The Menzies Era

1956:
Comments

1949 to 1972

 

 

Comment on "A Long Days Journey into Night"

WildeGray@aol.com (Clint Cooper) from Los Angeles, CA

One of the treasures of 20th century American drama.
No other play I can think of has a more profound and emotional impact upon its readers. What makes it so effective, I think, is that O'Neill introduces us to four equally intelligent, perceptive, and agonized characters who trade desperate verbal stabs like swordsmen without shields.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment on "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

from Santa Barbara, CA

A Classic, Classy '50s Sci-Fi Excursion Into Paranoia
This '50s film is one of a handful that capture something essential about the era in which it was made. American society was catapulted without much (if any) preparation into an era of atomic weapons capable of unthinkable destruction and an implacable enemy (communism) which had those same weapons and seemed bent on wiping us out. It was something straight out of science fiction, so how better to address it than in a science-fiction story? By virtue of its low budget, the film doesn't go in for many special effects but concentrates, like Hitchcock at his best, on slowly building foreboding and fear of something that can't be real...then little by little we learn that maybe it is...then it is right there in front of us, unbelievable but TRUE! Whether one thinks it is about Red-baiting McCarthyism (which fits) or the creeping Red menace (which also fits), the film works in the best sense because it shows the effects of a deadly but seemingly familiar enemy on identifiable characters and setting (a small, wholesome American town). And, like so many American characters in fact and fiction, Kevin McCarthy's Dr. Miles Bennell, trying to warn us all and having lost everything in the attempt, winds up on a highway shouting, "They're HERE ALREADY! You're next!" to people who just don't want to hear. A remarkable film, and in its intimacy and truth, perhaps as relevant today as when it was made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments on "The Ten Commandments"

from Carver, MN, USA

10 STARS!!!
This movie is awesome; but if somebody asked my why, I wouldn't be able to tell them. It's one of those movies that I can't explain why it's good, but it just is. I love the writing and acting of it. A superior buy. Exceptional plot and a memorable classic!!!
!

 

from San Ramon, CA

One of the GREATEST movies of all times.
The perfect movie for anyone of any age. This movie goes straight to the heart of the soul!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    


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