Watch The Statue

The movie The Statue from 1971 is a quirky comedy starring David Niven as a successful British sculptor named Alex Bolt. Bolt is commissioned to create a larger than life statue of his hometown hero Admiral Lord Nelson. The only catch is that the statue has to be unveiled in Trafalgar Square in London within a year's time. Bolt is determined to create a masterpiece that will make him famous, but he underestimates the time and effort that will be required to complete the statue.

Bolt's beautiful Italian wife, played by Virna Lisi, is less than thrilled with the prospect of living in England for an entire year while Bolt works on the statue. She's a vibrant, passionate woman who loves the sun and the beach, and she quickly becomes bored and restless in England. To make matters worse, Bolt's American agent, played by Robert Vaughn, arrives on the scene and starts flirting shamelessly with Bolt's wife.

As Bolt becomes more and more obsessed with the statue, his marriage starts to unravel. His wife grows increasingly frustrated and angry, and eventually she decides to leave him. Meanwhile, Bolt is struggling to make progress on the statue, which was supposed to be completed months ago. He hires a team of assistants to help him meet the deadline, but they're all incompetent and he ends up doing most of the work himself.

The tension between Bolt and his wife comes to a head when he decides to use her as a model for the statue's face. She's offended that he would ask her to pose naked for him, and she storms out in a huff. Bolt is left alone with the partially completed statue and a looming deadline. He fears that he'll never be able to finish it in time.

The Statue is a charming and offbeat comedy that defies easy categorization. It's part satire on the world of art and artists, part romantic comedy, and part slapstick. David Niven gives a nuanced performance as the eccentric artist who is more concerned with his work than his marriage. Virna Lisi is a force of nature as his fiery Italian wife, and Robert Vaughn is suitably oily as the unscrupulous agent.

The movie is also a fascinating time capsule of the early 1970s. The fashions, the music, and the attitudes of the characters are all very much of their era. At the same time, the themes of the movie are timeless: the tension between work and family, the struggle to find balance in a hectic life, and the desire to leave a lasting legacy.

Despite its age, The Statue holds up surprisingly well. The humor is still sharp and the performances are still engaging. It's a movie that is sure to delight anyone who is a fan of British comedy or 1970s cinema.