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Rating:  -
The Bottom Line:
The Magnificent Ambersons is known more for what it represented in Orson Welles's film career than as a film itself, but if you get a chance you should check out this well-made slice of family drama that admittedly gets murky towards the end (where the studio's fingerprints are all over it) but is a fine companion piece to Citizen Kane even if it's not the complete version.
3.5/4
Rating:  -
It is too bad that RKO cut this work of genius Orson Welles. We are perhaps able to imagine what could have been viewed if allowed to be released in its original form. The second unkindest cut of all is that it is not available in U.S. format at this writing, on DVD. There are possibly two generations of Americans who have not seen it. Those lucky foreigners who DO have the movie. It is a great and bittersweet story of a family at the turn of the century, their relationship dramas and the trauma of going from a pioneer society to an industrialized one--one that we are similarly going through now because of the techno-revolution. Products become outdated as soon as they are manufactured, fortunes are lost, new fortunes are gained, the "haves" trade places with the "have-nots" and back again several times over. The acting is superb with a special thank you to Agnes Moorehead, a real pro. The thing that gets you in this movie, is the camera work.
Rating: -
It's an era of inventions and opportunities. Sometimes those who fear change in technology also fear change in any form. A story of one stubborn and unflinching wealthy family and what happens when they cross paths with an idealistic father and daughter. There's romance and curiosity that draws them together and suspicion, jealousy and selfishness that keeps them apart. It is photographed with stunning results. Welles' tragedy is as spellbinding as a Shakespeare play. The camera shots and sets are incredible!
Rating: -
This 1942 classic was written, produced and directed by Orson Welles (who is also the narrator) and based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington.
The movie chronicles the life of Isabel Amberson/Minafer (Dolores Costello) - a matriarch of an Indianapolis family dynasty - and her pompous son, George Minafer (Tim Holt), who destroys what has taken several generations to create due to his jealousies and greed.
With the backdrop of old money and the new ways to seize a slice of the American Dream, it is a timeless story of a perilous journey on eroding trails in life during the heavy rains and cold crosswinds that are bringing permanent change.
The original rough cut by Welles clocked in at an epic length of 2-hours, 28-minutes, but he ultimately lost control of the final editing to the studio, RKO. About one hour was deleted and a different ending was shot. There are no surviving prints of the rough cut.
In 1991, the movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It was included in Sight and Sound's 1972 and 1982 lists of the top 10 films ever made.
This film deserves to be released in a special set that brings to the forefront its importance in cinematography.
Rating: -
It is simply unbelievable that this film is not available in a deluxe remastered dvd edition. The fact that it's not available at all in a region 1 version, even a poorly executed edition, tells us much about those who run the media conglomerates that control the rights to film masterpieces like the Magnificent Ambersons.
The executives at such corporations must be coarse, unsophisticated, lawyeresque troglodytes, the type who eat $100 ala carte steaks while quaffing a central valley merlot in trendy restuarants... and if they even know of Agnes Moorehead, it's as Samantha's mother from Bewitched. There is no sense of culture, no concept of history, no love of cinema, much less any understanding of art and its importance to culture and life.
And yet, they are, quite simply, among the most powerful driving forces in modern American culture. They'll put American Pie on DVD, but not the Magnificent Ambersons. That is very, very depressing.
And what, I wonder, would Booth Tarkington have to say about this situation...
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