Reviews of movies with James Stewart.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Two well-off young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) kill an acquaintance for the thrill, then throw a party and serve drinks off the trunk containing the corpse.
Rope is often dismissed as little more than an experiment, even by director Alfred Hitchcock himself. The goal, to shoot the entire movie in one continuous take, required the director to find creative ways to work around the ten minute shot length imposed by the amount of film cameras were able to hold at the time. Usually, novel techniques like these result in a gimmicky picture, but Rope is the exception to that rule. MORE »
Posted at 2:31 PM in Movie Reviews, Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart.
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Monday, December 31st 2007
Grade: A-
Synopsis: A selfless man (James Stewart) contemplating suicide gets a glimpse at what life would have been like had he never been born, courtesy of a second-class angel, Clarence (Henry Travers).
It’s a Wonderful Life is a funny, heartfelt story buoyed by some wonderful performances, great production values, and near perfect direction.
The three principal actors give career-defining performances. James Stewart is George Bailey. His performance is so perfect it doesn’t feel like a performance at all. He never seems to be acting, but rather simply reacting to the events of the story in a natural fashion.
Opposite him, there’s Lionel Barrymore, turning in one of the finest villains ever captured on film. His Mr. Potter is an angry, bitter man out to ruin George Bailey simply because he can’t understand him, and therefore fears him. Despite having relatively few scenes, Barrymore still evokes a powerful presence, embodying all the prejudice, hate, and fear of the world in a single, identifiable, character. MORE »
Posted at 2:44 PM in Movie Reviews and James Stewart.
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Tuesday, October 2nd 2007
Grade: B+
Synopsis: A man (Cary Grant) sneaks a pair of tabloid reporters (James Stewart and Ruth Hussey) into his stuffy ex-wife’s (Katharine Hepburn) upcoming society wedding.
The Philadelphia Story is a wonderful mix of comedy and drama, acted out by a first-rate cast.
Cary Grant shines from the outset (love that face-shove he give’s Katharine Hepburn!) and his charisma provides the mortar that holds the film together. Katharine Hepburn does an amazing job of transforming from fairly dislikable at the outset, to downright charming at the end, all the while coming across as very convincing. Finally, James Stewart’s aw-shucks demeanor keeps him from overplaying the meatiest role of all, even if he comes close at times. MORE »
Posted at 3:32 PM in Movie Reviews, Cary Grant and James Stewart.
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Thursday, September 20th 2007
Grade: B-
Synopsis: Charles Lindbergh (James Stewart) struggles to make the first solo transatlantic flight.
The Spirit of St. Louis is the rare bio-pic/true story film that really works. At least for me.
Unlike bio-pics of more recent subjects (like say, Muhammad Ali), Lindbergh’s flight predated television, so there’s no need to recreate any famous existing footage and James Stewart’s age (he was 47 supposedly playing a 25 year old) and resemblance to the actual Lindbergh (or lack thereof) weren’t an issue.
Director Billy Wilder, in addition to his usual deft mix of comedy and drama, also does a great job of intertwining the back-story with the actual flight, thus allowing the audience to get a sense of just how long the 33-hour flight was, without boring them. It was quite a storytelling challenge, but one that Wilder was easily up to. Granted, the ending feels a little abrupt, but better too short than too long. MORE »
Posted at 3:32 PM in Movie Reviews, Billy Wilder and James Stewart.
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Wednesday, August 8th 2007
Grade: A-
Synopsis: An amiable man (James Stewart) has a friend only he can see: a six foot three inch talking rabbit named Harvey.
Harvey is a charming movie with a rough beginning. Josephine Hull overacts and everyone behaves like a caricature, but the second James Stewart makes his entrance you realize why this movie is considered a classic. His performance is so easy and natural, you’re instantly charmed just like the characters in the film. Now don’t get me wrong, I realize the point of the opening sequence it to contrast the supposedly “sane” people with Stewart’s supposedly “crazy” character, but it’s still over the top and off-putting. MORE »
Posted at 7:06 PM in Movie Reviews and James Stewart.
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