Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.... (Full plot summary below)
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Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.
Leave your thoughts about The Professor and the Madman.
| Movie NationRoger MooreAs “unfilmmable” as a movie about men lost in words, attempting to write a dictionary might seem, there is a better picture in this subject, based on journalist/history buff Simon Winchester’s best selling book. Limiting its scope, beefing up the connection between the “consanguineous” correspondents, their letters and their meetings, giving the two men competing agendas (acceptance by academia vs “redemption”) rather than shoehorning both of them into one and losing the “love story” would have been a start. |
| RogerEbert.comNick AllenIt’s the presence of Gibson and his co-star Sean Penn, who give the project a stuffy sanctimoniousness, as it so transparently yearns to be the definition of “powerhouse acting.” |
| TheWrapWilliam BibbianiWhat a superficial and tedious motion picture, never quite bad enough to be campy, never remotely good enough to justify watching it instead of reading the book’s Wikipedia page. |
| VarietyJay WeissbergFor those that have been anticipating this curious, much-delayed oddity, the good news is that Gibson is fine; it’s everything else that doesn’t work. |
| The Hollywood ReporterElizabeth KerrThe film’s only real draws are Gibson and Penn, who come at the material from opposite ends of the acting philosophy spectrum...It's simply confounding, much like the rest of the movie. |
| User ReviewjstovarThis is an excellent movie. This is one of the best I've seen lately. Strongly disagree with critics. |
| User ReviewbchatmonMoving! Great acting! Memorable Story! Awesome! The story is an unknown history lesson. The lead actors and the supporting cast is simply great. |
| User ReviewAllanbaxterI don't agree with the professional critics giving this film such a low score. I thought Mel Gibson did a fine job as well as Sean Penn. The story keeps moving at a nice clip and is interesting. |
| User ReviewdcdellwoThis movie engulfed me. Its music, lyrical writing and the ensemble cast brought to life a story of a redemptive nature we sorely need today. It answers the question; If love .... Then what? Well worth the time. |
| User ReviewDeanomiteVery nicely photographed, acted, edited and directed. An excellent historically accurate story of the creation of the first dictionary (hard to imagine an interesting story about a dictionary). Sean Penn and Mel Gibson (both good crazy people) both carry a strong role. |
