I Remember Mama
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.93 You Save: $9.00 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $10.41 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of I Remember Mama
Movie Review: Dunne and Stevens Soar in a Vintage Remembrance of the Early 20th-Century Immigrant Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
There are two key reasons to watch this sentimental yet emotionally involving 1948 immigrant family saga today. The first is George Stevens' assured direction, his first post-WWII film and a palpable sign of his wartime experiences that portends his deepening sense of character in dramas like A Place in the Sun and Shane after his years of breezy comedies and musicals. The second is star Irene Dunne, who caps her impressively versatile screen career with a performance of unforced warmth and uncommon depth. With no make-up and sporting a convincing Norwegian accent, she provides the film's heart and emotional anchor as Mama.
The framing device for the story is the recently completed manuscript by Katrin Hanson which she reads out loud while reminiscing about her Norwegian family in San Francisco circa 1910. A family of six living on hilly Larkin Street, the Hansons maintain their core family unit despite a lot of hardships and eccentric relatives. While father Lars toils as a carpenter to support his family, Katrin's memories inevitably revolve around her stoic mother Martha, who consistently shows the courage of her convictions. When spinsterish Aunt Trina decides to marry a milquetoast pharmacist, it is Martha who must get consensus from her intolerant sisters Jenny and Sigrid as well as Uncle Chris, a black-sheep blowhard who acts as the family patriarch. When Katrin's baby sister Dagmar goes to the hospital overnight, it is Martha who disguises herself as a charwoman to be able to stay with her. And when Katrin becomes discouraged enough to give up her writing aspirations, it is again Martha who finagles her way to meeting a famous author and convincing her to read one of Katrin's short stories.
Beyond Dunne's exemplary work, there is a sturdy supporting cast to consider - Oscar Homolka bringing the requisite bluster to Uncle Chris, Ellen Corby in her only first-rate screen role as timid Aunt Trina, and at 25, Barbara Bel Geddes conveying convincing adolescent innocence as Katrin. DeWitt Bodeen's screenplay captures the episodic nature of the real Katrin Forbes' remembrance and one can assume of John Van Druten's Broadway play. It should be noted that without Stevens and Dunne, the film would surely feel far more interminable at its 134-minute running length. The 2004 DVD is sparse on extras offering only a three-minute introduction from George Stevens Jr. and the original theatrical trailer.
Movie Review: A Heartwarming Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a story about a loving family, except for the uncle and aunts. Mama and Papa are 2 very special people, but Mama is the heart of the family. They don't have very much money so many times they have to make a count of what money there is before they spend it. Uncle Chris teaches the young boy how to say a swear word, only to hear that Mama doesn't favor it. Uncle Chris is the head of the family, so to speak, as what he says goes. The 2 aunts are mostly full of talk, but that doesn't count with the rest of the family. One day Mama and the younger daughter take a walk on one of the streets in San Francisco and they stop in a store so that her daughter can buy a pencil box. Mama has to do without what she wants in order to make her daughter happy. Soon the family has to make a decision on a major need that they have. The younger daughter takes the pencil box back to the store and Mama gives her broche to a seller. It was a keepsake of the family. The older daughter wanted to take a trip to a place that she was anxious to go to and that is why the family went without things that they had so that she could make the trip. The younger daughter is disappointed and asks why she couldn't go instead of her older sister. Mama stops her fussing. Near the end of the movie Uncle Chris is in bed as he thinks that he is about to die. He has all of the family come around him and now and then Uncle Chris asks for "a drink", an alcoholic beverage. Mama doesn't agree that he should have it, but now and then he asks for a drink. Mama gives in and gives him a drink and she also takes a drink to please him. Uncle Chris keeps talking for some time, but then he dies. The movie is about the everyday life of a poor family who comes from another country to live in the United States. There are many times that Mama goes without what she wants so as to make her family happy. Irene Dunne is Mama and she plays her role excellently. Papa is another that does his role just as good as his wife. The younger daughter starts the movie with part of the story of their family and now and then she adds more to it as the film goes on. This is a must see movie. They don't make movies like this any more. When you see it for the first time you will want to see it again and again.Movie Review: The Movie is Better than the Play
Summary: 5 Stars
A few years ago, a competent local acting group put on the play "I Remember Mama". I went to the play, was impressed with the quality of our local actors and actresses, and wondered why anyone would have wanted to see such a dumb collection of trivial incidents. I remembered that Irene Dunne was a nominee for Best Actress for her role as Mama but the play left me wondering if Martha Raye (or Phyllis Diller in a later production) might not have been the better choice. The events were so commonplace, I assumed that they were supposed to be funny (and the humor wasn't working well). Fortunately, after taping it 6 months ago, I finally decided to check the movie. There had to be SOME reason it was considered such a good movie.
I found the answer to my question when I realized that the power in "I Remember Mama" was in the outstanding performances. There were actually 4 persons nominated for Oscars for their roles in "I Remember Mama". I think the only other nomination was for Cinematography or something like that. Giving credit also to Director George Stevens for bringing all this together, I was impressed by how such day to day things could be elevated to such powerful images. Just about all families deal with the loss of a pet, the hospitalization of a child, a zany and/or eccentric relative that comes to visit, budgeting the household funds to make do and have the occassional surprize, sacrificing something of value to give something of greater value, etc, etc, etc. Being able to sense the humanity in all of the characters was quite an accomplishment for the whole production. I found myself misty-eyed over the same mundane sketches that made me look at my watch during the play. The discrepancy was not a comment on our local thespians. Rather, it was a testament to a director's vision of how to use everyday family life as a means to look at family life itself. The close-up look at each individual character in the midst of group settings made "I Remember Mama" a film that I will remember as well.
Movie Review: One of the greatest of all family films.
Summary: 5 Stars
George Stevens' "I Remember Mama" is a two-hour vacation in a sweeter, gentler world--in this case, San Francisco circa 1910. The wonderful Irene Dunne has one of her best roles as Marta Hansen, matriarch of a large, loving Norwegian-American family. The family's various adventures introduce us to literary daughter Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes); shy, fluttery Aunt Trina (Ellen Corby); blustery, hard-drinking Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka); and a whole gallery of prickly but lovable eccentrics. After a steady diet this fall of superbly made but bleak crime dramas, I was delighted to turn to "I Remember Mama," which concerns no more and no less than a family whose members love each other, and whose lives have meaning and purpose. Stevens and screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen (working from John Van Druten's play) provide abundant warmth, charm, and poignancy while using a blessedly light hand with the saccharine. Modern viewers inevitably will be reminded of "The Waltons," both because of the aspiring writer in the family and the presence of Ellen Corby. "I Remember Mama," however, avoids the ickiness that enveloped "The Waltons" in its later seasons as the writers ran out of both ideas and original cast members. (Trivia question: name the famous film, also set in San Francisco, made ten years after "I Remember Mama" and featuring both Barbara Bel Geddes and Ellen Corby.) Nearly six decades after its first release, "I Remember Mama" remains both a perfect film about a family and a perfect film for the family.Movie Review: Gentle and evocative
Summary: 5 Stars
"I Remember Mama" presents a gentle and compassionate portrait of a family of Norwegian immigrants who settle in San Francisco in the early 1900's. The movie is narrated by the family's eldest daughter, now an adult, who has written a memoir about her childhood and her colorful family. Her family includes Mama, Papa, siblings, and some overbearing but well-intentioned aunts and uncle.
Nothing sensational or terribly exciting happens in the lives of these ordinary, working class immigrants. Yet, there is extraordinary poignance in the way in which the family deals with everyday crises such as the fate of an injured pet cat or the dilemma of a mother who is not allowed to see her child in the hospital.
Acclaimed director George Stevens reconstructs such events with an honesty and delicacy that resonates long after the movie ends. And Stevens elicits superb performances from his cast led by Irene Dunne as the title character "Mama". Dunne's performance is beautifully restrained as the humble, selfless matriach who possesses an indomitable spirit and generous heart. The rest of the talented ensemble includes familiar and beloved actors such as Oscar Homolka, Barbara Bel Geddes aka Miss Ellie on the television series "Dallas", and Ellen Corby of "The Waltons" fame.
"I Remember Mama" is the kind of movie that will evoke childhood memories and remind you to appreciate where you came from and how far you've arrived.