One of Burton's Best Performances
Added 7/27/2009
Both Richard Burton and Mary Ure make this move a must see, in my opinion. They give life to the characters and there's a chemistry between them that you don't often find in movies.
It's a story about a troubled marriage, mainly because the husband (Burton) is an angry young man who's haunted by his past and unreasonably resents his wife for what he sees is a lack of empathy and emotion because she had never experienced loss such that he had experienced and also of betrayal because she stays in touch with her mother, who disapproves of him. Suffice to say, as is typical of marriages, he takes his past baggage and anger at the world out on the one closest to him -- his spouse. Without giving away the ending, they both come around to understand each other, though, and she comes around to actually empathize with him.
It's a very good story, but, again, it's the acting, in my view, that makes this movie a classic.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Complexity and cruelty a la Richard Burton
Added 5/18/2009
Had read this dark play which was excellent - full of cutting, witty dialogue and complex characters. These actors brought it to life and did it proud. Flawless acting by all. A must for Richard Burton fans.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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This film is full of problems. The first problem is that Richard Burton is horribly miscast as the lead. He is too old for the part, doesn't have the right speaking voice for the part and comes across as whiny.
The second problem is the play itself. The play wants to be all socialist, proletarian and giving it to the middle classes. But in the end what its about is the middle classes slumming and feeling sorry for themselves. Its difficult to find much sympathy for that. There is nothing likeable about Jimmy. It might have worked if Jimmy was actually working class, didn't have the middle-class connections and was a frustrated person with no way out. But as it is, there is no real value in listening to a big baby wallow in self-pity for two hours.
The other thing thing thats really bad about the piece is the relationship between Jimmy and "wife". Its flat-out abusive. Jimmy tries hard to cut her off from the outside world including her parents. While the play tries to make it a class issue, it comes across far more as Jimmy wanting to dominate and control her in every way. She is to be reduced to a prop that listens to his self-pity monologues.
In the end there is nothing political or rebellious about what Jimmy is. Jimmys have always existed. Subtract the intellecutal pretensions and he is the typical wife-beating self-pitying drunk. The war or losing the empire or any other historical excuse people want to come up with doesn't really change what Jimmy is.
2 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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Look Back in Anger
Added 6/26/2007
Based on John Osborne's excoriating play, Tony Richardson's "Look Back in Anger" burst onto the screen in 1958 with piercing dialogue reflecting the stultifying state of the British lower classes. Richard Burton (in his prime) is electric as Jimmy, imbuing the malcontent with his own dark, scathing intensity. And Richardson evokes the Britain of cold-water flats and endless drizzle with a grim authenticity. Look for veteran stage actress Dame Edith Evans playing Mrs. Tanner, Jimmy's surrogate mother, and the only woman he trusts.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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That's Acting
Added 5/9/2007
There are great performances by many great actors. but Burton's portrayal of Jimmy Porter is in a class by itself----even with a stellar supporting cast Burton is impossible to catch and even the audience needs to hang on to keep up with the pace. One of the most memorable screen performances in the history of cinema.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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One of Burton's Best Performances
Added 7/27/2009
Both Richard Burton and Mary Ure make this move a must see, in my opinion. They give life to the characters and there's a chemistry between them that you don't often find in movies.
It's a story about a troubled marriage, mainly because the husband (Burton) is an angry young man who's haunted by his past and unreasonably resents his wife for what he sees is a lack of empathy and emotion because she had never experienced loss such that he had experienced and also of betrayal because she stays in touch with her mother, who disapproves of him. Suffice to say, as is typical of marriages, he takes his past baggage and anger at the world out on the one closest to him -- his spouse. Without giving away the ending, they both come around to understand each other, though, and she comes around to actually empathize with him.
It's a very good story, but, again, it's the acting, in my view, that makes this movie a classic.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
Complexity and cruelty a la Richard Burton
Added 5/18/2009
Had read this dark play which was excellent - full of cutting, witty dialogue and complex characters. These actors brought it to life and did it proud. Flawless acting by all. A must for Richard Burton fans.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
This film is full of problems. The first problem is that Richard Burton is horribly miscast as the lead. He is too old for the part, doesn't have the right speaking voice for the part and comes across as whiny.
The second problem is the play itself. The play wants to be all socialist, proletarian and giving it to the middle classes. But in the end what its about is the middle classes slumming and feeling sorry for themselves. Its difficult to find much sympathy for that. There is nothing likeable about Jimmy. It might have worked if Jimmy was actually working class, didn't have the middle-class connections and was a frustrated person with no way out. But as it is, there is no real value in listening to a big baby wallow in self-pity for two hours.
The other thing thing thats really bad about the piece is the relationship between Jimmy and "wife". Its flat-out abusive. Jimmy tries hard to cut her off from the outside world including her parents. While the play tries to make it a class issue, it comes across far more as Jimmy wanting to dominate and control her in every way. She is to be reduced to a prop that listens to his self-pity monologues.
In the end there is nothing political or rebellious about what Jimmy is. Jimmys have always existed. Subtract the intellecutal pretensions and he is the typical wife-beating self-pitying drunk. The war or losing the empire or any other historical excuse people want to come up with doesn't really change what Jimmy is.
2 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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