The Beguiled
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Movie Reviews of The Beguiled
Movie Review: Bedazzled by "The Beguiled"
Summary: 4 Stars
This review refers to the Universal DVD edition of "The Beguiled"....
Think of Eastwood, and you think of his cool, tough characters.Harry Callahan, Josey Wales, and The Man With No Name, are the first we envision. Cpl. John McBurney is probably not at the top of that list. Yet, this is a film in which Clint really shines, and one that will hold you from start to finish with it's superb Direction by Don Siegal("Dirty Harry"/"Two Mules For Sister Sara").
The rest of the cast is also outstanding in this psychological drama set in the south during the civil war. Cpl. McBurney(Eastwood) is an injured Union soldier, discovered and nursed back to health by the residents of an all girls school.The first impulse of the Head Mistress, Miss Farnsworth(Geraldine Page) was to turn him over to the Confederate Army, but Mr. McBee, as they have so affectionately come to call him, has charmed nearly all the members of the household from Miss Farnsworth, to the 12 year old Amy(played brillantly by Pamelyn Ferdin),leading each to believe that they are the one he loves. As each disovers the truth, they begin some mind games of their own. Has Clint finally met his match in this tale of jealousy and revenge. Find out in this very different film for Clint...no guns or badges to get him through this one.
The cast includes Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris and Melody Thomas(Scott).
Filmed in Louisiana, the picture of this 1970 film is clear and the colors lush in this transfer to DVD. It is presented in anamorphic widescreen(1.85:1). The sound in Dolby 2 Channel Mono, is decent but Mono is Mono!(I probably would have gone 5 stars if not for that). Stereo surround(at least) would be much better.There are some production notes, Cast and Filmmaker Bios, a theatrical trailer and may be viewed with English captions or with Spanish subtitles.
A must see for Clint Fans....enjoy...Laurie
more from the civil war era:
Bushwhackers [VHS]
Love Me Tender (Rpkg) [VHS]
Movie Review: Great Performances All Around
Summary: 4 Stars
Another well done moral ambiguity piece where the anti-hero makes it hard to decide who to root for.
If nothing else "The Beguiled" silenced anyone who said there were no good parts for actresses in movies-at least in 1971. There were four excellent parts for actresses in this film and all were well cast and well executed.
Pamelyn Ferdin did a fine job as Amy and would go on to play "Wanda June". This must have been the first time an adult male box office star shared an extended kiss with a twelve-year-old girl on camera, wonder if there was much controversy about this at the time. It was probably Polanski's favorite scene. Given the fate of Amy's turtle "Randolph", it is no surprise that Ferdin grew up to be a hardcore animal rights activist.
Geraldine Page was likewise excellent, playing a complex character with just the right amount of restraint. It is interesting that she died just three days after Elizabeth Hartman committed suicide (throwing herself through a fifth floor window) as they had also worked together in "You're a Big Boy Now".
Hartman (who looks like she could be Blair Brown's sister) was wonderful as Edwina and should have gotten an Oscar (no other performance was even close that year), but given what we now know about her you wonder just how much of her performance was a studied effort and how much just came from inside her. Edwina shows such raw pain it is difficult to watch. Like Marilyn Monroe's incredible performance in "The Misfits", the viewer is probably seeing a whole lot of her own demons in the character she is playing.
Finally there is Jo Ann Harris who is stunningly perfect as the flirty Carol. For my money Harris was the sexiest actress of the 1970's, combining sensuality with intelligence and humor. She was the best reason to watch the "Most Wanted" television series and the only reason to watch "Wild Wild West Revisited". Hard to believe that someone who could bring all that to the screen never became a big star.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Movie Review: Interesting, But Strange.
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife and I watch a lot of Clint Eastwood movies late at night and enjoy them very much. Last night we watched "The Beguiled." Strange movie! It took place during the Civil War in the south. Eastwood, a northerner, was badly wounded and rescued by a young girl from an all girls school who took him back to the school to recover. All of this was very risky business, because we were, after all, in a civil war and he was the enemy. The school consisted of about a half dozen young ladies plus two supervisors and a slave/maid. Eastwood was the only man on the premis. He began a gradual recovery and as he recovered, he began "hitting" on the women, everything from a 12-year-old to the owner of the school. Alas, he was finally caught in bed with a 17-year-old and and the resulting flap ended with him getting one of his legs amputated by the girl's school staff. It's a long and complicated story, believe me. As the movie proceeded, he finally got poisoned by his 12-year-old savior who had rescued him in the first place. Strange, twisted story!
I don't quite what to think about all of this. It's an entertaining movie to watch, to be sure, but very strange. I'm tempted to label it a comedy, but it certainly would be a dark, strange and twisted humor. The amputation was quite gruesome and my wife had to leave the room. In a lot of ways, Eastwood played a sympathetic character, but he also earned his amputation and ultimate death. Very unusual movie. If you like Clint Eastwood movies and want something very different, this is it, but I just can't regard this as one of Eastwood's better movies.
Gary Peterson
Movie Review: No spaghetti, but lots of sauce in this Eastwood western!
Summary: 4 Stars
Clint Eastwood gives a rare "arthouse" performance in this decidedly off-beat Civil War tale. Clint is the wily fox trapped in the proverbial henhouse as a wounded Union soldier discovered in the woods and nursed back to health by the members of a Southern girls' school. Director Don Siegel (who played Scorcese to Eastwood's DeNiro in a series of 70's collaborations) was not usually associated with making "art" movies, but this one came the closest. Mostly somber and Gothic in tone, with a dash of black comedy thrown in (especially in the scenes where Eastwood gleefully manipulates and seduces various teachers and students). Of course, the chauvinistic soldier eventually gets his due (Stephen King style), but it's an interesting ride along the way. Geraldine Page leads the excellent supporting cast in top form. The depiction of the girls' mass sexual panic amid a claustrophobic, fever dream atmosphere recalls films like "Picnic At Hanging Rock" or "Black Narcissus". Eastwood's boldest performance features a scene in the opening moments that very few "movie stars" would even touch...where he kisses a 12 year old girl in a somewhat lustful manner; repellent behavior, yes, but essential to establishing the character. In other words, don't expect another typical Eastwood shoot-'em up!Movie Review: The Beguiled
Summary: 4 Stars
When a badly wounded Union soldier (Clint Eastwood) is reluctantly taken into a southern girls school, he finds that he must act in a calm and cool manner around the inhabitants in order to keep from being discovered by Confederates. As he falls in love with two of the girls, he finds that the immoral woman in charge of the school (Geraldine Page) is attracted to him. Jealousy and tension rises between everyone in the school until the drama catches up with the man in the most horrific ways possible. This increasingly unpleasant film is executed subtly, and gives a relevant lesson to go by in life: Never underestimate. The film holds up surprisingly well with a fine performance from Clint Eastwood, until the shockingly cruel conclusion.
If you liked this film, the best idea for another film you may like is either "Unfaithful" or "Leaving Las Vegas"; it's the best I can think of at the moment. But be warned, this is not an ordinary film, despite its similarities to "Gone With The Wind" and "The Sound Of Music."
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Rated R for a sexual encounter with nudity as well as some other lurid sexual situations, brief violence, some profanity, and mature themes.