PeruvianSkies
10-27-2007, 10:11 PM
Recently watched SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982), which is a film I have always loved and have seen numerous times, including on 35mm prints a few of those times. It's available on DVD as well, but is in desperate need of a new transfer.
So why is this film so great?
3 simple reasons:
1. Meryl Streep in one of her most amazing performances hands down.
2. Nestor Almendros' masterful cinematography demonstrates why he was the best in the biz.
3. Alan J. Pakula's incredibly well-thought out direction, superb dramatic moments, and really getting every ounce of acting prowess from the three leads..Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Peter MacNicol.
This film truly has it all and is one of the finest examples of a film that works on so many levels, has some insanely deep dramatic moments, brilliant acting, and is just a fine piece of cinema all around.
The story is daring and that's not all, it's rich with characters and puts all the pieces together so masterfully and skillfully that it pulls off a lot in a 2 1/2 hour time frame. The film is tragic beyond belief and has some unforgettable moments throughout. Part of the film deals with the Holocaust and Sophie was a Polish woman caught up in the war and ends up at Auschwitz, where she endures horrifying events. Unlike films like SCHINDLER'S LIST this film doesn't centralize on those events, but really takes place after that and the way that Sophie must deal with life after tragedy. She is involved with Nathan (Kevin Kline), but they share a friendship with Stingo (Peter MacNicol) in one of his finest screen roles. What I love about this film is it's honesty and it's cleverness in showing human emotion, even when it's raw and awkward or imperfect, just like life. The characters make stupid decisions, they make little sense sometimes, and still somehow their frailness is appealing and reassuring at times.
The film is also about the things that should and shouldn't be, the things in life that just can't be no matter how much we yearn for them to be, we must live with things as they are. We all of course have choices to make and sometimes the choices of others impact our lives as well. It's also about characters who just can't seem to deal with their pain, both inward and outward they suffer and unlike most films, the end result is not predictable or sappy.
These days we don't get films with this magnitude of heartfelt emotion and on-screen depth. The screenplays seem to be dry of all human emotion and are just reincarnations of the same old boring, trite, predictable stuff that they have been passing around for years. One can only hope while watching this film that it will inspire people to again make movies that are real, honest, engaging, deep, and worth your time.
http://83.160.196.139/K/Kli/Afb.%20Kli/KLINE,%20Kevin%20-002
So why is this film so great?
3 simple reasons:
1. Meryl Streep in one of her most amazing performances hands down.
2. Nestor Almendros' masterful cinematography demonstrates why he was the best in the biz.
3. Alan J. Pakula's incredibly well-thought out direction, superb dramatic moments, and really getting every ounce of acting prowess from the three leads..Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Peter MacNicol.
This film truly has it all and is one of the finest examples of a film that works on so many levels, has some insanely deep dramatic moments, brilliant acting, and is just a fine piece of cinema all around.
The story is daring and that's not all, it's rich with characters and puts all the pieces together so masterfully and skillfully that it pulls off a lot in a 2 1/2 hour time frame. The film is tragic beyond belief and has some unforgettable moments throughout. Part of the film deals with the Holocaust and Sophie was a Polish woman caught up in the war and ends up at Auschwitz, where she endures horrifying events. Unlike films like SCHINDLER'S LIST this film doesn't centralize on those events, but really takes place after that and the way that Sophie must deal with life after tragedy. She is involved with Nathan (Kevin Kline), but they share a friendship with Stingo (Peter MacNicol) in one of his finest screen roles. What I love about this film is it's honesty and it's cleverness in showing human emotion, even when it's raw and awkward or imperfect, just like life. The characters make stupid decisions, they make little sense sometimes, and still somehow their frailness is appealing and reassuring at times.
The film is also about the things that should and shouldn't be, the things in life that just can't be no matter how much we yearn for them to be, we must live with things as they are. We all of course have choices to make and sometimes the choices of others impact our lives as well. It's also about characters who just can't seem to deal with their pain, both inward and outward they suffer and unlike most films, the end result is not predictable or sappy.
These days we don't get films with this magnitude of heartfelt emotion and on-screen depth. The screenplays seem to be dry of all human emotion and are just reincarnations of the same old boring, trite, predictable stuff that they have been passing around for years. One can only hope while watching this film that it will inspire people to again make movies that are real, honest, engaging, deep, and worth your time.
http://83.160.196.139/K/Kli/Afb.%20Kli/KLINE,%20Kevin%20-002