Film Reviews by KG

Well cast.  Countryside scenes well chosen and authentic.   Representation of the period generally excellent.

When this film appeared in the early Fifties I was at university and it rapidly became a cult in so far as everyone I knew went to see it at the Arts Cinema.   What can be said about it now?  Only that they don't make 'em like that any more.

Tedious and tiresome.  Ambitious, but to what end. Much of it shot in the dark. Little scope for the actors to develop their roles, indeed they ended just as they began.  So much was over the top, as with the incessant display of theatrical wigs, and the poor naked bloke being bombarded with fruit, and the emphasis on vomiting and close ups of other bodily functions.  Sitting through it was boring and stressful but highly unrewarding.

To present The Magic Flute as to an audience of children was a good concept, and it was beautifully performed.   The fantasy of the trial scenes is notoriously hard to depict however, and in this version it did become somewhat incoherent.    Nevertheless, an interesting and worthy endeavour. 

Disconnected from the novel, so It’s a disappointment to anyone hoping that it might actually be a version of the novel rather than the director's commentary on the novel.

Not the original film which was unfinished.   It's a ghastly remake.   Unfunny.  Film and dialogue are mysteriously fast.

A Most Excellent film.   The USA has changed in various ways since then, but clearly not in all !   Jimmy Stewart at his memorable early best.   Jean Arthur also fine ( and no surprise that she was able later to reach her magnificent best in Shane ).   

We did actually find the final 10 minutes to be quite confusing however.

Very very clever.   We kept waiting for them to break into speech.  Consistently moving but surprising.  It would help to know more about the early cinema.   All this plus a remarkable award winning dog.

3 hour version. Despite being diffuse and unpredictable throughout, I felt that at all times the director was able to achieve precisely the effects he was seeking, no matter how elaborate or complex his demands were. We knew we were in the hands of a confident master.

We enjoyed this even more than Penelope Fitzgerald's novel. Riveting playing by Bill Nighy who is never afraid of being still and by Emily Mortimer. Enhanced by the calm, unhurried tempo, free from irrelevant distractions such as intrusive music. And free from the trendy sensationalism so prevalent in current American/English cinema.

Interesting and pleasantly meandering film. Main problem was inaudibility. Many lines were thrown away as passing comments with the actors turned partly away from the audience, except of course for Clive Owen and Kristin Scott-Thomas.

Only the French make films like this. A leisured development, yet utterly watchable throughout. Thoughtful dialogue and no sensational incidents in the plot.