Ragtime
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Movie Reviews of Ragtime
Movie Review: 4 1/2 Stars for the FULL VERSION of a Forgotten Class Act
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ragtime" is a great, vastly underrated materpiece of the early 1980s, before slasher flicks and Indiana Jones / Star Wars sequels turned American cinema into an arrested-adolescent male fantasyland. This is a complex, audacious reconsideration of 20th century America as seen through the lens of class, race and infamy (just right for the America of the 21st century). Milos Forman's adroit and subtle directing skills were never more in tune with a project than with this one, and he brings a wistful, evocative and ultimately forlorn grace to a long-ago time that still resonates today. Forman's literate style frames each scene with specific intent yet he never loses sight of the evanescence of these moments.
This film is also full of top-notch performances. Howard E. Rollins Jr. received the bulk of the praise at the time of the film's release for his ostentatious role as Coalhouse Walker Jr. and he makes the most of his plum part. He lost the Oscar he so richly deserved to sentimental favorite John Gielgud ("Arthur") but that doesn't diminish his accomplishment. Still, there are so many other performances of equal merit. Scene stealer Elizabeth McGovern lacks the expertise of her costars, yet her comedic turn is delightful through and through. Brad Dourif effectively provides creepy emptiness and Mary Steenburgen (especially) a quiet resolve that instills a firm feminism into this Victorian tale. For once, Mandy Patinkin's over-the-top delivery is shown to good advantage and Kenneth McMillan is thuggish villiany incarnate. There are two other performances deserving special mention. James Cagney (82 years-old) came out of retirement to do this film. He may have been infirm and feeble at the time, but his subtle authority and steely resolve resonate powerfully. He brings a quiet dignity to the role, which makes his final screen moment here shockingly unforgettable. However, the sublime James Olsen as "Father" is the film's true centerpiece. A mask of propriety covering the meandering soul of a lost man, this is the kind of performance that gets lost beside the fireworks, yet it's no less accomplished. The complexity of Olsen's portrayal astounds and confuses the viewer. He offers no easy answers, no solutions, no placations and no cosy denoument. He's confoundingly human, and that's a risky task in popular entertainment.
The film itself boasts some of the most beautiful cinematiography of any American film and the art direction and costume design evoke the period without wallowing in it. A special mention should be made of the musical score and, more specifically, the use of music in this film. Randy Newman's beautifully evocative score is used to annotate and transition scenes and many moments are shown sans any soundtrack but the score itself. A bold choice, but one that works beautifully within the context of Ragtime's misty recollective melancholy. These are flickerings of sepia-tinged moments, barely recalled yet romanticized mightily in memory. Filmmaking doesn't get more multi-leveled than this.
Movie Review: Engrossing
Summary: 5 Stars
I very much liked the E.L. Doctorow novel and this movie over 25 years ago. Seeing the movie again, I enjoyed it just as much. Several reviewers have commented on the McGovern nude scene, as if that was the core of the film, but it isn't. Nor was it deleted from the DVD I received trom Amazon.
There are two connected stories here, somewhat ragged as the music for which this was named. First, there is the story of Evelyn Nesbit and the murder of Stanford White--which actually happened, pretty much as the film shows. Then there is the fictional story of Coalhouse Walker, a black piano player who only wants respect and justice. The connecting link is a young man who becomes enamored of Newbit, then takes up the cause of Walker.
The acting is very good throughout. The atmosphere of the Edwardian Age in New York feels right. There are wonderful side stories, such as the Jewish silhouette artist in the Lower East Side ghetto who becomes a "count" and a silent film director with Nesbit as his star. As an aside, she did make several such films in real life.
This is a movie worth seeing, if for the beautiful Elizabeth McGovern alone and her very natural and au natural acting. She plays the dim bulb Nesbit perfectly, far better than Nesbit was portrayed by Joan Collins in "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing."
Movie Review: A Bygone Era Revisited
Summary: 5 Stars
For anyone interested in the great ragtime music of the early 20th century, this movie is a "must see." Why?---because, it transports the viewer back to a bygone era so artistically as to make the viewer believe that he was actually present and viewing the events as they are unfolding. One feels the presence of the era while actually experiencing the horrors of racist hatred---wanting to, but not being able to stop it. Observing and experiencing first hand the warped mentality of the bigots practicing there calumny. Although there were moments of extreme heroism that raised the spirits of the viewer, the heros of this film did not ultimately enjoy the fruits of their heroism as we see in the great majority of Hollywood films. Instead, the heros here became its victims by losing what they had rightfully earned. The film concluded by relegating the hero to simply being inconsequential--certainly not the usual Hollywood ending. However, if its true to life realism you prefer, this is it. The "good guys" don't always win.
Overall, this film definitely leaves lasting impressions.
Movie Review: Great flick - but let's hope the running time is a typo...
Summary: 5 Stars
The DVD is not out yet, so the rating is for the movie. Excellent performances almost all the way around, with special kudos to James Cagney, Howard Rollins and the always excellent Kenneth McMillan. (McMillan similarly parlayed a small role into a scene-stealing performance in The Pope Of Greenwich Village, but I digress...). Although narrowing Doctrow's sprawling novel to focus on the Coalhouse Walker story as the epicenter, it's still an amazing ride and a journey worth taking. Most directors can't juggle multiple stories well, but Forman, like Altman, can. And the music is wonderful throughout - icing on the cake.
My main fear is the running time I see listed for this DVD. I seem to remember the movie being almost 3 hours long, and IMDB lists it as 155. This DVD is only 115 minutes? Please don't tell me we have a butcher shop Veg-O-Matic edition (remember the original releases of Once Upon A Time In America? Ugh...)
Movie Review: One of the rare cases of the movie being better than the book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the novel RAGTIME years ago and was rather underwhelmed possibly because of my prejudice at the time against books that mingle fiction with real historical characters and events - a literary style I have now come to accept and appreciate. Even so, the movie is much more enjoyable and emotionally moving than the novel. The sets and costumes look authentic, the acting is convincing and the film simply transports the viewer to the early 20th century. One caution, though the movie is rated PG, the version I saw on DVD had some scenes that would probably put it in the R category today and would definitely make it PG-13 though that rating did not exist in the early 1980's when the film was produced.