 "A BRILLIANT FILM, UNFORTUNATELY POORLY TRANSFERRED ON DVD" | 2009-10-01 |
| - Reviewed By annakarenina7 |
THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT FILMS OF ALL TIME. UNFORTUNATELY THE DVD TRANSFER IS TERRIBLY DONE. LET'S HOPE A GROUP LIKE CRITERION OR UCLA FILM ARCHIVES WILL RELEASE THIS FILM ON DVD IN APPRECIATION OF THE GREATNESS THE FILM DESERVES. A SHAME SUCH FILMS ARE TRANSFERRED IN SUCH A DISMAL MANNER, WHEN THE TRANSFER COULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN A MUCH BETTER PROFESSIONALLY DONE MANNER WITH ADDITIONAL COMMENTARIES AND OTHER INTERVIEWS.
MAYBE A GOOD DVD TRANSFER WILL EVENTUALLY BE RELEASED THAT WILL ALLOW THIS PICTURE TO BE SEEN ON DVD IN A MANNER THE FILM DESERVES.
MY LOW RATING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FILM ITSELF, BUT RATHER THE MANNER IN WHICH THE TRANSFER WAS DONE ON THIS PARTICULAR DVD.
ALL THE ACTORS ARE BRILLIANT IN THEIR PERFORMANCES, WRITTEN BY ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST PLAYWRIGHTS, EUGENE O'NEILL.
THE MOVIE VERSION BY SIDNEY LUMET IS ONE OF HIS MOST BRILLIANT EFFORTS IN FILM DIRECTING, AS ALSO IS THE SCRIPT, SETS, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COSTUMES. SEEING THIS FILM IS TRULY LIKE SEEING THE PLAY LIVE, ONLY ON FILM. IF YOU GET THE CHANCE, TRY AND SEE THIS ON THE BIG SCREEN AT AN ACTUAL THEATER IN GLORIOUS BLACK AND WHITE IN THE SIZE IT WAS MEANT TO BE SEEN AS OPPOSED TO THIS PARTICULAR DVD RENDITION.
LET'S HOPE A NEW GOOD VERSION ON DVD IS EVENTUALLY RELEASED. |
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 "Tremendous!" | 2009-09-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3KUJRUJV0N9L4 |
| What can I say about such a profound piece with superbly brilliant performances from the cast. A truly eternal work of art. Robards and Hepburn are just magnificent! An immensely penetrating piece expressing a day in the life of a family unsure of how to deal with the circumstances thrown at them and their reactions to having to confront their realities individually and as a family. This is a must see forever, because great art transcends time and expresses eternal truths as this work surely does. Watch it! |
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| "A very worthwhile journey into brilliance..." | 2009-04-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANCOMAI0I7LVG |
Maybe it's time I start reevaluating my opinion of Katherine Hepburn. I have long stood by the opinion that she was merely good at what she does and nothing particularly special. I've always boasted a preference for her sister, Audrey, and have laid claim to the feeling that Katherine was one of the most overrated actresses in cinematic history. Lately though, I've been watching a lot of her films either for the first time or again and I've found that the bulk of her work is very impressive. Whether she's carrying a meandering film (`The African Queen'), stealing the limelight away from preferable talent (`Suddenly, Last Summer', where she steals my attention from Elizabeth Taylor, an actress I am much more fond of) or simply being brilliant in a brilliant film (`The Lion in Winter'), she is actually more than just `good' at what she does; she's very, very good.
Yes, I still hold to the fact she has won far too many Oscars, and for sub par work at that (`On Golden Pond' and especially `Look Who's Coming to Dinner' are very mediocre performances at best), but I can no longer say that I don't care for her as an actress.
Her talent is too big to ignore.
So, that brings me to `Long Day's Journey into Night', Sidney Lumet's 1962 theatrical adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play. Based on O'Neill's home life, the story tells of a close knit family slowly falling apart due to addictions and sickness. Mary Tyrone and husband James are in a tattered marriage. James is a failed film star who struggles with alcoholism, which he seems to have handed down to his eldest son Jamie. Mary, in order to cope with her youngest son's possible illness, has resorted to prescription medicines that `ease the pain'. In fact, the youngest son Edmund seems to be the only rational one in the bunch. The film takes place over one evening, while Edmund is awaiting test results. Through the course of the evening the family seems to hash out some of their darkest fears and issues. They confront the reasons behind Mary's addiction, as well as Jamie's harbored resentment for his younger brother.
Yes, this is a stage play adaptation, and beings that it is a faithful one it does not contain much more than lengthy conversations; and with a running time of close to three hours it is not a film for the short of attention.
The performances are truly what make this film so unforgettable. Katherine Hepburn is stunning as the matriarch so close to her wits end. Ralph Richardson is also brilliant as her husband James, attributing his character a balanced sense of frustration and contribution. The real highlights, for me at least, come from Dean Stockwell and Jason Robards, who embody the sons with such fiery determination. As Jamie, Robards is brutally abrasive, devouring his every internal demon. A stark contrast is Stockwell, who gives Edmund the appearance of an observer, allowing him to take in his surroundings before deliberating. All four of them are stunning, but in my opinion this film belongs to Stockwell (although Hepburn is a revelation, don't get me wrong).
If you are a fan of the stage, the cast or the subject (I've always been drawn to the internal struggle of family life) then this is a film you must see. I can't really think of a single flaw. Like I mentioned, there is not much action, so if you are not used to this brand of film layout then you might not be pleased entirely. There is a lot of talking; basically one conversation after the other, but the film is never boring for each actor emotes so well in such a small space. I'd highly recommend this one; highly. |
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| "Hepburn the magnificent" | 2009-04-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: A17VJFT14BNM3Q |
| Another depressing O'Neill saga. Thank God for Hepburn with great support from Robards & Stockwell, which transformed this biography into something really watchfull. |
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| "FAMILY CAN HURT YOU MORE THAN ANYBODY." | 2009-03-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: AZCC7X749IGFS |
| IF I could I would give this adaption of Eugene O'neil's play eight stars if I could.The constant bickering back and forth the father's tightness with money that have bad results,to the mother's addction to drugs,older son costant drinking and accusing everybody, younger son's TB. Long Days Journey Into Night is another example of the best plays are based on family, because on one but family can love and wound you. |
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| "Another Hepburn Triumph" | 2008-02-19 |
| - Reviewed By jefarrow |
I never cared much for Katherine Hepburn's acting until she reached middle and began her triumphal progress to a very robust old age. Her acting just got better--in part because she was given more substantial material & roles to play. I saw her on stage once. The play wasn't anything to speak of--and Hepburn had broken her leg & was confined to a wheel chair. But from the moment she rolled herself on stage the actress RADIATED. I was sitting in probably cheapest seat in the very last row of the house--and I didn't feel I was missing anything. KH filled the entire theatre with her stage presence. I know how corny this sounds, but KH had a magnetic aura.
In terms of this particular film, Hepburn is certainly at her most commanding. The signs of Huntington's disease she suffered from (resulting in tremors, particularly of the head) are barely discernable. They actually fit the role in that the symptoms could pass off as part of the addictive process of the character she was portraying. I also think that LONG DAYS JOURNEY was playwright Eugene O'Neil's best work--probably because it hit so close to home. It is basically a 4-character play (5 if you include the Irish maid who represents an outsider momentarily peeking in at the most dysfunctional of dysfunctional families.)
The 4 people--Father, Mother & 2 adult sons--represent 16 possibilities of familial addictive relationship--addiction, co-dependency, enabling, etc. Everyone is addicted to something; with the mother it's shooting morphine, the father is an alcoholic & egotist & the sons are both alcoholics with physical & behavioral problems. The interplay between the family is often painful to watch, but they are snared together--probably because no one else would put up with them.
The Lion in Winter
Suddenly, Last Summer
Katharine Hepburn: Film Collection
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