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Nebs
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:01 pm Posts: 6385
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Suddenly, Last Summer
Suddenly, Last SummerQuote: Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 American melodrama/mystery film based on the play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Sam Spiegel from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Williams. The music score was by Buxton Orr using themes by Malcolm Arnold and the cinematography by Jack Hildyard. The production was designed by Oliver Messel.
The plot centers on a 1930s psychiatric doctor evaluating a female patient who, by the hand of her wealthy New Orleans aunt, is now a lobotomy candidate after witnessing the mysterious death of her male cousin while traveling in Spain the previous summer.
The film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift with Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, and Gary Raymond.
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Sun Nov 30, 2008 1:01 pm |
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JURiNG
ef star star kay
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:45 pm Posts: 3016 Location: Cairo, Egypt
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Re: Suddenly, Last Summer
Who request this thread??? Give me a review now!!
Oops, I thought it was Suddenly, Last Winter
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Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:35 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Suddenly, Last Summer
B
Well, Suddenly, Last Summer pretty much has the usual Tennessee Williams ingredients: barely hidden homosexuality, controversy, murder, stereotypes and mental illness. Williams' material has been subjected to better adaptations in the past (see: A Streetcar Named Desire), but Suddenly, Last Summer is still a fine film on its own, carried by its cast performances.
Katharine Hepburn steals this film and she shines in every dialogue scene with Montgomery Clift's Dr. Cukrowicz. Sure, the acting may be a bit theatrical and over-the-top, but that certainly fits the source material. Elizabeth Taylor who also has been nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for this film delivers an uneven, but ultimately overly convincing performances as the traumatized Catherine Holly. Montgomery Clift rounds off the cast with yet another solid turn.
To me it felt too much like watching a theatre play at times, though it did make good use of cinematic means especially towards the end of the film. It's all implied, little is shown, but heavy symbolism doesn't leave much to interpretation. I realize that some stuff was quite controversial back then, but it still bothered me a bit that they stuck with heavy implications all the way without actually ever showing or saying much. However I did like the character work here and that the dead son wasn't actually shown as a simple victim, but also as a twisted and shady character who had his fate coming.
The film's problem lies in the screenplay which is seemingly never sure as to whether sell it as a serious drama or rather as a dark comedy...because it does have elements of both. That said, there's not much left to mention about the film. A solid affair, not much more or less.
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Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:23 pm |
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Johnny Dollar
The Lubitsch Touch
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:48 pm Posts: 11019
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Re: Suddenly, Last Summer
I have read every single Tennessee Williams play, and murder is hardly a usual ingredient. You are obviously correct about repressed homosexuality and mental illness, however.
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Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:04 pm |
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