|
|
Rating:  - The Good Earth - A great film.
Such a rare film of this era that follows the book so closely. A few variations but understandable. Top acting and delightful to watch. A real golden oldie.
Rating: - History comes to life in this powerful film
I saw this film after I read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck so I was cynical. The book was so rich that I couldn't imagine a film that could capture the depth of the written story. Not so. This film is a gem. It documents the life of one family during the revolutionary changes in China during the beginning of the 20th century. It looks at the struggles and triumphs with a personal, sensitive eye while following the general, sweeping changes in China with honesty and detailed objectivity.
It is a great film but before you see it, get the book. Reading this book was like going back in time. It was fascinating, enlightening and grand.
Get them both if you can.
Rating:  - A Flawed Classic But Still A Classic
When I was in my early teens I first read the novel by Pearl S. Buck. At around the same time I discovered the movie on TV and was captivated. Just earlier this year I re-read the book and found it to be better than I had remembered. So I decided to watch the movie once again and see what I thought of that as well.
I think one of the most difficult things to keep in mind when viewing a classic from another era is to remember the limitations of that era. I'm sure 70 years from now the movies we consider "classics" will pale in comparison to what movie viewers consider a great movie. And it seems "The Good Earth" suffers from this as well, unfortunately.
One item that does come through the screen is the cinematography. Even though the film has been shot in black and white and is what is described as "postage stamp" (a square rather than wide screen), to get caught up in the landscape is easy. It is not difficult to imagine the squalor of the farmhouse that Wang Lung lives in and to compare that to the opulance of the fine house where O-lan has been a slave. When the Lung family is forced to move to the big city to survive, the viewer can truly feel the press of human bodies and the squalid living conditions. The filming of the locust attacking the farmer's fields is amazing. (A bit of trivia here: there actually was an attack during filming for the movie, so what is seen on the screen is truly real!)
So, what could possibly detract? Unfortunately, the actors themselves. At least for me. Casting Paul Muni and Luise Ranier into the leading roles just doesn't work for me. However, it did when I first saw this movie, so go figure! Both are capable actors, so it isn't that. But both are so overwhelmingly Western that there is no possible way they can pass for Asian. And Luise Ranier's German/Austrian accent is nowhere near anything that remotely sounds like anything from the Asian continent. Perhaps that is why she says very little in the movie? Even more distracting is the actor playing the role of the grandfather, whose voice is immediately recognizable as the grandfather in "The Grapes Of Wrath," and also as Uncle Henry in the "Wizard of Oz." What is distractingly funny is that all the children of the Lung household look very, very Asian. Now, I do understand that Paul Muni and Luise Ranier were established actors at the time. I do recognize that Irving Thalberg did want to cast all Chinese people into the roles, but there were not enough actors for the roles. And I do realize that, due to the Sino-Japanese War, China had stated refusal to allow filming if Japanese actors were used. (If they could do a world-wide search for Scarlett, why not find Asian actors?) But I feel it really does create a barrier in this movie that is otherwise well thought out and painstakingly presented.
What would be ideal is if this movie could somehow be re-made, sensitively, more in line with the book (the book is more about Wang Lung, whereas the movie centers on O-lan), and include a cast that is representative of Chinese people - or at least Asian.
Still, I do think this movie is a classic and has appeal. This movie also has a number of "firsts:" the first time an actress received back to back Oscars for Best Actress and the first (and only) time Irving Thalberg's name appeared onscreen in any movie (he died before this movie was completed). But this classic does have some flaws.
Rating: - A childhood memory!
I saw this movie many times on TV because this was my Mom's favorite movie. She came from a farming village outside of Canton. This movie was a reflection of her life. Her marriage to my father was arranged. She had to flee from the Japanese during WWII. This was one of the few movies that really depicted life in a Chinese village. A timeless classic and great addition to any DVD collection.
By the way she never complainted that the major actors were white.
Rating:  - famine & locusts & drought, oh my !
this is really 3 movies in one. the first hour is a fascinating study of a relatively poor farm family caught up in turmoil; obviously this story resonated with an american public struggling through the horrors of the great depression. suddenly, the family becomes rich and we get to the unsatisfactory second branch of the movie: little more than a turgid family soap opera, saved only by the presence of the immortal tilly losch as the femme fatale. (purely an aside: if you want to read up on one of the more fascinating figures of the 20th century, go and google tilly losch). and then, we get to the finale, the scene everyone remembers: the invasion of the locusts. this is indeed an exciting sequence, as good a disaster film scene as hollywood ever produced. and when its over, we wind up the loose strings, movie over, tra-la-la. the film is hard to take today in watching the clearly western actors playing most of the chinese roles, but paul muni is his usual fine self and almost makes one forget the rubber bands around his eyes. as for luise rainer, this gained her her second undeserved oscar in a row, and all i can say is she had to have been one hot piece in the bedroom because she sucks as an actress. by the way, i should mention pearl s. buck; but does anybody know who she was these days?
|
|