A Place in the Sun

I have mixed feelings about this. On a technical level it's great, well paced, beautiful lighting and great performances. The story's interesting too, but the way it makes you feel about Clift's character and his actions is a little worrying.

Stunning and tragic. Doesn't go for sensationalism, and instead you see the human side of all those involved. Montgomery Clift as the outsider looking to get the jackpot of falling in love with the super beauty Elizabeth Taylor, only the fumble it in the most male way ever. This is the best I've seen Shelley Winters, and her awkward doctors appointment was so tactful. And while the story is alluring, it's more the allure of its stars that make A Place in the Sun (1951) so compelling.

Beautiful photography and editing. Jesus, I miss dissolves.

I have no idea what we were supposed to care about in this film, but I didn't care about anything. The characters were all terribly pathetic and terribly acted. I felt like we were supposed to sympathize with George, except for the fact that he is a mega douchebag who forced himself into these situations by not listening to anyone and not being able to keep his genitals in his pants, and who was really a terrible person but not well-written or acted enough to make me care.

Someone want to tell me why I should care? Apart from the boat scene, this is terribly uninteresting.

The ordinary story works extraordinarily well, thanks in no small way to the Clift-Taylor pairing.

All plot points are made with a sledgehammer

An inarticulate man gets involved with two girls from opposite sides of the tracks, and handles the complications in the worst possible way. Some effort has been expended on how it looks, juxtapositions of various kinds, and other technical and aesthetic aspects, but this half-melodrama, half-noir is generally dated and mopey, the dialogue fairly leaden, the protagonist sullen, and the moral ambiguities a little forced. No doubt some of the sexual aspects seemed daring at the time.

A bit overblown. And all those slow fades began to seem rather gimmicky after a while. Good cast...although Raymond Burr plays it like that guy from Rear Window doing a Perry Mason impression.

Clift stares while the women act around him, it feels like (I, of course, am mostly kidding -- Clift is good in this. I have to say this or else the Cliftheads will come for me). I love a good melodrama, but this feels more like it was aiming for actual drama.

Another good one finally was able to see. Big stars in a drama/romance with some twists and turns.

This adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" is, in many ways, everything that the studio system could do right. Clift is perfect cast, a bit small and withdrawn, but gorgeous and charming too. You believe that Taylor could fall for him very quickly. The two of them are somewhat magical together, so even though Winters has a very valid claim on Clift, you end up almost hoping he succeeds in getting rid of her.

So bad I couldn't finish it. I stopped at 1h22m.

Tragedy that results from poor and selfish decision-making is hit or miss. It needs to explore personal responsibility rather than wallow in victimhood. This film does it reasonably well, and adds a look at responsibility in intention vs action at the end. The film is good enough to invoke sympathy for what could have been, if Clift's character weren't an irresponsible sleaze. Good performances around.

Noir-ish take on the American dream. The cast is incredible, and the picture is meticulously framed with some grand but unobtrusive music at dramatic points. In the first half, I thought it might make a good film to show to modern teens in sex ed classes (the ending made me change my mind).

Can you believe that 70 years after this film came out American politicians are still debating abortion? Great directorial work from Stevens, the usage of the camera to convey symbolism, foreshadowing and subtext in incredible, and great acting from all the cast, but I'm not too sure why I didn't love it more than I did. There was a lot of wasted opportunity for social commentary, and ultimately the film feels too sympathetic towards the perpetrators of violence rather than its victims.

What an example of pure cinema. A dark and terribly sad tale told under the guise of a romance. The three leads are electric with each pair of the triangle having a unique chemistry that is wholly entertaining. While he film is handsomely shot, the music stands out as superb. The murder reveal via radio set against the sound of a speed boat, again, is pure cinema.

Not bad.

despite the prestige picture trappings, derided by certain notable critics as safe and stodgy, it's really quite bold how this film forces you to identify with a creepy (clift is the original leland palmer man i swear), unlovable dude's doomed chasing of the american dream at all costs. a subjective perspective arises from the quietly haunting, dreamy filmmaking, and the ability of the two female leads to inspire great longing and disdain respectively.

It's interesting to look back on these old films. At the beginning, I thought it had potential, but it was squandered. It has a message, but I'm not sure I agree with it.

WORST. REMAKE. EVER.

Though a little bit hammy (except for Shelley Winters, whom I can never really find fault in), A Place in the Sun surprised me with its complexity. The protagonist runs a smooth gamut between sympathetic and detestable, and the viewer will feel increasingly challenged and tested in their judgment of him.

I really can't figure out how I feel about this one. It isn't very engrossing but there's a lot to like about it - Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor together, Shelley Winters, some excellent scenes and things like that.

It's cheesy but good, and I'm glad they didn't cop out on the ending.

#524

George Stevens' depiction of what some people will do for class contains some beautiful black and white cinematography and a sweaty, steely performance from Montgomery Clift. This could have been called Man on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown if Stevens wasn't so concerned in making it a controlled melodrama.

A moralist tale for a pessimistic America, it is kind of erotic and also a conservative Hollywood picture, while Winters, Taylor and Clift elevates its ordinary premise to a enormous tragedy, with bitter and obsessed acting.

The direction is clever. But scriptwise it sucks. The dialogue is dull, the key romance is badly motivated and overall the plot is too predictable.

Bad pacing, acting isn't impressive (especially Clift, Taylor gives it life though) and the character of George Eastman is so unbelievably dumb that it is impossible to feel sympathy. Who the hell would flee from the police when you didn't commit the crime? The first hour is particularly awful, it doesn't pick up until the boat scene, which is a bit underwhelming considering how many people rave about it. It's not a total bomb, but it certainly isn't as great as people say it is (92 PSI wtf?).

456

Perhaps not a masterpiece, but certainly a very good film. Cliff is sensitive and driven, Taylor is beautiful and Winters is folorn and pitiable. Definitely worth a look. And a second look.

Stunning, and I'm not just talking about Elizabeth Taylor's beauty.

I suspect the book is better than this adaptation, but the film is still an engaging drama. I kind of liked watching it but I didn't find it that exceptional either. Some nice touches: very good cinematography and mostly good performances, a story that's rather predictable but still worthwhile with a few subtle nuances. In the end though, it's not much better than the average Hollywood drama; the type of thing the Academy loves to throw awards at but as time goes on, people stop caring about it.

Overblown, overlong, and over-praised melodrama from a monumental novel of social guilt; sometimes visually striking, the version alters the stresses of the plot and leaves no time for sociological detail. A film so clearly intended as a masterpiece could hardly fail to be boring.

432

# 389

A little known but beautiful film in so many senses. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor are faultless and give amazing performances. A dark study of love and how chosing the wrong person can lead to devistating consequences. Touching, timeless and engrossing. The final walking shot is one that will stay with you forever.

The scene on the lake is pretty damn tense, but overall I wasn't very impressed. The musical queues are particularly annoying at times.