The Crucible
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Movie Reviews of The Crucible
Movie Review: Cries of Injustice!
Summary: 5 Stars
What is so haunting about 'The Crucible' is the fact that, while the sub-plot of a young woman trying to gain entry into a married mans heart may be fictitous, the initial story of the Salem Witch Hunts of 1692 is true, and that my friends is such a tragedy. What is so important about this account is the light it sheds on human interaction and the hypocrisy and betrayl that will lay manifest when put under pressure. When a few young girls are accused of witchcraft they will stop at nothing to resume innocence, even if that means falsly accusing their fellow man resulting in 19 murders (by hanging) of innocent men and women. The film follows Abigail Williams (Ryder) as her love and or lust for John (Day-Lewis) moves her to accuse his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen in SUCH A COMMANDING ROLE!) of witchcraft in an effort to have her hung and John be all to herself. In the meantime countless others are falsly accused and brought under trial as well. The film shows well how selfish and unjust man can be, not to mention naive and downright ignorent when it comes to pride and prejudice! Despite the lack of proof surrounding the claims of witchcraft and the abounding proof substanciating the fact these were all fabricated lies the courts still put to death 19 innocent people. Townsfolk were turning on their friends and neighbors for anything from land to lovers, accusing their friends of witchcraft in order for their land and livestock to become availiable to them. It became a game, a game of 'who-can-we-get-next' and the courts fell for it, or got swept up in it to say the least. Let's just hope and pray another tragedy like this never befalls us again. Who can you trust when everyone (better yet 'anyone') could have your life with one lie...
Better still I wanted to make mention of the whole 'name' speach that John gives at the end of the film. I don't want to give away the climax, but I will say that John makes mention of his name, that he doesn't want to tarnish his name but agreeing to lies made against him. This is a strong arguement made throughout this film, the question beiong raised as to whether god would fair worse on the liar (those who agreed to the false accusations made against them in order to be spared of a hanging) or those who stood their ground and refused to be labeled a witch, knowing full well they would be hung for it. One of the ministers says "the most precious gift god gave us is life" and then proceeds to say that god may fair better with those who lie to save it. Whether this is the case or not, whatever your belief on the matter, it is a good point to make and somthing to think about. We all know what the bible lays claim to as sins, and yet we all have our ideas of what constitutes a sin...but what separates a sin from foolish pride. Is is pridefull of these men and woman to make martyrs or themselves in order to keep a clean name or is it rightous of them to stay clean before god by refusing the sin or a false tounge even though it presents an easy way out? It's worth a thought and thinking about that and in the end the choices made by those men and woman will help us all to appreciate better the reasons this film is so important.
Movie Review: Beautiful Acting, Beautiful Dialogue, Beautiful Scenery
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes you get the perfect combination of great acting, great dialogue, great plot and a great environment. I really feel the Cruicible manages to get all of those components right to form an incredible movie that gains in value from each rewatching.
First, the plot. Daniel is John Proctor, a man in 1600s Salem, Massachusetts who has been unfaithful to his wife. He slept with the teen girl Abigail (Winona Ryder). Although the affair is over, things are still not good in John's home. Abigail still pines for John. So when a group of girls go out to dance in the woods and cast love potions, Abigail wishes for John's wife to die.
The girls are caught by the minister, accusations of witchcraft begin to surface, and to divert suspicion the teen girls begin to accuse other women in the neighborhood of being witches. A full blown witch hunt begins, and many women are killed based solely on the accusations of the group of teens. This is, sadly, all very true.
The play, by Arthur Miller, was written during the McCarthy era when communists and homosexuals were being routed out and destroyed by finger pointing. The play was a direct metaphor to help people see what was going on. It is scary that in our modern society we look back on the Salem witch trials as being a ridiculous thing that could never happen again - but only a few decades ago it DID happen. Did we not learn? Could it happen just as easily again in the future, given the right circumstances?
The acting in the movie is brilliant. Joan Allen, playing John's wife, got an Oscar nomination for her fine work. Even the smallest bits of dialogue are imbued with meaning. You really get a sense of the layers behind these people. You begin to understand how they live in a very rigid society, how they chafe at the rules, how they struggle to find meaning in what they do. Every person here has a valid motivation - and has human failings.
I found the scenery to be gorgeous. I love colonial times and outfits. The people really seemed to "be comfortable" in their wear, and there was a nice variety. You could imagine the elderly woman sitting and sewing her hat, adding on the lace to make it pretty. I do admit that I was struck with how *large* some of the houses were. I don't think they had giant houses like that back then :) It might be a small thing, but it kept seeming "wrong" as I watched the movie, sort of like watching a movie about medieval crusaders and having them check their watches.
Still, in general that is a minor complaint about a movie which is just beautiful to watch and get sucked into. I really feel this is a very valuable movie for everybody to see and understand and think about. We've already had this situation happen at least twice in the past few hundred years. We need to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Movie Review: The Crucible: An Unsung Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most important things that happen in human history is the restoration of reason and rationality. There was a time in history where unsubstantiated things that ranges from witchcraft to divine superiority were never questioned and generally taken as facts. Even though "The Crucible" can be interpreted in a number of ways (Arthur Miller wrote this during the Mccarthy communist hunt), the movie allows us to see what happens when reason is superceded by passion.
The movie opens with a group of teenage girls participating in "devil's work" which was cut short by the discovery of a shocked Reverend. In order to escape the consequences of their actions, the girls masterminded by Abby (Winona Ryder) concocted a series of lies implicating a number of innocent men and women involving them in witchcraft. One of those accused is Goody Proctor (Joan Allen), who was targeted primarily by Abby so that she can finally be with the man she was in love with, Goody's husband John Proctor (Daniel Day Lewis) Of course the consequences of those events weren't confined in the lives of the major characters but actually affected the whole town as a witch hunt hysteria erupted.
Daniel Day Lewis gave a towering performance that further strengthens the fact that he is one of the best living actors today. It's an indelible performance that stays with you long after the movie is through. Winona Ryder also gave an ace performance. You have to admire the roles she chooses (at least at the peak of her career) because it is evident that she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. Other actresses of her stature would probably gone way different career path that choose box office prospect over challenging roles. Joan Allen was equally impressive. Just by standing still and emoting with her eyes and face, she was able to say a lot of things. And she did that without the help of a "big scene" that both Day Lewis and Ryder had.
Personally, my only minor criticism in the movie is that we weren't given enough insights to why the girls subscribe to Abby's (we know her motivation for doing it) lies. A scene explaining the girl's unity in their lie would at least let the viewers understand their motivations for doing so. It was disturbing to see towards the end of the movie where the girls were rejoicing and all happy when those they accused were being publicly hanged, no sign of remorse or shame.
This movie really affected me and I consider this to be one of my favorite movies. This is truly an unforgettable movie.
Grade: A
Movie Review: Prone to this
Summary: 5 Stars
Flashback: it's the 1950's and we are beseiged by Sen. Joseph McCarthy is on a rampange to "clean America" of communists, homosexuals, and anything else deemed to threaten the fabric of our nation. People are in an uproar, willing to name names and blacklist anyone possibly associated with Communism. Lives are destroyed, careers are ruined. Arthur Miller's answer: write a play, in the form of The Crucible. What's amazing is how a play about an outrageous event in the late 1600's, in response to an outragous event in the 1950's, is so terribly relevant today.
Arthur Miller penned the screenplay for this movie, based on his own play. Made into a movie in 1996, the reviews were tepid at best.Yet I recall fondly sitting in the theater, absolutely transfixed at the story, knowing I was seeing a classic in front of me. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the Crucible is both visually stunning and a slave to a great story with great characters. John Proctor is played flawlessly by Daniel Day-Lewis, a man with a past who regrets his actions and loves his family. Equally flawless is the never-go-wrong Joan Allen, playing his always truthful wife Emily. Caught in the web of their family is young Abagail Williams, acted by a never better Winona Ryder, who loves John and in doing so, tries to destroy his family.
Events of the story get set into motion immediately, by a group of young girls who venture out into the evening to create a magical potions to conjure the affections of the town's boys. What transpires from there, things grow quickly and blatantly out of control, as innocent person after innocent person is flung into the pit of suspicion, based on the heresay of a few imporessionable girls. Miller balances perfectly the trial of suspicions with the unfolding drama of a family unraveling, creating a mesmerizing piece.
Even moreso, the Crucible is a tale for today. How many elements in our own society today would be willing to sell out some of our lesser folks to create a safer place? Listen very carefully to Hytner's commentary track on the DVD, which is informative and wise. He hits the nail on the head during the final, heartbreaking scene. The message of this play, the message of this movie, shall never become obsolete, as long as we have people in our society who unfairly judge others on the altar of righteousness.
The Crucible demands repeated viewings for excellent acting, intense drama, and a visually beautiful film to watch, as well as a lesson for us all.
Movie Review: The Inquisition, The Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, etc!
Summary: 5 Stars
Arthur Miller's powerful play from 1953 became his screenplay in 1996 for this devastatingly gritty film THE CRUCIBLE. While some may make negative comparisons between the power of the theatrical piece versus the immediacy of the film, it really matters little. The story, based on fact, is terrifying and all too familiar in flavor with the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the witch hunts of McCarthy's time, the misdeeds of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, NSA wiretapping etc. Evil is evil and it must be addressed, and if this play/film helps us to recognize the madness of lies then it has served its purpose.
The story is so well known that recounting it is superfluous: Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) seethes as the discarded harlot who slept with the noble John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and gains her revenge by naming Proctor's wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen) as a witch - a person who walks and communicates with the devil! As the disease of repression and superstition mounts, the citizenry of Salem calls in Judge Danforth (Paul Scofield) to try the accusations, and needless hangings of innocent victims occur until some semblance of reason is restored by John Proctor's fight for truth at the hanging post.
As directed by Nicholas Hytner and photographed by Andrew Dunn, the dark atmosphere of Salem's dance with the devil is brilliantly captured. The cast is excellent, not only the stars (Day-Lewis, Scofield, Allen, Ryder), but also the multiple well realized small roles. But towering over it all is Arthur Miller's immensely pungent script, written in the English as spoken in 1692 and all the more flavorful for the atmosphere of the work. This is as powerful as realization of a play as has been transferred to the screen. It is a must see for everyone concerned about the current state of our country's welfare. Grady Harp, May 06