From the Terrace
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Movie Reviews of From the Terrace
Movie Review: Newman and Woodward Are Top Drawer!
Summary: 4 Stars
A classic film adaptation from one of John O'Hara's massive tomes, Mark Robeson's "From the Terrace" hold it's age well and is lots of fun to boot.
Producer Director Mark Robson presents to us in the glossy grandeur of 20th Century-Fox the postwar portrait of a young man on the rise who sacrifices love for money, to a point that is.
Paul Newman turns in an expertly colored performance as Alfred Newman. His brooding good looks and hard angles are the perfect reflection of young corporate America of the late 40's and 50's. Yet under that cool hard as coal exterior he hides a desire that only emerges toward the end of the film, yet it is there from the first frame of the film fueling his performance.
Joanne Woodward as Mary St.John is no less brilliant. Her icy cool old money Mary is just the perfect fortress to entice Newman. She plays the part as if she were born to it and in the end she is left hard, jaded and desperate. She proves once again why she is still one of our best film actresses from the fifties who is still working today.
Studio costume designer Travilla should be noted for his wonderful costumes. He was most famous for his designs in the 50's for Marilyn Monroe. Here he presents a stunningly elegant collection of the best looks of the late 50's and early 60's. His designs are rich and restrained and a feast for the eye.
The score by the late great Elmer Bernstein is another masterpiece by this musical genius who's work spanned the from "The Ten Commandments" to "Vanilla Sky". It is a perfect score. Of particular note is the scene between Mary and her old lover at the ice-skating shed and the scene where Alfred rescues a drowning boy. These cues are magnificent and moving.
"From The Terrace" is both trashy fun and a thought provoking view of money, power and sexual politics of mid century America.
Movie Review: Despite your best efforts, you often become your parents
Summary: 4 Stars
I didn't see what other reviewers apparently saw in this film. I did not see the moral of the film so much concerning the price of success as it being that despite your best efforts, you are often doomed to become your parents. At the beginning of the film, Alfred returns home after the second World War to renounce his father because he has, in Alfred's opinion, ignored his mother while strictly attending to business to the point where his mother has become an adulterous lush. Ten or fifteen years later, Alfred has ignored his own wife while climbing the corporate ladder until his own lonely wife has become an adulterous lush. The only crime of his father's he does not commit is to produce offspring that can be dragged into the mess his life has become. One person with a more warped moral code than either Alfred or Mary seems to be Alfred's boss. While eating lunch he casually informs Alfred of Mary's affair with an old flame. When Alfred reacts by saying that he intends to divorce Mary, his boss warns him against such an action. To Alfred's boss, Mary's behavior isn't a moral failing or a cry for attention - it is an unforgivable breach of etiquette. Overall, the main characters in this film lack redeeming characteristics to the point where the movie almost becomes a film noir soap opera. There are still solid performances by both Newman and Woodward, and it is still worth seeing 47 years after it was made. After all, the idle rich and the mistakes they keep making over and over have not changed that much after nearly half a century.Movie Review: From The Terrace
Summary: 4 Stars
For rail buffs this movie has some fascinating railroad scenes. The opening scene says Philadelphia 1946 . The scene was actually filmed at the Central RR of NJ Jersey City Terminal. There are views of Reading RR steam engine 2124 arriving at Jersey City. This large T-1 steam engine was used on the Reading RR Iron Horse rambles steam fan trips around the time of the filming. The engine was too large to fit through the trainshed at Reading's Philadelphia terminal but it could fit into Jersey City Terminal so this section of the movie was filmed there. The late rail photographer Don Wood was at Jersey City Terminal during the filming and gave me some nice photos of Myrna Loy and Joanne Woodward posed on front of Reading Steam engine 2124 and the two actresses meeting with Reading RR PR people. There are some other train scenes throughout the movie with a different locomotive at different locations. I like the movie it reminded me of the classic movie The Best Years of Our Lives.Movie Review: A classic soap
Summary: 4 Stars
This is John O'Hara's classic novel in an excellent screen version.Mark Robson's film here benefits enormously from a
strong Ernest Lehman script,solid drection,a lush production,
Elmer Bernstein's terrific score,and excellent performances by a fine cast.Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are brilliant in the leads,but it's Ina Balin who steals the film in a beautiful performance as Natalie.But this DVD has two major problems,
and that's why I only gave it four stars.One,the movie itself is much too long at two hours and twenty-four minutes(Robson should have cut twenty-five minutes).Two,for some reason Fox really skimped on the special features.There's only scene selection,a few Newman-Fox trailers,and one brief newsreel.But overall,"From The Terrace" is a typical glossy,big budget 1960s drama that still provides an evening of good entertainment.
Movie Review: Top Love-Drama Soap Opera
Summary: 4 Stars
To bad this movie is not available in Germany. I'm not a Paul Newman fan but I was curious about after I bought many months ago the fantastic soundtrack von Elmer Bernstein on CD (by FSM).
Well, its really a top drama about love, marriage, affairs, with top actors like JoAnne Woodward und Paul Newman.
They was already married together in the real live (from 29 January 1958 - 26 September 2008 "his death")
In glorius decors, beautiful costumes, fantastic photographed in Cinemascope!
Trivia: in a small role you can see Barbara Eden and in a uncredited part as "Messenger" David Macklin who played in the Episode "The Blood line" of "Bonanza" Todd Grayson.
The Picture quality looks great, sharp, clear. Soundtrack in 4-Channel-Stereo. English subtitle available. DVD Code: 1