Wyler, who himself served in the Second World War, was too canny a
director to make an outright anti-war film though the message of the
picture is clear. He was also too good a director to fudge it. It may
move at a quiet, almost stately pace while remaining one of his most
overtly cinematic pictures. A huge hit in its day, it seems now to have
all but disappeared.
The films reviewed here represent those I have liked or loved over the years. It is not a list of my favourite films but all the films reviewed here are worth seeing and worth seeking out. I know many of you won't agree with me on a lot of these but hopefully you will grant me, and the films that appear here, our place in the sun. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, 4 August 2018
FRIENDLY PERSUASION
This piece of authentic homespun Americana is still one of a handful
of truly great films made by its director William Wyler. It won the
Palme d'Or at Cannes, something almost unheard of for an American film
at the time. It's simplicity itself; a tale of Quakers during the
American Civil War and very similiar in style and tone to Andrew McLaglen's "Shenandoah". Gary Cooper, (never better), is the peace-loving farmer, Dorothy McGuire, (equally good), is his wife and Anthony Perkins, (brilliant in only his second film and picking up an Oscar nomination), is the son who goes off to fight.
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