Stars: Jon Voight Ving Rhames Don Cheadle Bruce McGill Loren Dean
Plot:Extras: Scene Access Audio Commentary Feature Trailers Production Notes
My Thoughts:
In my opinion, Ving Rhames' best performance of his career.... as a drifter looking to stay out of trouble but unable to do so as he is looked upon as a savior to the terrorized black community of Rosewood.
Based on a true story, this movie holds nothing back as it shows us deep racial prejudice in all it's ugliness. An entire town wiped out by men who when they couldn't find a reason to act upon their hateful prejudices simply made one up.
Strong cast made up by Rhames, Jon Voight as the solitary white man of reason who sacrifices much in order to save as many people, mostly women and children, as he can... Esther Rolle (from Good Times!) as the kindly Aunt Sarah, and her idealistic son, played by Don Cheadle. Michael Rooker, who seems to be a mainstay in these types of films, plays the town sheriff who tries to do the right thing but quickly loses control and ultimately joins the murderous lynch mob. Bruce McGill gives a powerful performance as the central bigot who whips the mob up into rabid frenzies time and time again, all the while attempting to groom his young son into sharing his hateful beliefs.
The events portrayed would be shocking in any film. To know this really happened, and likely played out in similar veins many times over in the south during that shameful time of American history is repulsive and saddening.
I'd seen this movie before several years ago. It was no less compelling that the first viewing and I feel it has an important place in film making.
Ving Rhames seems to be another relegated to straight to video flicks now but this movie showed what he is capable of. A must watch.
Plot: A child's lie has life-shattering consequences in this daring adaptation of Lillian Hellman's celebrated play. Starring Academy Award winners Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine and co-starring James Garner, Miriam Hopkins and Fay Bainter, this landmark film is "one of the most finely wrought dramas in the history of the screen" (Motion Picture Herald).
Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are the headmistresses of an exclusive school for girls. When they discipline a malicious little girl, the vindictive child twists an overheard comment into slander and accuses her teachers of questionable behavior. Soon the scandalous gossip engulfs the school's community, with repercussions that are swift, crushing... and tragic.
Extras: Scene Access
My Thoughts:
This movie is now almost 50 years old, and for that, it is quite daring for its time. Although the play, it is based on, predates it even almost a further 30 years. I came to attention of this movie, when I recently watched "If these walls could talk 2", where in one segment the main characters watched this movie at the theater. The scene they had shown in that movie was the following
Glee Season 1.19 Dream On Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer) Director: Joss Whedon Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Molly Shannon (Brenda Castle), John Michael Higgins (Russell), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Paul Vogt (Herb Duncan), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Molly McCook (Sophomore Singer), Wendy Worthington (Woman Auditioning)
Brian, an old rival of Will's, shows up, played by Neill Patrick Harris. I enjoyed this episode. Also in this episode Rachel finds out, that Shelby (the coach of the rival Glee club) is her biological mother. This storyline has been chosen by the producers because fans have been saying that Idina Menzel (Shelby) and Lea Michele (Rachel) look a lot alike. They were not wrong as you can see in one of the music clips below. Menzel has starred in "Wicked" on Broadway. I only knew her from the movie version of "Rent" before this.
Tina-Watch: She has some great scenes with Artie.
Notable music: There was a short rendition of "Piano Man" sung by Brian and Will, which I enjoyed. Another song I enjoyed was "Safety Dance", a dream sequence in which we see Artie out of his wheelchair for the first time. Before this I wasn't aware that the actor playing Artie wasn't paralized in real life:
Another song I really enjoyed in this episode is Brian (Neill Patrick Harris) and Will singing Aerosmith's "Dream On". And I also enjoyed Artie singing "Deam a Little Dream of Me".
My favorite song in this episode is sung by Shelby and Rachel. "I Dreamed a Dream" from LesMis. Sadly I only found a clip for it where the spoken parts are dubbed in Spanish:
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May 12, 2024, 06:29:17 PM
