The Defiant Ones

For being pretty early on in the civil rights movement this movie tries pretty hard not to make any waves. Aside from being very guarded on it's message it still provides some fine entertainment. Poitier and Curtis bring to life some pretty multidimensional characters, the script is great, and Kramer handles the reigns just as well as usual.

I thoroughly enjoy the sly subtext that every person our two convicts meet is more threatening and dangerous than our two escaped cons -- the boy with the gun, included. The ending is brilliant, summarizing the humanism and honor-among-men themes with some glances and a simple song.

Won't blow you away but it passes the time. I didn't find it preachy as I've heard it discussed among others either, if anything they didn't say enough - almost too safe. That said, the ending was shocking, really couldn't predict that coming and it was a welcome change from what usually happens in these types of stories. It just sucks they had to use such a contrived scene to get them there. The acting isn't anything special but doesn't distract you from the film. Not great, not bad, decent.

When films are this good, it's a lot easier to name what's wrong with them than what's right. But watching this film made me wish that filmmakers now possessed the idealism that used to be more common.

Good Movie

This film would have been hell to film. Every other scene has Curtis and Poitier submerged in water or mud. I realize this film is about race relations, but it also feels a little, y'know, homoerotic. That is not a criticism!

Good performances from Curtis, Poitier, and Williams. The action drags a bit at times, but a solid movie overall.

This pre-make of the Stephen Baldwin masterpiece "Fled" is a topical potboiler that nonetheless exudes a maniacal gravitas buoyed along by Sidney Poitier (rhymes with "pointy gay"), the man who once fought bears with Tom Berenger,

Another great "social issue film" from Kramer, who weaves the commentary on racial relations into a great chase film. Two wonderful leads and tight pacing means there's little to complain about here.

The tension is palpable, both characters express their views eloquently and directly. It makes you think without being preachy and exciting while thought provoking. Curtis and Poitier make a incredibly compelling duo in this 1958 classic. Lon Chaney also gives one of his best performances outside of his Wolf Man make up.

Trends towards one note, and essentially takes a theme and applies a similar kind of thinking in each scene that demonstrates how its theme plays out. In this way as a narrative film its almost essayistic, and I mean that as a criticism. Yet its ably directed and acted and perfectly convincing as a movie, and some scenes are good. I also notice that its a pretty bare bones looking production, but, again, convincing enough.

I've tended to devalue Kramer as a director because I have found him to be inelegant at working his pretty obvious messages into his stories, but re-watching this film, I think I've been wrong about it. I'd grant that the black and white man literally chained together metaphor is extremely obvious and nowhere even in the vicinity of subtle, but he does manage to create a pretty suspenseful action film out of it.

Effective socially conscious thriller. The scene with the boy turning to Curtis's character even though Poitier's character is the nice one hits home.

I watched this because James Baldwin mentioned it in The Devil Finds Work but I read it too long ago to remember exactly what he said. It's abundantly clear that Poitier's character speaks to Baldwin's work a great deal, projecting indignation that his rage over injustice should be withheld for the sake of common decency. It's a hell of a story that maintains tension and uncertainty all the way up to its climax. It's incredible this came out in 1958 and delivered such authenticity of spirit.

Good social commentary/allegory, this film got its point across without being as barbed and ugly as many modern movies. The symbolism of men of two different races chained and forced to work together is still very relevant in these days of extreme division and blame-casting. This includes, but also transcends, race relations.

The strengths of the film: Sidney Poitier, Lon Chaney, and the framing of the scenes between Poitier and Curtis. Kramer's tight framing creates a claustrophobic environment that works well given the situation. On the other hand, I thought this did a poor job of evoking the South (accents were especially bad--I'm looking at you, Curtis). And the overt messaging was a bit much.

It has some important and good social commentary, but as a movie it works because it doesn't forget that in its core it's a simple little prisoners escape movie.

Influential, and well acted, but banal.

irkçilik, cezevi aracindan kaçmak, kelepçe, zenci- beyaz, dul kadin, bataklik, fettan dul (Birbirine kelepçeli bir zenci ile beyaz hapishane aracinin yaptigi kazadan sonra kaçarlar. Beyaz güneye zenci kuzeye kaçmak istemektedir fakat ikisi birbirine kelepçelidir ve birbirlerinden hoslanmamaktadir. Uzun uzun didaktik konuşmalar var. Yine de seyir keyfi yüksek. Zenci abi de çok asabi.

Lean, gripping thriller: two convicts (one black, one white) escape and must overcome their mutual dislike and seek safe haven--while chained together. As the cons, Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are excellent; Theodore Bikel (the pursuing sheriff) and Cara Williams (a tragically lonely farm wife) provide strong support, as does Lon Chaney Jr. in a small but vital role. Starkly effective Oscar-winning script and cinematography; one of Stanley Kramer's best and least preachy films as a director.

I did not like the ending but overall it is a quality film. A great performance by Sidney Poitier, he really stands out in this film.

This doesn't feel like the South, not with Bronx-born Curtis as a fugitive cracker, a passel of NYC boys as the posse, Iowan McGraw as the head of the state police, and Austrian-born Bikel as the sheriff. When the preaching stops, when the movie gives us action or develops the plot, it works. But preaching takes up much of the movie. Curtis is okay if you ignore his accent, Poitier is excellent, there is good support from Lon Chaney and Claude Akins, and the downbeat ending is effective.

Pretty good light entertainment movie with a very simple premise, few characters, action, and nice interplay between the leads. It's none too subtle in its message or means, but having Poitier and Curtis sharing the screen for the majority of the movie guarantees a good time. The sheriff's scenes are fun too, which makes up for the fact that the plot feels thrown together a little roughly and haphazardly, and lacks any build-up of tension whatsoever.

Racism is of course a very bad thing but this movie is so heavy-handed you actually feel kind of embarrassed to be watching it. Fortunately Lon Chaney Jr. is great

Good film.