This is a superb piece of filmmaking which has, unfortunately, been all but forgotten. The only weakness is in its star (Stathis Gialellis), but the film is so good that it doesn't matter (and, on second viewing, he's really not all that bad). I have seen this film many, many times on video and once I was privilaged to see it on on the "big Screen" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I highly recommend it. The black and white cinematography by Haskell Wexler is top-notch. This film is a testament to the human spirit.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Wild River
(1960)
Highest rating!
5 September 2000
This is, in my view, one of Kazan's best films. But like another of his many great works, "America, America," it has largely been forgotten. It is now finally surfacing on cable TV, but what a shame that it isn't available on VHS or, better still, on DVD. Of all of Kazan's pictures it is his most lyrical, and it contains one of the finest screen performaces ever - that of Jo Van Fleet as the stubborn Ella Garth. One of my favorite films of all time.
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