March 31, 2009

The Grapes of Wrath

Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Year: 1940
Director: John Ford
Writer: Nunnally Johnson, based on John Steinbeck's novel
Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
Music: Alfred Newman ("musical director")
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Darwell); Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Fonda), Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound; currently #153 on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a family of Oakies migrate from the dust bowl to California
How I saw it: on video, yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and dialog) c. 3.1/4 (Very good).

Surprisingly engaging.  The only real problem I had with it is that certain characters have a tendency to monologue. They don't even bother pretending that it's part of a conversation; they just make speeches. Otherwise, it's very well done.

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