Vincent Rapide Much pain and anguish by reviewers here piqued my interest in the 1996 Diabolique. Did they all expect similar to the original version(?), hard to imagine this. I had not seen the 1955 release for decades and decided this would grant me a better expectation. Thus I jumped in and found Stone, Adjani and Palmentieri in a most intriguing Noir Film with all the plot suspense and ending resolution that one could hope for. Where were all the issues that so vexed the reviewers? Then I realized that I'd seen the Alt Version that is 23 minutes shorter as a result of skillful editing by a third party. I felt sorry for the reviewers having to endure those 23 minutes - good thing I sidestepped that! It may take some doing to find this particular version but you will be nicely rewarded. Full 10 stars for sheer genius.

Moviemanic22 Diabolique is the the third remake of the infamous 1955 classic French film 'Diabolique'. That itself was an adaptation by author Pierre Boileau. The previous 1993 TV movie is better off forgotten, due to it's shallow atmosphere. Comparisons with the original is not something somebody would want to dwell too much on. But the question that does arise is 'Does it remain faithful to the original?. To a large extent yes this movie is much closer to the original source, but there are slight differences. Them being the ending and little detail to a few minor sub plots. The ending in the 1955 film was quiet ambiguous. And it was not certain as to whether the protagonist survived or not. So the makers decided to change it a little and make it seem like a grand finale. I feel viewers and critics were unhappy with this because it defied logic.The film has decent pacing and there is never a dull moment. However I would not deny that there is a lot that could have been changed and improved on. The editing is poor and I wonder if the screen play writer had even revised the scenes after production for errors. I could not recall when Mia had even discovered that her husband was cheating on her. And it was not revealed who had taken those photos. Sharon Stone gets under the skin of the role as usual is very convincing as the femme fatale. Kathy Bates is funny in the serious manner. Unfortunately Isabelle Adjani doesn't manage to seem much interested in her role. Perhaps this could be because she is not used to acting in English. Her anxiety moments do provoke some laughter. The films scores well as a genuine remake. Despite the flaws, it is worth a watch. But there are far worse ones out there. Need I mention 'Psycho'?

JasparLamarCrabb The kind of needless remake (of the Henri-Georges Clouzot French classic) that gives all remakes a bad name. The wife & mistress of a nasty school headmaster plot to kill him. Director Jeremiah S. Chechik assembles a colorful cast then wastes them all. Isabelle Adjani is blank faced throughout & Sharon Stone's performance is embarrassingly bad. Stone, in a role played in the 1955 original by Simone Signoret is a lot like Signoret...if Signoret had zero talent and no charisma. Whatever sex appeal and moxie Stone built up via BASIC INSTINCT & CASINO is stripped away here. She's like a mannequin who smokes a lot of cigarettes. She's not helped by a lame-brained script that has her spout some very silly one-liners. In a role reportedly (and wisely) nixed by Jack Nicholson, Chazz Palminteri plays the headmaster. Kathy Bates is a cop on the case. This film's idea of character development is to reveal that Bates suffered from breast cancer! Spalding Gray & Shirely Knight are in it too. Sole highlight: some very good cinematography by Peter James, who shot several Bruce Beresford films including DRIVING MISS DAISY. Chechik, a talented director who'd previously helmed the under-rated BENNY & JOON and TALL TALES, saw his career evaporate shortly after working on this debacle and then on another dog, a movie version of the classic '60s TV show THE AVENGERS.

ccthemovieman-1 I found it a pretty interesting film all the way through but the ending was so unsatisfying that it just about ruined the entire thing for me. Justice wasn't served here: only radical feminism which says it okay to murder your lousy husband.Here, too, is yet one more example of Christian-bashing. Isabelle Adjani plays a nun who quits because she has no faith anymore. She, Sharon Stone and Chazz Palminteri all run a Catholic boys school and bash Christianity themselves. Other teachers at the school are also shown in a bad light. There is not one positive Christian in the Christian school! Well, that's way too much bias for me. Imagine doing this to another religion or race and getting away with it?This was a re-make of a 1955 French film, which had to be better than this monstrosity. I am glad to see so many reviewers here agree, even if for different reasons.