I just saw The Grapes of Wrath for the first time in about fifteen years. I last saw it in a cinema and the print was not great, the dvd is much better (though it has that harsh break between tones that I see on most dvds and not the continuous gradation that you see on film). The movie, as I'm sure all would agree, is an absolute masterpiece, an almost perfect (ah hell, it is perfect) American classic. Ford is in perfect control of the material, Nunnally Johnson's screenplay is one of the best adaptations there have been, and unusually truthful to the material (if not always 100% accurate). Henry Fonda, an actor I don't love, is pefect as Tom Joad, his sour expression passing for bitter experience, and that nasally, donkey tone put to great effect.
The real reason for this post though is to say that the cinematography was the real revelation in this viewing. Grapes is probably the most beautifully photgraphed film in American Cinema. Greg Toland puts poetry in every frame, even the material shot on sets. It's honest, as true-looking as a documentary, but perfectly composed throughout, a delicate balance of light and shadow that reflects the material of the film itself. All I can say is wow, and I thought his work on Citizen Kane was great. He also shot the criminally underrated and underseen Mad Love, which prefigures much of his work in Kane.
Film is a visual medium, but also an hypnotic one, and we often forget, or fail to notice the work of the cinematographer. James Wong Howe is another great one, whose work on Body and Soul and Sweet Smell of Success is also perfectly suited to the material, though also beautiful in its own right.
Haskell Wexler is another great one. He imbued American Graffitti with a life I don't think it otherwise would have had, and his work on Bound for Glory picks up where Toland's work on Grapes leaves off. He also shot Matewan. All wonderful pieces of work.
Bert Glennon, who shot a couple of films with Josef von Sternberg is also worht mentioning. He gave the films that deep shimmer that we think of when (and if) we think of Sternberg.
That's a lot of blab. Thanks for hanging in. Anything you have to say about Grapes of Wrath or cinematography would be welcome.
:cheers1:
The real reason for this post though is to say that the cinematography was the real revelation in this viewing. Grapes is probably the most beautifully photgraphed film in American Cinema. Greg Toland puts poetry in every frame, even the material shot on sets. It's honest, as true-looking as a documentary, but perfectly composed throughout, a delicate balance of light and shadow that reflects the material of the film itself. All I can say is wow, and I thought his work on Citizen Kane was great. He also shot the criminally underrated and underseen Mad Love, which prefigures much of his work in Kane.
Film is a visual medium, but also an hypnotic one, and we often forget, or fail to notice the work of the cinematographer. James Wong Howe is another great one, whose work on Body and Soul and Sweet Smell of Success is also perfectly suited to the material, though also beautiful in its own right.
Haskell Wexler is another great one. He imbued American Graffitti with a life I don't think it otherwise would have had, and his work on Bound for Glory picks up where Toland's work on Grapes leaves off. He also shot Matewan. All wonderful pieces of work.
Bert Glennon, who shot a couple of films with Josef von Sternberg is also worht mentioning. He gave the films that deep shimmer that we think of when (and if) we think of Sternberg.
That's a lot of blab. Thanks for hanging in. Anything you have to say about Grapes of Wrath or cinematography would be welcome.
:cheers1:
