Customer Reviews

The Human Comedy (MGM/UA Great Books On Video)

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This is a film for people willing to surrender to the story. Writer William Saroyan meant his story to be a common-man epic, which means that the language is sometimes heroic or epigrammatic - as epic language is supposed to be - and the storyline contains the possibility of the supernatural and the divine; and yet the characters are all ordinary people in smalltown America.

In short, this is what Americans wanted to think of themselves, at their best, during World War II. If you expect realism, you will be disappointed; if you can't give yourself emotionally to a film, you will find it sappy. But if you think "It's a Wonderful Life" is a great film, you'll be right at home in "The Human Comedy."

This is one of the last of my favorite classic films that has yet to be put on DVD, and I cannot imagine why it hasn't as yet. I am still holding on to my old VHS of it just in case! MGM or even better, Criterion should work their magic on this near-forgotten classic piece of Americana...