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Rating:  - A visually moving and emotionally stirring picture of hope and perseverance.
This review is for the 2003 Twentieth Century Fox DVD.
The movie opens with Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returning home from prison due to killing a man who stabbed him in a dance hall fight. When Tom returns to his home community in rural dustbowl Oklahoma, he learns that the banks are running off all the families who have worked on their farms for several generations. Joad's entire extended family plus a friend, Casey (John Carradine), are left with no choice but to journey west to California since it appears to be the land of opportunity. So they pile everyone and everything they own on an old dilapidated truck and head west. The rest of the movie shows the trials and tribulations of this arduous trip as well as the obstacles they face in California.
The cinematography of this film is gripping, not because of visual beauty - far from it - but for the realism of the filthiness and poverty. But even beyond the squalor, the story masterfully reveals in poignant fashion the life and death hardships and day-to-day hope for survival. The acting is great, especially by Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) who won an Oscar for her performance. The movie is a bit heavy-handed with some obvious communist propaganda depicting privately owned farms as tyrannical and fatally oppressive, while government sponsored camps appearing utopian in every aspect. But overlooking the political overtones, the best message to take from the movie is the importance of family and the will for survival.
As for the DVD, the picture was restored, but not perfectly restored, since some deterioration is still visible, but the overall presentation is very adequate for a film made in 1940. The sound is very good too, but at times seems to have a hollow sound to it. There are plenty of bonus features on this double-sided DVD. A nice package overall.
Movie: A
DVD Quality: A-
Rating: - Read the book, then show the movie!
A great movie and great teaching tool on many levels.
Rating:  - Does not do Justice
After reading the book I wanted to see the movie adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. The 1940's version, starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, is a good film in its own right, but does not bring full justice to the novel. A no doubt cautious screenplay was written to appeal to the conservative audience. The movie seemed to jump around a lot, and does not show the spirit in which the novel was written. The outset of the movie sees Tom Joad walking to his parent's house after he is recently released from prison. He quickly runs into Casey, who is a former preacher wondering around the desolate town. The two quickly learn of the troubles the families of Oklahoma have experienced since Tom was sent to prison. The families have been kicked off their farms with no where else to go. Such begins the adventure to California. Comparing the novel to the movie is quite a task. The novel takes hours to finish reading, and by the end you truly feel that you are incorporated into the Joad's hardship. It drains you emotionally, and you feel sorry for the individuals who had to live through these hard times. This is what I mean by the movie not doing justice to the novel. A two-hour flick does not bring this same feeling. It shortens many of the adventures within the novel. Also, you may feel that important events were left out. However, this movie was released in 1940 and I have to take into consideration the time period, because many of the events that happened in the novel were controversial and would not have made it to the big screen without a big fuss. I suggest if you are going to watch the movie, read the book before hand. The novel is an amazing piece of literature, and the movie does not do it justice.
Rating:  - Excellent film - weak commentary
Fans of John Steinbeck's masterpiece are bound to be somewhat disappointed by the structural and textural changes in John Ford's adaptation, especially the complete elimination of the controversial (even by today's standards) ending. In fairness, the late 1930's must be considered, in particular the (1) Communist "menace" in it's infancy, and the often spurious accusations leveled against labor rights organizations and their connections to the "threat" (real or imagined) of communism. (2) The very real threat of the California Farmer's Association - portrayed by Steinbeck as a neo-facist organization. (3) The strict Hays codes for "decency" in film. Given these substantial hurdles, it's amazing this film ever got made.
The Story: GRAPES OF WRATH deals directly with the plight of the migrant farm workers from Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma during the "dust bowl" of the early 1930's when a combination of over planting and record droughts decimated the farmlands of the lower plains states, forcing the Westward migration of entire communities not only in search of a better life, but for their survival. Steinbeck directs his focus on one family in particular, the Joads of Oklahoma, led by elder son Tom, who in time becomes filled with an almost missionary zeal in his determination to relocate the family to greener pastures. By the story's end, this reluctant warrior will achieve almost mythical status as spokesman for a movement. The journey to California is filled with disaster, small triumphs, hunger and thirst,love, death, sickness and prejudice. California, advertised as the land of milk and honey by ruthless businessmen seeking to exploit the cheap labor, turns out to be a hotbed of hatred and violence. The collision course of the migrant workers, FDR's Resettlement Administration funded to assist those workers, and the powerful California Farmer's Association controlled by even more powerful business interests, sets the stage for the drama after the Joads finally reach California and a new struggle begins.
The Film: Gregg Toland's starkly gray cinematography perfectly captures the mood of the novel, and even though many scenes are obviously filmed on a sound stage, the primary drawback seems to be a slight echo, which at times can be a bit distracting. The casting of Henry Fonda as Tom Joad could not have been better and the acting throughout is very good, especially Jane Darwell's portrayal of Ma Joad, the "rock" and moral compass of the family. There are so many brilliant scenes in this film that make up for the exclusion of text, creating a visual editorial that is actually more visceral than dialogue and clearly establishes the farmers interdependence and love of the land, that substance that gives them their identity and manhood. When the men can no longer provide for their families, you can see the change of status on their weary faces and then the women forge ahead almost instinctively to ensure the survival of the family in a changing environment. The only real letdown of the film is the ending, which considerably tempers the unrelenting intensity of the novel, and indeed of the previous two hours of brilliance.
The Commentary: The two "scholars" employed to provide commentary for this DVD edition, spend about a third of the time arguing whether Steinbeck became a conservative during the 1960's - a subject completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Furthermore, the connections they attempt to make between the plight of the dust bowl migrant workers of the 1930's and the Mexican workers so prevalent in today's agro business is absurd. Steinbeck's migrant workers were U.S. citizens that had worked their lands for generations, not illegals crossing the border because their own government continually refuses to provide redress for their plight. Additionally, the American migration of the 1930's often displaced Japanese and Mexican laborers. A more accurate comparison could have been made with the black population around the same time period and indeed all the way up until the 1960's. American citizens who were victims of prejudice within the borders of their own country by fellow citizens. Indeed, the Okie's (a negative epithet of the 1930's) were often called "white Negroes."
Rating: - A powerful movie!
Good adaptation of Steinbeck's superb novel. The Joad family were farmers in Oklahoma (referred to as Okies) during the "Dust Bowl" years when drought caused a lot of farmers to lose everything.
There are promised work in California and pack up their dilapadated truck with their family including the grandmother (I wonder if the idea for The Beverly Hillbillies came from this) and have a grueling trip there. When they arrive they are treated like "slaves," not even paid enough to buy food.
This was probably Fonda's best role as the noble Tom Joad. John Carridine is also excellent in a supporting role.
This film is historical and an important statement on how corruption lead to the formation of unions and workers rights!
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