[The top of the stairs symbolizes adult sexuality.] Looking guilty and disconcerted, Lisa""s mother asks the suitor to depart, and then tells her about some "really good news." To restore order, the village""s Burgomaster (E.E.Clive) declares the Monster dead and encouragingly sends the mob home.Believed to be mortally wounded after being thrown from the burning mill (his fall only partially cushioned by one of the mill blades), Dr.She made him become what he always wanted to be - a lover, a hero, a rich man...and a killer!Laugh, Cry, and Dream...There were varying dates given for the film (1980 and 1981), due to a number of factors:it was filmed in 1979it was shown at the Venice Film Festival in late August-early September 1980it was then released in France, Italy and Germany in 1980its first US showing was April 2, 1981 at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Filmex)its official US premiere was April 3, 1981, with nationwide showings beginning a week laterThe film was praised at the time by the Academy of Motion Pictures with five major nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Malle), Best Actor (Lancaster with his fourth and last career nomination), Best Actress (Sarandon with her first nomination), and Best Original Screenplay (John Guare), but went away empty-handed.It was converted by Color Systems Technology (CST) for 20th Century Fox and aired in 1985, when it became the highest rated non-network movie in syndication.Meanwhile, he representative of the neighboring Sylvania [the name of the country where Jeanette MacDonald ruled in Ernst Lubitsch""sThe Love Parade (1929)], Ambassador and rival suitor Trentino (Louis Calhern), schemes to win Mrs.