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Blind Major 
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TITLE |
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) |
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DISABILITY |
Blind
Disfigurement |
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DIRECTOR |
William
Dieterle
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So far the
definitive version. Maybe Gerard Depardieu will play the part one
day, though he's mite too large. Laughton plays Quasimodo
with such a misshapen body and face that his film has
provoked some outcry from those concerned with disability
issues. Yet this is a film which examines these |
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issues as
well as race. In fact it is a didactic film from the |
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very start
challenging the attitude to the outcast gypsies and |
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revealing
the quality of ugliness to be a side-show. |
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Quasimodo is
elected the King of Fools in a ceremony in |
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which the
hierarchical order was reversed. This is a film full |
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of surprises
and ideal as a subject for discussion. |
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In the novel
(by Victor Hugo) Quasimodo is blind in one eye. I |
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don't think
this is clear in the film version. |
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Notes
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