Ragtime
|
Our Price: $29.97 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $19.64 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Ragtime
Movie Review: Milos Forman's Ragtime - A Good Cinematic Journey...
Summary: 4 Stars
Ragtime occurs a decade into the 20th century when film houses had live music accompanying the moving images on the silver screen and segregation still was strong in the United States. The houses for picture shows became locations for news as they attracted a paying public's interest, and people could see the death defying stunts of Houdini. The musicians played music that enhanced the emotional experience of the visual show on the screen as the audience could view Madison Square Garden receiving its naked statue made after a model. These were times before prohibition when people lived in and attended the New York City's largest restaurant in the Madison Square Garden. The book of E.L. Doctorow by the name Ragtime grabbed these moments as it followed a wide range of characters through numerous stories.
Milos Forman gave Doctorow's book a different and personal adaptation as he focused on a family in the small community of New Rochelle outside the city of New York. The family discovers an infant African-American child in the small kitchen garden, and later finds out the identity of the mother. The family takes in the mother and the child as they soon learn the name of the father, Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Howard E. Rollins Jr.). Walker works as a piano player for a big band, but before his job with the band he played in picture houses and small-secluded joints. When Walker finds his family he wants to marry his wife in order to do the right thing, but on the way home after he has proposed to his wife the local volunteering fire squad stops him. They harass him by putting horse dung on his driver's seat, and call him derogatory names. Coalhouse Walker Jr. demands that his rights are upheld, which leads him into a personal crusade for justice in the segregated town of New Rochelle.
Ragtime is somewhat fragmented like the novel, but it does not come close to touch the diverse tapestry of the written story. The film stays mostly with the struggles of Coalhouse Walker Jr. as he takes the law in his own hands. Nonetheless, the audience gets to experience some of the interesting characters, as a madly jealous husband demands that the statue on top of the Madison Square Garden is removed as it is supposed to look like his wife. The audience gets to follow the brother who travels to the luring city where he is mesmerized by the beauty of the model of the statue. Then there is a Jewish immigrant that supports his daughter and himself by making picture-flip books and ends up becoming one of the first film directors.
Initially, Robert Altman was assigned to film Ragtime, and it might have been a much different tale in that case as he had already made Nashville (1975) and later Short Cuts (1993). These two films depict a wide range of characters in a manner which would be needed in order to cover more of the book. Nonetheless, Forman told the story the way he wanted it and that offers much to ponder as the film deals with injustice, racism, deceit, jealousy, hope, infidelity, and much more. In the end, the audience will have experienced a good cinematic journey that will be remembered for the connections between the characters, which is somewhat amusing.
Movie Review: Great To See Cagney But Don't Overlook Olson
Summary: 4 Stars
I never saw this film until 2005 and after I had become a big James Cagney fan and wanted to see the movies of his I had missed. Thus, I had to check this out, especially since it was his first film he had made in over 20 years.
En route to getting a glimpse at the 80-year-old star, I found out he wasn't on screen until 45 minutes were left in this 155-minute movie but his absence didn't upset me that much because I was absorbed in this interesting story. The sets, clothing, etc. of this "period piece" were fantastic to view.
Anyway,the star of the film was a guy who hardly got any billing: James Olson. He is the key figure in this story and very interesting to watch. Actually, just about everyone is interesting which makes for good storytelling. Nonetheless, Olson's fine performance is unfairly overlooked.
Howard Rollins was good as the black "victim" of the profane slob Kenneth McMillian and Elizabeth McGovern certainly kept ones attention although I wasn't quite sure how her character tied into the story.
By the way, to rate this movie "PG" is ludicrous since McGovern is seen in a 3- to-4-minute scene casually talking away naked for all to see. And - contrary to a popular rumor - nothing of her scenes were cut out of the DVD.....at least the one I have.
Meanwhile, Cagney showed he hadn't forgotten how to act. It was a pleasure to see him again, just a few years before he would pass away. It's a cliché, but I doubt if anyone was in his class as an actor and a dancer, a tough guy or a comedian. He was the best and went out in style here, too.
Movie Review: The Return of Jimmy Cagney
Summary: 4 Stars
After he made ONE, TWO, THREE (1961), James Cagney retired from the screen and turned down all offers to return for twenty years. He even refused the choice role of Alfred Dolittle in the movie version of MY FAIR LADY.
The film that brought Cagney back to the movies was RAGTIME (1981), the adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's best selling novel.
Set in 1906, RAGTIME interweaves the story of a fictional upper middle class family (Mary Steenburgen, James Olson, Brad Dourif) living in Upstate New York, with the lives of some real-life figures, such as Evelyn Nesbitt Thaw (Elizabeth McGovern) and Booker T. Washington (Moses Gunn). Cagney, whose role is relatively small, is (as always) effective as the corrupt New York police commissioner.
The main plotline concerns Coalhouse Walker (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.), a black musician who turns vigilante when the authorities refuse to correct a grievous wrong done to him and his fiance' (Debbie Allen).
Also in the first-rate cast is Mandy Patinkin, playing a European immigrant who becomes one of the first film directors, Donald O'Connor and Cagney's lifelong friend, Pat O'Brien.
Directed by Milos Forman, RAGTIME is a terrific picture than does a superb job of recreating a bygone era.
DVD extras include audio commentary by Forman, a retrospective featurette and a deleted scene featuring the real-life character of activist Emma Goldman.
© Michael B. Druxman
Movie Review: Well done until the last quarter
Summary: 4 Stars
Leonard Maltin even criticised the movie for throwing most of it's subplots to the wind and focusing largely just on Coalhouse Walker's subplot. The problem was the film was doing great being about several things until it mostly just becomes about one thing. Elizabeth McGovern for one is beautiful and brilliant in her role as the alleged model of Stanford White's questionable nude statue. McGovern received an oscar nomination for this. I find it sad the last time we see her in a scene advancing the plot McGovern doesn't even say anything. Great to see Cagney back on screen too.
The real value to this film is it is not a whole fiction Stanford White actually existed as of course did Harry Houdini.
Now for some comments on this film by amazon posters. Jack Nicholson is not anywhere in this film! He appeared in Reds, another film about early 20th century, that was released about the same time Ragtime was. Also, why does somebody find it wrong that a cop would even slightly help a black
person in 1906? In the 1800's (earlier than this) there were actually some black policemen in New Orleans. Besides Coalhouse Walker has a predictably hard time getting justice against the local firemen presumably because he is african-american. Is that not believable enough for you?
Movie Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
A successful adaptation of Doctorow's novel, Ragtime can't quite manage to do every storyline from the book justice but it does craft a solid movie based largely on the plot thread of Coalhouse Walker, an African-American who refuses to silently accept racism; a well-made slice of Americana (albeit directed by a Czech), it's worth a look.