The Singing Detective is a 2003 film based on the BBC miniseries of the same name, a work by Dennis Potter. It stars Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson.
Suffering from the skin disease psoriasis and a crippling arthritis, detective novelist Dan Dark is in such pain in a hospital that he begins to delve into fantasy, resulting in several story-lines told simultaneously:
Potter's screenplay had been circulating in Hollywood for many years as Potter w...
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The Singing Detective is a 2003 film based on the BBC miniseries of the same name, a work by Dennis Potter. It stars Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson.
Suffering from the skin disease psoriasis and a crippling arthritis, detective novelist Dan Dark is in such pain in a hospital that he begins to delve into fantasy, resulting in several story-lines told simultaneously:
Potter's screenplay had been circulating in Hollywood for many years as Potter was enthusiastic about a film version. Robert Altman was at one time attached to direct with Dustin Hoffman in the lead, but financing proved difficult and the production was shelved. It was eventually discovered by an executive at Mel Gibson's production company, who loved it and got Mr. Gibson on board to produce. The screenplay had also been imagined as a movie directed by horror veteran David Cronenberg and starring Al Pacino as the title character.
The film is mostly faithful to the series, with exceptions such as the setting (the United...
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