The three main reasons for wanting to see 'Wild River' were for a story that sounded incredibly powerful on paper, a talented cast (including Montgomery Clift post-accident) and that it was directed by Elia Kazan. Not to mention how positively it has been received by many. The story could have been soapy and over-baked, but the potential for it to have a big emotional punch was massive. Clift, Lee Remick and Jo Van Fleet were great in other things and Kazan was a truly fine and influential director.
One that may have had the odd not so great/good film (i.e. 'Sea of Grass'), like most directors, but his best work (that included 'On the Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire) were masterpieces and even lesser work was better than the lesser work of a lot of directors. As cliched as that sounds. 'Wild River' may not be one of his all-time greatest or his most important. It is though incredibly powerful and near-uniformally fantastic, that it was a commercial failure at the time apparently is hard to fathom. As is that it is not better known, though it is brilliant that many hold it in very high regard.
'Wild River' could have developed its main relationship a little more, as it didn't quite feel fully fleshed out or smoulder enough. Though it is played absolutely beautifully and with intensity and poignancy.
Clift though is wonderful here and gives a contender for his best later years performance, in some of his later performances one can tell how much the accident had more than understandably affected him and how he had not fully recovered but not here. Remick is sympathetic and very touching. The best performance though comes from the richly layered powerhouse that is Van Fleet, that she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar here (when her performance is for me even better than the performance that garnered her a nomination, the excellent 'East of Eden') is one of the biggest mistakes the Academy ever made in my view.
Kazan directs very effectively and one can see what his appeal was and why he was so influential from watching the film, even if other films of his did it even better. His direction of actors and how they interact and how he managed throughout his career to do wonders with getting such great performances from so many actors (including those that didn't always impress elsewhere) are here in 'Wild River'. It is a very beautifully made and shot film, with a lot of atmospheric lighting. The music score is neither too constant or over-bearing, nothing iconic but it fits the film's atmosphere expertly.
In terms of writing, 'Wild River' is very intelligently written without resorting to over-wordy rambling or over-bubbled soap. The story is deliberate but never dull, again it is intelligent story-telling and also very moving. Will admit to crying and getting goosebumps, have not felt that about every recently seen film.
To conclude, absolutely wonderful. 9/10
One that may have had the odd not so great/good film (i.e. 'Sea of Grass'), like most directors, but his best work (that included 'On the Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire) were masterpieces and even lesser work was better than the lesser work of a lot of directors. As cliched as that sounds. 'Wild River' may not be one of his all-time greatest or his most important. It is though incredibly powerful and near-uniformally fantastic, that it was a commercial failure at the time apparently is hard to fathom. As is that it is not better known, though it is brilliant that many hold it in very high regard.
'Wild River' could have developed its main relationship a little more, as it didn't quite feel fully fleshed out or smoulder enough. Though it is played absolutely beautifully and with intensity and poignancy.
Clift though is wonderful here and gives a contender for his best later years performance, in some of his later performances one can tell how much the accident had more than understandably affected him and how he had not fully recovered but not here. Remick is sympathetic and very touching. The best performance though comes from the richly layered powerhouse that is Van Fleet, that she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar here (when her performance is for me even better than the performance that garnered her a nomination, the excellent 'East of Eden') is one of the biggest mistakes the Academy ever made in my view.
Kazan directs very effectively and one can see what his appeal was and why he was so influential from watching the film, even if other films of his did it even better. His direction of actors and how they interact and how he managed throughout his career to do wonders with getting such great performances from so many actors (including those that didn't always impress elsewhere) are here in 'Wild River'. It is a very beautifully made and shot film, with a lot of atmospheric lighting. The music score is neither too constant or over-bearing, nothing iconic but it fits the film's atmosphere expertly.
In terms of writing, 'Wild River' is very intelligently written without resorting to over-wordy rambling or over-bubbled soap. The story is deliberate but never dull, again it is intelligent story-telling and also very moving. Will admit to crying and getting goosebumps, have not felt that about every recently seen film.
To conclude, absolutely wonderful. 9/10