I don't understand the obsession with this musical and the way it's held up as The Greatest American Film Of All Time (but then, I was unimpressed by Singin' in the Rain so maybe I'm just a miserable old so-and-so).
Sure, it has superlative effects and costumes which remain iconic to this day, but the film suffers from a bloated grandiosity. Much like the new Star Wars, you can see every penny on the screen, but someone forgot to pay the writers to come up with a good story and decent tunes. It suffers from an uneven tone because of the many directors that came through the revolving door on the set trying to pull this troubled behemoth together (the movie that is, not Judy Garland).
First off, this was not made by MGM (it's a United Artists film) and Tyrone Power cannot be scene in the battle
sequences. He is only visible in one shot of the trailer. It is interesting to speculate on what the film would
have been like with Power but, the truth is, in existing photos from the first version he looks too old for the part. Yul Brynner was an excellent choice to replace him and does a wonderful job in the role. Gina Lollobrigida is unbelievably beautiful as Sheba and wears some of the most revealing costumes in a film up to that time. This is a large scale and
hugely entertaining motion picture. The UK DVD is by far the best transfer I have ever seen of SOLOMON AND
SHEBA and well worth adding to your collection.
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First off, this was not made by MGM (it's a United Artists film) and Tyrone Power cannot be scene in the battle
sequences. He is only visible in one shot of the trailer. It is interesting to speculate on what the film would
have been like with Power but, the truth is, in existing photos from the first version he looks too old for the part. Yul Brynner was an excellent choice to replace him and does a wonderful job in the role. Gina Lollobrigida is unbelievably beautiful as Sheba and wears some of the most revealing costumes in a film up to that time. This is a large scale and
hugely entertaining motion picture. The UK DVD is by far the best transfer I have ever seen of SOLOMON AND
SHEBA and well worth adding to your collection.
>>More Details
First off, this was not made by MGM (it's a United Artists film) and Tyrone Power cannot be scene in the battle
sequences. He is only visible in one shot of the trailer. It is interesting to speculate on what the film would
have been like with Power but, the truth is, in existing photos from the first version he looks too old for the part. Yul Brynner was an excellent choice to replace him and does a wonderful job in the role. Gina Lollobrigida is unbelievably beautiful as Sheba and wears some of the most revealing costumes in a film up to that time. This is a large scale and
hugely entertaining motion picture. The UK DVD is by far the best transfer I have ever seen of SOLOMON AND
SHEBA and well worth adding to your collection.
>>More Details
Stella Dallas is a sad tale of a woman who wishes to get on in life but her working class background holds her back. However, the love she has for her only daughter is unrelenting until she finally realises the child will be best with the father. This is a heartbreaking moment and any mother will find it hard to hold back the tears.
I love this movie and cry from beginning to end!
Barbara Stanwyck is truly wonderful as the brash, no style, Stella!
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Stella Dallas is a sad tale of a woman who wishes to get on in life but her working class background holds her back. However, the love she has for her only daughter is unrelenting until she finally realises the child will be best with the father. This is a heartbreaking moment and any mother will find it hard to hold back the tears.
I love this movie and cry from beginning to end!
Barbara Stanwyck is truly wonderful as the brash, no style, Stella!
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I guess I am a purist when it comes to the classics. I like the movie script to follow the original work which I am sorry to say this movie does not. From the first scene in the movie, it is almost like they took extracts from all of the book's events and rearranged the entire timeline. Some of the scenes never happened, others did not happen as they were portrayed, there are many lines in the movie which never were uttered by any of Tolstoy's characters and to me the choices of actors for some of the roles were very misguided. Who in their right mind would choose Henry Fonda as Pierre. Pierre was described all through Tolstoy's epic as being fat, slovenly, very large, etc., wide of girth. Though Henry Fonda was a very fine actor, they seemed to have missed their mark. ... Read More:
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I guess I am a purist when it comes to the classics. I like the movie script to follow the original work which I am sorry to say this movie does not. From the first scene in the movie, it is almost like they took extracts from all of the book's events and rearranged the entire timeline. Some of the scenes never happened, others did not happen as they were portrayed, there are many lines in the movie which never were uttered by any of Tolstoy's characters and to me the choices of actors for some of the roles were very misguided. Who in their right mind would choose Henry Fonda as Pierre. Pierre was described all through Tolstoy's epic as being fat, slovenly, very large, etc., wide of girth. Though Henry Fonda was a very fine actor, they seemed to have missed their mark. ... Read More:
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