8, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Far more satisfying than his later works (one hesitates to call them mere movies).
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A wonderful evocation of the book’s humorous aspects, but — censors be darned — very little of its passion and sexuality.
November 10, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com
TOP CRITIC
The picture has a rare power, a garbled but often moving push toward an off-beat communication.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Lolita is a disappointment because we have a right to expect more from Kubrick (he may come through with his next, which I am told is to be a satirical treatment of the nuclear “defense” problem).
May 6, 2019
Dwight MacDonald
Esquire Magazine
An epically misbegotten, misguided adaptation…
November 28, 2014 | Rating: 1/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
As a Kubrick film… virtually everything it does well was done better in his filmography.
May 3, 2014 | Rating: 7/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
“How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?” With great difficulty!
July 2, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/5
Simon Miraudo
Quickflix
Classic love story not for kids.
January 1, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
David Gurney
Common Sense Media
While Kubrick may have likened himself to an ad-libbing thief of arts in 1962, his current persona seems the epitome of [Humbert] Humbert.
August 20, 2009
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
March 9, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com…
Plot
In early adolescence, Humbert fell hopelessly and tragically in love with a girl his own age, and, as he grew into adulthood, he never lost his obsession with “nymphets,” teenagers who walk a fine line between being a girl and a woman. While looking for a place to live after securing a new teaching position, he meets Charlotte Haze (Melanie Griffith), a pretentious and annoying woman who seems desperately lonely and is obviously attracted to Humbert. Humbert pays her little mind until he meets her 13-year-old daughter Lolita (Dominique Swain), the image of the girl that Humbert once loved. Humbert moves into the Haze home as a boarder and eventually marries Charlotte in order to be closer to Lolita. When Charlotte finds out about Humbert’s attraction to her daughter, she flees the house in a rage, only to be killed in an auto accident. Without telling Lolita of her mother’s fate, Humbert takes her on a cross-country auto trip, where their relationship begins to move beyond the traditional boundaries of stepfather and step-daughter..
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Peter Sellers delivers a standout performance as the ominous Clare Quilty in Lolita.
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