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Amazon.com Essential Video
Citizen Kane is considered by many to be Orson Welles's masterpiece, but more than a few prominent critics have argued that his second film, 1942's The Magnificent Ambersons, is an even greater artistic achievement. It's certainly the source of the most painful injustice of Welles's brief career in Hollywood, having been seized from the director's control, drastically cut from over two hours to merely 88 minutes, and reshot with a different, upbeat ending that Welles vehemently disapproved of. Adapted by Welles from the novel by Booth Tarkington, it remains a truncated masterpiece, as impressive for what remains as for the even greater film it might have been. The story is set during the late 19th century and follows the rise and fall of the wealthy Amberson family of Indianapolis, Indiana. Central to the drama is George Amberson Minafer (Tim Holt), who is snobbishly to the manor born, and whose petty jealousies and truculent pride compel him to prevent a wealthy inventor (Joseph Cotten) from marrying his widowed mother (Dolores Costello). This in part is the cause of the Ambersons' downfall, and ultimately leads to George's humbling "comeuppance" at the film's dramatic conclusion. It's an absorbing tale of fading traditions and changing times, and it's also a magnificent showcase for Welles's cinematic audacity, famous among film students for its long, fluid shots and ambitious compositions. Responding to the film's drastic cutting and re-editing, Welles justifiably complained that "they destroyed the heart of the film, really." And yet, the director's stamp of genius is evident throughout--the work of a young master (Welles was only 26 when the film was made) that still shines despite its unfortunate fate. --Jeff Shannon
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5.0 out of 5 stars
"The Magnificent Ambersons ... Agnes Moorehead At Her Finest Hour ... Orson Welles (Director) (1996)",
By
This review is from: Magnificent Ambersons (VHS Tape)
RKO Radio Pictures presents "THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS" (1942) - (88 min/B&W) -- Starring: Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt & Agnes Moorehead & Ray CollinsDirected by Orson Welles Believe this is a better film than 'Citizen Kane' in some ways. With one of my favorite character actresses from radio and the cinema, Miss Agnes Moorehead, she's nails every role she appears in, Miss Moorehead is sorely missed in the media and in this household. The young & handsome Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten) wants to marry Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello), daughter of a rich upper-class family, but she instead marries Wilbur Minafer.Years later, Eugene comes back, now a mature widower and a successful automobile maker. After Wilbur dies, Eugene again asks Isabel to marry him, and she is receptive. But Isabel & Wilbur's only child, George (Tim Holt) resents the attentions paid to his mother, and he and aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) set about sabotaging the romance. A Tour de Force from Orson Welles - Academy Award nominations for Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead), Cinematography (B&W) & Art (B&W) * Special footnote: -- RKO chopped 50 minutes of the film and added a happy ending while Orson Welles was out of the country. The footage was subsequently destroyed; the only record of the removed scenes is the cutting continuity transcript ~ Interesting that Tim Holt and Anne Baxter walk past a movie theater advertising a film starring Jack Holt, Tim's father. BIOS: 1. Orson Welles [aka: George Orson Welles] (Director/Narrator) Date of Birth: 6 May 1915 - Kenosha, Wisconsin Date of Death: 10 October 1985 - Hollywood, California 2. Joseph Cotten Date of Birth: 15 May 1905 - Petersburg, Virginia Date of Death: 6 February 1994 - Westwood, California 3. Dolores Costello Date of Birth: 17 September 1903 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Date of Death: 1 March 1979 - Fallbrook, California 4. Anne Baxter Date of Birth: 7 May 1923 - Michigan City, Indiana Date of Death: 12 December 1985 - New York City, New York 5.Tim Holt Date of Birth: 5 February 1919 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California Date of Death: 15 February 1973 - Shawnee, Oklahoma 6. Agnes Moorehead Date of Birth: 6 December 1900 - Clinton, Massachusetts Date of Death: 30 April 1974 - Rochester, Minnesota 7. Ray Collins Date of Birth: 10 December 1889 - Sacramento, California Date of Death: 11 July 1965 - Santa Monica, California Mr. Jim's Ratings: Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars Performance: 5 Stars Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing] Total Time: 88 min on VHS ~ RKO Radio Pictures ~ (August 13, 1996)
5.0 out of 5 stars
the other masterpiece from the great mr. orson welles,
By
This review is from: Magnificent Ambersons (VHS Tape)
i just finish watching this film. despite all the cuts by the studio.just want to say it is a shame that the studio would cut up this master piece of film work . i hope one day they can find a way to put all the pieces back together again.with all the cuts it is still a master piece. a great great great film.i consider citizen kane an art of work. magnificent ambersoms is an art of work also. it deserve to be a top 5 film of all time.wow what a film. an amazing work of art.all the actors was amazing in this film.miss moorehead deserve an oscar for her work. this film should have won the best film of that year. im surprise that this film is not in the top 100 film of all time.how did this film not make it in the top 100 film is a shame.the boy got his up and coming . i hope this film get its up and coming also. mr orson welles is a genius!he gets unknown actors! he knows how to put a plot together!a story together! he knows how to shoot a film! most of all he gets the most out of his unknown actors! and he puts it all together into a film! the film will end up being call a masterpiece.i don't think there is any director out there now. that can be compare to him. he revolution the whole art of filming.i do like the early films of coen brothers. their early films take some orson welles style of film making.but i have not seen today in any directors that they done anything new in revolution in the art of making a film. like orson welles did. mr orson welles knows how to put a whole complete film together from the begining to the end. that why they said his films are masterpiece. and that why they say he is a genius.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Butchered masterpiece,
By kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Magnificent Ambersons (VHS Tape)
After making "Citizen Kane," Orson Welles proceded to this equally ambitious film version of a classic American novel about the decline of a wealthy family, using much of the same good cast he used in "Kane" (though not acting in this one himself.) The result was to have been rather long but visually stunning and virtuoso. Unfortunately, the studio got tired of wrangling with Welles and his high budgets and took the film away from him, cut the film's length, and tacked on a ridiculous happy ending. (You can see the very moment the tack-on ending begins, because the footage suddenly becomes visually dull instead of magnificent as it was with Welles behind the camera.) Thus what we have left is flawed, but all that survives of Welles' original vision - and much of it does - is wonderful. See this film for the camera work alone. It is breathtaking.
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