The revelations here though are Lee Remick and Jo Van Fleet. Lee is utterly spellbinding in every scene as her emotionally stunted widow comes back to life, she and Clift are such a perfect team. There is that marvellously nuanced scene where they return to the house she lived in with her late husband ... Then there is Jo Van Fleet, 45 playing over 80 as the old Ella Garth. There should have been at least nominations for them.
Jo Van Fleet & Lee Remick |
Kazan's drama combines a lyrical romance worthy of D.W. Griffith or John Ford with the natural poetry of Robert Flaherty, as we are almost in that early 20th century Americana period of silent films, in a very convincing 1930s setting as outsider Clift and wistful, vulnerable widow Remick are drawn together and find the resolve to stand up for themselves. It is a great Fox Cinemascope film too from that great era of Fox films, often from literary sources (HEMINGWAY'S ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MAN, THE SUN ALSO RISES, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, NO DOWN PAYMENT, THE WARWARD BUS, THE SOUND AND THE FURY etc - which are great to catch up with now - Dramas label.
Its nice to remember that when we saw Remick at the BFI (NFT)
in 1970, she was watching that scene with us (sitting next to me, as I had two
seats in the front row and my guest could not make it, so she asked to sit in
the spare seat while the clips were on) where she and Clift are so perfect
crossing the river. Her scenes with Clift are so leisurely and well-paced, she is so reflective
here as her character listens all the time, and slowly blossoms back to life. She said several times in interviews that its her favourite role and she enjoyed working with Clift.
Last time I wrote about it, my friend Daryl added: " For years it was unavailable because the Deluxe color had
faded badly (even the negative had turned all pink) and it took years for the
color restoration (done with the financial backing of Martin Scorsese, just
before Kazan 's death). Now it has
retained its lovely color, and the film is finding its place as one of Kazan 's
great works."
Well the Blu-ray edition certainly works, good commentary and booklet too. One of my favourite films just got better.
Last time I wrote about it, my friend Daryl added: "
Well the Blu-ray edition certainly works, good commentary and booklet too. One of my favourite films just got better.
An excellent summation of a great film. Last night I read what David Thomson said about it in his book "Have You Seen ..." Seems we all agree it's one of Kazan's best films.
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