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July 21, 2005
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (1940), John Ford:
I love Steinbeck; East of Eden is probably one of my favorite books, ever. The migrant worker books don't quite for me reach that level, but there's still something about the Steinbeck universe that resonates emotionally on all registers. Grapes of Wrath is his masterpiece because the humanity exudes from the page, mixing joy, hope, outrage and raw anger.
I didn't get any of that in the movie. I thought they gutted the book, leaving a much more blah experience. It looked spectacular, and Henry Fonda was great as always (his final speech was one of the few great things that stayed intact in the transition).
5/15
Posted by bing at July 21, 2005 12:11 PM