A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man
by Joseph Strick
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bosco Hogan, John Gielgud, Maureen Potter, Rosaleen Linehan, T.P. McKennaDirector: Joseph Strick
Cinematographer: Stuart Hetherington
Producer: Joseph Strick
Editor: Lesley Walker
Producer: Betty Botley
Producer: Richard Hallinan
Writer: James Joyce
Writer: Judith Rascoe
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-09-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man
Movie Review: An interesting but flawed attempt
Summary: 3 Stars
I watched this film literally an hour after finishing the book (for the second time).
It ought to be called "Highlights from Portrait of the Artist," because it doesn't attempt to reproduce the full dramatic arc or philosophical argument of the book. Instead, it plays like something from Reader's Digest, offering samples of important scenes, superbly photographed on location in Ireland and very well acted indeed.
Bosco Hogan is perfect as Stephen at University, although he struck me as a bit too old to play the 16-year-old Stephen at Belvedere. T.P. McKenna is outstanding as Simon Dedalus, his father. John Gielgud chews up the scenery deliciously as The Preacher in the famous hellfire sermon, and Desmond Cave does a fine, understated job in the difficult role of Cranly, Stephen's friend.
The selected scenes are presented with the original dialog from the book faithfully preserved. (The Christmas dinner is spot-on perfect.) However, a number of critical scenes are "tossed off" in a rapid, offhand manner which minimizes their importance in the plot. This is especially true of the crucial moment when Stephen sees the girl on the beach and realizes his artistic calling. None of Stephen's inner struggle is apparent, and neither is the magnitude of his visionary breakthrough. He simply glimpses the girl, rips up his vocational prayer card and walks away. It's all over in ten seconds.
The DVD presentation is a bit disappointing. A rather worn print was used for the transfer, and an optical flaw somewhere in the image-processing chain has left a number of "hot spots" or flares on the image that persist throughout the entire movie. Aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (full frame), although some composition problems suggest that the image has been cropped from a wider aspect, probably 1.6:1 European widescreen. The sound is good monaural. (Trivia: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST was reportedly recorded in true binaural stereo, and was intended to be presented in theaters with stereo headphones for every member of the audience. Announcements were made in the trade press, but the idea never materialized.)
No ninety minute film could ever hope to capture the essence of Joyce's book. Three hours at this level of polish just might do it justice.
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