I have been thinking lately about this strange movie my mother made me watch as a teen. I remember only that some creepy guy kidnapped a pretty artist girl and held her captive "like a butterfly". I don't remember much except that the place seemed sort of cozy. I was always fascinated by movies where women somehow played dress-up or had a great makeover (Grease- The Girl Most Likely to etc...) In this movie I remember he gave her outfits he thought she would like to wear.
I recently decided to investigate more about this film and found that it was made in 1965! The movie starred Samantha Eggar (as Miranda) and Terence Stamp (as Freddy) cast as an art student and the psychopath who kidnaps her. Terence Stamp is downright creepy and obsessive. The love of collecting is one thing that is held sacred. "His ability to patiently lie in wait and to blend into his surroundings due to his simple ordinariness. He takes great pleasure in capturing and then skillfully arranging his butterfly corpses in macabre spiraling patterns. Freddy treats Miranda's capture exactly as he would the capture of one of his butterflies. He sees her as a specimen and works to set a suitable trap after preparing a perfect setting in which display her. While he does not understand Miranda's bohemian lifestyle, he uses his new wealth to artfully mimic her "habitat" by outfitting the basement room with art books, paints and clothes in the right colors"
There are 12- 15,000 species of butterflies out there supposedly. What kind of crazy mystery magic is that? I can't imagine how that many colors and variations in wing patterns can exist. Do these collectors capture them in the prime of life or when they fall tired to the windowsill?
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