The Long, Hot Summer (1958), All The King’s Men (1949) & Titanic (1997) Reviews

Okay, I have 20 movie reviews to post for all the movies I watched in July. I’ll try! Let’s start with these three, including some sexy Paul Newman…

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

Directed by Martin Ritt

Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The movie is based in part on three works by William Faulkner: the 1931 novella “Spotted Horses”, the 1939 short story “Barn Burning” and the 1940 novel The Hamlet. The title is taken from The Hamlet, as Book Three is called “The Long Summer”. Some characters, as well as tone, were inspired by Tennessee Williams’ 1955 play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a film adaptation of which – also starring Newman – was released five months later.

My Opinion:

*FYI – I wrote this review before looking up the above Wikipedia synopsis. Guess I was right on the Cat On A Hot Tin Roof comparison! What an idiot. I should’ve read about it first.*

Did I watch this just because young Paul Newman was on the cover? Yep! I didn’t know anything about this one – I’d say it’s similar to Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Both have a sexy & troubled Newman, horny attractive people, and a fat & grumpy old patriarch. Not as good as Cat but definitely worth a watch to see fantastic actors at work & the chemistry between Newman & Joanne Woodward.

*HELLO!*

Man, I did this quick review on Letterboxd without even mentioning that Angela Lansbury is in this too. Love her! Miss her. Murder, She Wrote rules! Loved seeing her in this as well.

My Rating: 7.5/10

All The King’s Men (1949)

Directed by Robert Rossen

Based on All the King’s Men 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren

Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, Joanne Dru, John Derek, Shepperd Strudwick

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South.[2] Though a fictional character, Stark strongly resembles Louisiana governor Huey Long.

My Opinion:

Watched this while on services as I’m working on a Best Picture Project. It’s a good film. I’ve not seen the other nominees from that year & am sure it was deserving of the Oscar but it’s not as strong as many of the other Best Picture winners. It dragged in the middle & the acting didn’t stand out for me despite acting wins. Did like the supporting actress who reminded me a lot of Judy Garland, though. And I appreciate the timeless story of political corruption. Worth a watch but not ranked very high in my list of Best Picture Winners (all ranked here).

Never saw the 2006 adaptation but would be curious to see how it compares.

My Rating: 7/10

Titanic (1997)

Directed & Written by James Cameron

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Bill Paxton

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Incorporating both historical and fictionalized aspects, it is based on accounts of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912.

My Opinion:

This movie sure does divide people. I’m a fan. Not an “OMG I’ve watched this 100 times!” fan, but I’ve always really liked this & am happy my daughter finally watched it with me. Winslet & DiCaprio are lovely together, I still love her wardrobe, and the instrumental score is great until Celine Dion starts singing over it. The scenes with “old Rose” haven’t aged well, though. Cheesy.

My Rating: 8/10