Has anyone seen this movie?
-
X-Evolutionist — 15 years ago(August 22, 2010 07:13 AM)
I just finished watching it. I had never heard of it before. The beginning of the "mystery" story reminded me of Citizen Kane.
X
Reasons Why I Believe in God:
http://X-Evolutionist.com/ -
neighturboy — 15 years ago(January 19, 2011 05:27 PM)
Nothing to contribute to this already interesting discussion, but wanted to let you all know the film is finally being released on DVD by Warners on April 12th, 2011. It and "The Sea of Grass" (also new to DVD) will also be part of the 10-disc box set, "Tracy and Hepburn - The Definitive Collection" containing all the Tracy/Hepburn films. In addition to their nine films it'll also contain the documentary "The Spencer Tracy Legacy". This will be a joint effort from Warners, Sony and Fox, similar to the combined effort to release "The Elia Kazan Collection" last year.
-
whitetigerzone — 13 years ago(April 18, 2012 09:57 AM)
This film was a thought experiment reflecting on unspoken assumptions and questions in the nation's reaction to what was happening in Germany at the time: What if America had a Hitler? Could it happen here? How might it happen? Could someone who is a sufficiently charismatic speaker spellbind this nation with patriotic idealism and then lead it down an ugly murderous path? The story structure the film takes, with a reporter covering the figure's untimely death, which occurs at what would have been a pivotal moment in his ascent, is a device that allows a widening circle of truth to be revealed about this figure throughout the course of the film; the reporter is meant to be the audience's surrogate within the film, leading us through a transition of feelings of first admiration, then discomfort and ultimately horror for the absent figure.
The movie cheats a little bit on the experiment: the ugly side of the Hitler character in the movie is revealed as a secret plot to be implemented after his rise to power. The real Hitler was quite upfront and open about his race hatred and warlike intentions from the beginning and rose to power anyway. Was this discrepancy written in because the makers of the film thought this a genuine distinction in American vs. German culture: that a completely parallel series of events could not actually happen here? Or because they feared the American audience would reject such a portrayal of themselves? Or was it to give the story the elements of mystery and suspense? -
butaneggbert — 9 years ago(April 06, 2016 09:22 PM)
Agreed. Plus the pacing was off - plodding at some points, which was a barrier to my getting swept up in it.
And the smashes of thunder when the mom's house comes into view, and again at some perfectly-timed line in the long scene with the mom, were just plain comic. Young Frankenstein was more subtle.
Hepburn was a fabulous character in her own right, but her strongest acting came many, many years after this. In this movie she was particularly weak.
Tracy of course barely ever failed, and in this he was as reliable as ever.
But not really a good move - nah.
Nothing to see here, move along.
-
Toshi51 — 9 years ago(August 01, 2016 09:29 PM)
I have seen it a few times over the decades. An interesting film in the context of the early years of WWII and the current political situation.
One of Hepburn's best films. She was at the height of beauty and skill.
Tracy did his usual sturdy work. His hat annoyed me no end- the deflection of the brim was way too stylish