Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club - Page 43

Lew Crippen · 12-02-2003, 09:36 AM

I missed that The Grapes of Wrath was in the S&S list, so it turns out that I have another one to check off.

Overall a strange subject for a John Ford film, as he is not normally a director who would seem sympathetic to the plight of the downtrodden poor (or more especially) the union movement. If this is indeed a subject with which one would not associate Ford, he serves it well and truly—and Tom Joad is certainty a role made for Henry Fonda.

george kaplan · 12-02-2003, 01:01 PM

Well it's not really any stranger than Charlton Heston appearing in films like Soylent Green or Planet of the Apes.

Adam_S · 12-02-2003, 03:04 PM

From what I've read of Ford he liked raising a big stink by pretending to be an old conservative codger but he actually was somewhat liberal. I believe I remember a caustic quote from him saying that he voted for FDR all four times, in reference to someone bringing up how lemming-like certain groups in Hollywood were in supporting FDR on his later terms.

If you also want to see his pro-union thoughts, check out How Green was my Valley, which shows the devastating effects labor struggle could have on a community. I love the shots where Hew goes to visit Angharad in the cullery owner's house. Ford shoots him low, using perspective to show the ridiculous opulance and grandeur of the house. Especially compared to the slightly different low angles Ford uses in their small home that emphasizes how small it is, but is also lit and composed in aesthetically warm ways. Ford also didn't think to highly of arch conservatives especially the hypocrites we see in the church, note the way he tracks behind Bronwyn in her wedding possession, the way he briefly picks up each of the women pawing at the gown's train. Or of course the vicious and uncompassionate church elders contrasted with the kind and thoughtful reverend--this are some scathing inditements against some very well heeled institutions in this film. And Ford invokes the sensation of nostalgia in a very creative way, he opens the film using the narrative and asthetic conventions of silent cinema... oh wait that doesn't really have anything to do with his politics, I just got sidetracked. :p

Or need I even mention the Man who Shot Liberty Valance?

Ford liked to tell stories, especially about himself, and he delighted in convincing people he was as stodgy and curmudgeonly as they had heard. Yeah Grapes of Wrath is a more of an extreme position than you see in any of his other films, but the source material is pretty rough as it is, and I have troubles imagining anyone not being made furious at what the dust bowl migrants were put through.

Adam

MartinTeller · 12-03-2003, 01:15 AM

I'm a sucker for escape flicks, and A Man Escaped has all the elements that are now classic: the sudden discovery of a way out, the slow formulation of the plan, the intricate communication network among the prisoners, the painstaking attention to detail and bottomless patience, the setbacks, the sudden change in plan, etc. All very well done and gripping from start to finish. Looking forward to more Bresson

Lew Crippen · 12-03-2003, 09:33 AM

I don't believe a man can consider himself fully content until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer.

The Remains of the Day is a sad tale of opportunity lost—not once but twice by James Stevens, the perfect butler. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant in his portrayal of the man who sacrifices his own happiness to serve first the Lord of the manor and then the new American owner. Emma Thompson is equally fine as Miss Keaton, the housekeeper and the object of his desire.

There is some social commentary and criticism in the script, but for the most part this Ivory/Merchant film focuses on the love story. As usual they capture the period very well. Perhaps not a film for all tastes, but one that everyone should see.

SteveGon · 12-03-2003, 09:53 AM

Re: The Remains of the Day. I liked it as well, though I didn't find it quite as affecting as the novel. I'm hoping we'll see an adaptation of my favorite Ishiguro book, The Unconsoled.

Re: The Grapes of Wrath. Once again, to those who liked this, I'll recommend Jean Renoir's similarly-themed The Southerner, an unjustly ignored film around here.

Lew Crippen · 12-03-2003, 10:54 AM

Steve I’ve not read the novel. Can you comment a bit? I suspect that it is a bit sharper than the film, but that may be because of my belief that the Ivory/Merchant team romanticize everything a bit.

Dome Vongvises · 12-03-2003, 12:53 PM

Was there ever a big stink over the adaptation of Grapes of Wrath? Last I checked, the ending in the book was bleak as hell.

Lew Crippen · 12-03-2003, 01:58 PM

Well your Kentucky H.S. and UK education have not been in vain. The last couple of chapters are extremely bleak (but then so is most of the novel). The film’s ending is much more optimistic than the novel. The mother’s final speech about enduring occurs, but far earlier in the book—so we are not left with that idea in the novel.

The novel’s ending was considered far too obscene (though it is not) to be portrayed (or even alluded to in the movie). One could make a case that that they will endure (in the novel), even in the midst of the most outrageous hardship (in the novel, even the elements turn against them—which I have always taken to mean that God too may have abandoned them). But still, the last couple of chapters are all downbeat.

Contrast to the film where we get the speech from the mother as the Joads (minus Tom) are in optimistic search for work—though we don’t necessarily believe that they will find it.

The film was released before my time, but since I was politically aware, most commentators feel that the movie ending did not do justice to Steinbeck’s intent. Though the rest of the film is reasonably close.

As far as the general public was concerned most were happy to not have the ending depicted.

SteveGon · 12-03-2003, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Steve I’ve not read the novel [The Remains of the Day]. Can you comment a bit? I suspect that it is a bit sharper than the film, but that may be because of my belief that the Ivory/Merchant team romanticize everything a bit.

Well, I'm not a literary critic but I'll try. The novel of The Remains of the Day is indeed more nuanced than the movie, but in a very proper sort of way. The main character of Stevens is so set in his ways, so bound by notions of how he should act according to his station in life, that he is willing to stifle his passions and forgo a chance at real happiness. Kazuo Ishiguro's staid prose conveys this with a subtle poignancy that admittedly would have been difficult to translate to the screen.

To add more:

It's one of the few books that I've actually cried while reading. :b That Stevens can remain aloof and professional while he's breaking the heart of the woman he loves (not to mention his own pain) strikes me as being quite tragic. I know from experience that only a fool passes up those kinds of chances.

Brook K · 12-03-2003, 06:49 PM

Netflix screwed me. It isn't enough that we're in the midst of the annual December-January mail slowdown but as I open what I think is