The Bad and the Beautiful

Minnelli's Hollywood exposé doesn't live up to his dazzling musicals, but it's not bad. The film isn't nearly as scathing as it could be, but the script is pretty well-written and it's pretty entertaining. Largely because of Kirk Douglas' charismatic performance, and the rest of the cast is good too. Some excellent cinematography seals the deal, making it a fine picture, although one that falls short of greatness.

Douglas is great as an ambitious producer who is sleazy and yet endearing (though his heart of gold seems out of place in several scenes). I found the film entertaining but kind of formulaic; it has some of the charm but none of the bite of the best films about Hollywood, notably Sunset Blvd and All About Eve.

One of my favorite Hollywood on Hollywood satires, featuring a great cast. Just thinking about it, I feel like rewatching it.

Not much wrong here, strong performances and a lot of entertaining storytelling. That said, it all feels a bit empty, just a some glitz, glamour and drama to pass the time. That's not a bad thing but it doesn't excel at it quite enough to make me think great things about it.

Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, and I do too. This one clearly made with the Academy in mind. Excellent cast, excellent performances, with such stars as Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan and Gloria Grahame. The emotional impact a little lacking once you understand it's really a 3-in-1 story vehicle in disguise. But you get an ambitious film with a bunch of flawed people while basically showing you how the Hollywood's system works.

Wow! That bottle really hit Douglas hard in the head.

Ostensibly, an "insider view" of how Hollywood works -- there's always someone there to use you and then spit you out. The three stories were individually interesting, but I wish there was a little more connection between them. Perhaps it's a little better if you can guess who each of the characters are modeled after.

What if Citizen Kane but it was about David O. Selznick instead of William R. Hearst? Solid character study and satire.

Pretty cornball stuff. Like someone thought of the core irony of "asshole producer launches stars" but didn't bother to write actual characters around it.

87.50

This film is fine. It's a well-made melodrama with a ridiculously implausible ending that really colours the whole thing for me since I could see it coming from about 15 minutes in ... and it's preposterous. Douglas is in top form. Turner is really great ... better than any other performance I have seen from her.

Minnelli's flowing camera draws the attention and keeps the film in near constant motion--though never without keeping a clear eye on the action. All the players are strong here, except for Douglas, who I just cannot seem to buy into. In this case, his character requires a level of ambiguity that he doesn't seem equipped to provide--instead we get a sunny guy who goes from Jekyll to Hyde in an instant.

what a bunch of ungrateful jerks.

A little too soapy. I'm sure that car scene wasn't meant to be amusing.

This is how Hollywood thought it looked from the outside. It was probably never as exciting, creative, yet shallow and pointless as the actions of these characters put together just to glorify the mighty producer. The movie looks amazing overall and I loved the level of details and panache each scene was filled with. I'm not sure what was satire and what was intentional boasting across the scenes, but I'm pretty sure Kirk is the man, wow, damn, etc. etc.

A director (Barry Sullivan), an actress (Lana Turner), and a writer (Dick Powell) reflect on how ambitious, manipulative producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) advanced their careers while breaking their hearts. Often fascinating look at the ugly side of Hollywood, with strong performances and some superior filmmaking (the driving-in-the-rain scene is startling even today)...but we seem meant to view Shields as more evil than he really is, and the final beat doesn't quite come off in practice.

"Bad and the Beautiful explicity makes of filmmaking an artistic, passionaite, soul-crushing labor." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/09/episode-29-vincente-minnelli-melodramas.html

I'm not a fan of Hollywood navel-gazing, but when it's done by Minnelli (and maybe Sturges a decade earlier), it's forgivable.

Three different flashbacks from people that have been impacted by working with Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas). He is a movie producer that will do anything to make his movies. The film has it moments but mostly they are overly dramatic. It's still worth watching.

Kirk Douglas is delightful, and the film's message of Hollywood Uber Alles is perversely engaging. But I think you have to love old Hollywood more than yourself for this to really strike a chord with you.

Kirk + an array of dazzling broads. Niiiice. And all that soap is such a lovely industry self-irony. Niiiiice.

One of the best films I have seen on the making of movies in Hollywood. Great in every way from its writing, direction, craft design and performances.

It is true to Hollywood in having its cake and eating it. For yes, it says, there's a lot that goes here that is "bad," but don't forget that these people are "beautiful," or if that doesn't quite fit, then what they do is beautiful. Whereas Sunset Blvd. could see damage in film, the attitude of The Bad and the Beautiful is, if you've had a good time, forgive and forget. Minnelli directed everything with flourish and inside jokes. If anything, the supporting cast is more fun than the leads.

An interesting plot, but the execution wasn't great. The flashbacks were quite slow and too melodramatic. It felt more like a soap opera, whereas I think the plot would've worked better as a serious drama. There was just nowhere near enough intensity or life in it, which it really needed. Some nice cinematography and it's not totally awful, but can't really rise above being a somewhat entertaining soap opera.

A wry satire on the inner machinations of a Hollywood studio. Greed, backstabbing, betrayal, ruthless ambition... apparently all of these things are qualities needed for success in the movie industry. Great performance from Kirk Douglas and some very impressive direction from Minnelli. It's a great looking film. A nicely ambiguous ending, too. Will they or won't they?

watched: 2012, 2020

Great, classic movie with an narcissistic, by-any-means-necessary performance from Kirk Douglas.

there were one or two segments where i felt like i was watching a really good movie, but the problem is that everything else slipped from my mind the second it happened.

I thought it was a decent film. I liked how it portrayed the 'golden age' of Hollywood. It had a great screenplay and some good performances, particularly from Kirk Douglas.

Nothing really wrong with this one it's just not as gripping or interesting as you'd hope and leaves you wanting more constantly. There's not a satisfying climax or a really memorable scene that puts it over the top. It's good but it's lacking in certain departments. Kirk Douglas really makes it work though, another good performance from him.

#596

A nice companion piece to Sunset Blvd and All About Eve. Kirk Douglas is excellent; the rest of the cast is pretty damn good.

Extremely stylish Hollywood drama expertly directed by Minnelli. Good good performances, particularly from Kirk Douglas and Gloria Grahame.

Maybe a bit too over-dramatic at times, but I have a soft spot for these 'look into Hollywood' films from the time period. Presenting the story in three separate pieces that sometimes overlap works wonders. Douglas is perfect as a charismatic and selfish wise-ass, and some of the shots were pulled off really well.

580

The writing - it does not work here.

714

# 938

Hollywoodites fascinated by themselves, as usual. A few clever moments but not enough for a feature

Great film.