...an important cautionary tale for all of us not take everything we see and hear at face value.
So far, so good; but if the movie has a serious fault, it one that plagues many other films: It goes on much too long. The story makes its point in the first hour, and we can see long before that where it's all heading and how it's going to wind up. Lonesome's meteoric rise will end in a meteoric fall. But that doesn't stop the filmmakers from letting things get wrapped up in gooey romantic problems and sticky political ambitions, finally concluding in an exaggerated and overwrought climax. The movie is 126 minutes long; it could easily have been trimmed by half an hour.
Griffith is a ball of fire, but the role was such a downer that neither he nor the film attracted much attention. The actor would go on the next year to establish the sweet public image we all know and love in the movie version of "No Time for Sergeants" and cement his reputation with "The Andy Griffith Show" shortly after.
In the supporting cast, Patricia Neal is fine as the long-suffering manager/girlfriend, but she's rather overshadowed by Griffith's overpowering performance. Anthony Franciosa does a good turn as Joey, a slick, shifty office gofer who takes advantage of Lonesome's popularity to become his unscrupulous agent. Walter Matthau plays his usual self as a cynical and crafty television writer named Mel Miller, a fictional variant, no doubt, of the movie's own screenwriter, Budd Schulberg. And Lee Remick made her screen debut as a young, baton-twirling fan, Betty Lou Fleckum, who catches Lonesome's eye.
"I'm not just an entertainer," says Lonesome, "I'm an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force!" Until he's exposed, he becomes what Matthau's character calls a "demagogue in denim" and a bigheaded hypocrite besides.
"A Face in the Crowd" makes a plea for audiences not to fall for appearances over substance, not to allow the media to create instant cult heroes with almost unlimited power. But will we ever get wise to these charlatans? Isn't it human nature always to fall for the handsomest, the most beautiful, or the smoothest talking, especially when their media handlers allow it no other way? After all, haven't we seen movie actors become Governors and Presidents, regardless of their actual experience or qualifications? And didn't megastars like Oprah and Martha and Jay and David spring up virtually overnight as national celebrities via the media?
Well, the film is fun, at least in its first half, and it's still an important cautionary tale for all of us not take everything we see and hear at face value. "A Face in the Crowd" is mostly entertaining and often thought-provoking, which is more than most films can boast.
Video:
The movie's video qualities are pretty good, all the way around. The picture is in black-and-white, as were many of the movies in the fifties as Hollywood began the long, slow switch to color that wouldn't be complete until the late sixties. The screen ratio was originally 1.85:1, a widescreen scope that was much more quickly adopted by the industry than color was. The DVD's anamorphic transfer maintains most of that scope, easily filling a 16x9 widescreen television's viewing area. The B&W contrasts are excellent, as is the clarity of the image and the general absence of age marks or grain. There are a few vertical lines that impose themselves momentarily on the screen, but they are hardly noticeable, and definition is good but not outstanding.
Audio:
The sound is reproduced via Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural, which may not seem too impressive compared to modern multichannel audio, but it's among the better mono soundtracks around. The dynamic range and impact match any but the most superspectacular film today, and the midrange naturalness is hard to fault. Deepest bass and highest treble are limited, of course, but that would be expected even of a contemporary film that relied almost exclusively on dialogue.
Extras:
There are really only two bonus items of importance on the disc--a new, twenty-nine minute documentary and a widescreen theatrical trailer. The documentary, titled "Facing the Past," concentrates on a couple of areas: director's Kazan's testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and the movie's depiction of the image machine that television created. Among those interviewed are Jeff Young, author of "Kazan: The Master Director Discusses His Films"; Professor Leo Brandy, author of "On the Waterfront--BFI Film Classics"; Budd Schulberg, the film's screenwriter; and actors Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa. It's a worthy probing of the director and his film. The extras conclude with thirty-two scene selections, but no chapter insert; English as the only spoken language; and English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
Parting Thoughts:
In its time, "A Face in the Crowd" bombed, and Andy Griffith never went near so gritty or edgy a starring role again, content to maintain his reputation as everybody's favorite, down-home father figure. But looking at the movie again, I'd have to say it's only grown better over the years. In 1957 it was prescient; today it's a textbook chapter on how the television medium has shaped our lives. It is, no doubt, one of Hollywood's most overlooked, underestimated, and underappreciated films.
"A Face in the Crowd" is available separately or in a Warner Bros. seven-disc box set titled "Controversial Classics" that also includes "Bad Day at Black Rock," "Fury," "Advise & Consent," "Blackboard Jungle," "The Americanization of Emily," and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang."
Griffith is a ball of fire, but the role was such a downer that neither he nor the film attracted much attention. The actor would go on the next year to establish the sweet public image we all know and love in the movie version of "No Time for Sergeants" and cement his reputation with "The Andy Griffith Show" shortly after.
In the supporting cast, Patricia Neal is fine as the long-suffering manager/girlfriend, but she's rather overshadowed by Griffith's overpowering performance. Anthony Franciosa does a good turn as Joey, a slick, shifty office gofer who takes advantage of Lonesome's popularity to become his unscrupulous agent. Walter Matthau plays his usual self as a cynical and crafty television writer named Mel Miller, a fictional variant, no doubt, of the movie's own screenwriter, Budd Schulberg. And Lee Remick made her screen debut as a young, baton-twirling fan, Betty Lou Fleckum, who catches Lonesome's eye.
"I'm not just an entertainer," says Lonesome, "I'm an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force!" Until he's exposed, he becomes what Matthau's character calls a "demagogue in denim" and a bigheaded hypocrite besides.
"A Face in the Crowd" makes a plea for audiences not to fall for appearances over substance, not to allow the media to create instant cult heroes with almost unlimited power. But will we ever get wise to these charlatans? Isn't it human nature always to fall for the handsomest, the most beautiful, or the smoothest talking, especially when their media handlers allow it no other way? After all, haven't we seen movie actors become Governors and Presidents, regardless of their actual experience or qualifications? And didn't megastars like Oprah and Martha and Jay and David spring up virtually overnight as national celebrities via the media?
Well, the film is fun, at least in its first half, and it's still an important cautionary tale for all of us not take everything we see and hear at face value. "A Face in the Crowd" is mostly entertaining and often thought-provoking, which is more than most films can boast.
Video:
The movie's video qualities are pretty good, all the way around. The picture is in black-and-white, as were many of the movies in the fifties as Hollywood began the long, slow switch to color that wouldn't be complete until the late sixties. The screen ratio was originally 1.85:1, a widescreen scope that was much more quickly adopted by the industry than color was. The DVD's anamorphic transfer maintains most of that scope, easily filling a 16x9 widescreen television's viewing area. The B&W contrasts are excellent, as is the clarity of the image and the general absence of age marks or grain. There are a few vertical lines that impose themselves momentarily on the screen, but they are hardly noticeable, and definition is good but not outstanding.
Audio:
The sound is reproduced via Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural, which may not seem too impressive compared to modern multichannel audio, but it's among the better mono soundtracks around. The dynamic range and impact match any but the most superspectacular film today, and the midrange naturalness is hard to fault. Deepest bass and highest treble are limited, of course, but that would be expected even of a contemporary film that relied almost exclusively on dialogue.
Extras:
There are really only two bonus items of importance on the disc--a new, twenty-nine minute documentary and a widescreen theatrical trailer. The documentary, titled "Facing the Past," concentrates on a couple of areas: director's Kazan's testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and the movie's depiction of the image machine that television created. Among those interviewed are Jeff Young, author of "Kazan: The Master Director Discusses His Films"; Professor Leo Brandy, author of "On the Waterfront--BFI Film Classics"; Budd Schulberg, the film's screenwriter; and actors Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa. It's a worthy probing of the director and his film. The extras conclude with thirty-two scene selections, but no chapter insert; English as the only spoken language; and English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
Parting Thoughts:
In its time, "A Face in the Crowd" bombed, and Andy Griffith never went near so gritty or edgy a starring role again, content to maintain his reputation as everybody's favorite, down-home father figure. But looking at the movie again, I'd have to say it's only grown better over the years. In 1957 it was prescient; today it's a textbook chapter on how the television medium has shaped our lives. It is, no doubt, one of Hollywood's most overlooked, underestimated, and underappreciated films.
"A Face in the Crowd" is available separately or in a Warner Bros. seven-disc box set titled "Controversial Classics" that also includes "Bad Day at Black Rock," "Fury," "Advise & Consent," "Blackboard Jungle," "The Americanization of Emily," and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang."
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[release]15775[/release]