Customer Reviews

Wilson [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lavish biodrama on the life and times of President Woodrow Wilson (and therefore the US's involvement in the First World War, which traditionally is called the Great War, of course, and in its time and for some years was called The World War). This film seems to be getting discovered lately, though it has been available on tape since the 1980s. Some of it is even accurate, no small thing for a 1940s biodrama dealing with human complexities. Alexander Knox in the title role is differently shaped and less serious-looking than his namesake, but he does capture well the habit of lecturing everybody.

There's an intense sequence in the middle around the entry of the US into the war. In the actual events, late on January 31, 1917, Ambassador Count Johann von Bernstorff notified the US State Department that Germany would resume submarine warfare against neutral (i.e., US) vessels in blockade areas (a policy, by the way, that Bernstorff himself had lobbied against vigorously with his government). This and subsequent events are compressed into a vivid sequence where Bernstorff presents the news late at night to Wilson. The President (the former professor) then gives the envoy the lecture of his life on Imperial German aggression, arrogance, and racism; orders Bernstorff deported; and in the next scene, summons Congress, requests and receives a declaration of war. (So there!) The live Wilson was much less decisive (evidently obsessed with remaining neutral and mediating, a role he pressed in modified form after the war), but no doubt the dramatized stand against Germany played well to US movie audiences in 1944. Another memorable scene soon after concerns civilian volunteers serving refreshments to US soldiers.

The interested reader can find fascinating details in any number of histories and biographies of the era, such as Tuchman's _Zimmerman Telegram_ (ISBN 0345324250 in paperback), which addresses events around the US entry into the war. Tuchman depicts the labyrinthine intrigues in the US during the neutrality. Thus, senior German agents in New York were so diligently trailed by multiple sets of secret police (from the US and other countries) that crowds of them would collect in hotel lobbies (nonchalantly, of course), watching their common subject and casually reading newspapers. The interested reader, for that matter, will enjoy all of Tuchman's books, about various times and places, because she is such an outstanding writer. For further insight into the old aristocratic European order that the Great War undid, see _Grand Illusion,_ 1937 (the movie, not the reviews about it). For more on the human side of the war, see the timeless classic _All Quiet on the Western Front_ (1931, US Best-Picture Oscar).

Some people today might forget that the First World War ended 11/11/1918 not in any sort of victory but rather in a negotiated cease-fire acknowledging stalemate. At the time of the cease-fire, Germany occupied vast territories beyond her prewar borders. 103 years earlier, after the Napoleonic wars, a peace conference (the "Congress of Vienna") opportunistically divided war-torn Europe and "gave" some smaller countries to larger countries, occupants of the smaller countries having limited voice in the matter. The resulting resentment and underground nationalism fostered terrorist acts including those that ignited the First World War. After that war, a peace conference at Versailles forced, at French insistence, Germany (economically blockaded and starving) to accept humiliating terms and pay ruinous reparations. The resulting resentment and nationalism in Germany fostered the rise of Nazism and the eventual Second World War, in which France was conquered in 1940. Whatever the merit of what-if games, evidently the French statesmen at the Versailles peace conference had failed to learn an important lesson.

Maltin is correct about the movie.

Despite its flaws, this was a serious effort to present a film about an important president's political life. If it was propaganda for anything, it was aimed at opposing any recrudescent American isolationism in the post WW II period....

Alexander Knox's portrayl of President Woodrow Wilson was spot on-right down to the pince-nez glasses. If you are a fan of presidential movies, you will surely want this one added to your collection. I just wish that they would put this out on DVD.

Why isn't this movie on DVD? Despite its flaws, it is a very thought provoking portrayal of on of our five greatest presidents.

Alexander Knox stars as Woodrow Wilson, beginning at his time at Princeton, moving on to his time as Governor of New Jersey, and of course, concluding with his important years as President. I can't say that Wilson was the most compelling man, although his dry wit is fun, but he was around during WWI and the creation of the League of Nations, so he was important and those events help to keep the film interesting. Knox is very good as Wilson, and he is surrounded by a large supporting cast that does well. A lot of money was obviously put into this production, from sets to costumes. But the film really seems quite long and a little too reverential. Maybe the scope was too great, although I think a little trimming would not have hurt the film either. There are obviously moments included to help bolster the American war effort during WWII, since this film was made in 1944. In any case, although there is much to admire here and it is interesting history, do be prepared to sit for a while.

This film is beautifully shot, and for that I give it two stars. One star for the storyline. The acting is competent.

Woodrow Wilson the man is an interesting study, and no doubt influential in his day and deserving of study today. This film, however, is not a worthy historical analysis of the President or of the times in which he lived. This production is a propaganda piece intended to shape the attitudes of Americans during the SECOND World War, the one that Wilson hoped would never come. It has a strong pacifist message.

Although excessively long (nearly two-and-a-half hours) the film devotes little time to the context of the Great War of 1914-1918. The "Allies" are practically ignored -- one could draw the conclusion that the war was fought primarily between the United States and Germany, notwithstanding the U.S. did not join the fray (as an "Associated," not an "Allied," power) until 1917, at which time, though it was the chief industrial power, it was not a significant military force.

This motion picture idealizes the Presidency. The background music and reverential musings on American democracy comprise a paean to the nation. It could not be made today.

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was the 28th President of the US, best known for having served as President during World War 1 and then tried unsuccessfully to get the US to join The League of Nations. "Wilson" is a 1944 Technicolor film with a star studded cast that covers the basic highlights of his life, from Professor at Princeton, Governor of New Jersey, and then President.

Alexander Knox (1907-95) plays Wilson and for his performance he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar (but lost to Bing Crosby in "Going my Way"). Knox appeared in 50+ films between 1931 and 1986. He was a victim of the blacklist in the 50s and moved back to England.

Charles Coburn (1877-1961) play one of Wilson's advisers, but he has very little screen time. Coburn appeared in more than 50 films, from 1933 through 1962. He was nominated for an Oscar 3 times and won once ("The More the Merrier" in 1943). I remember him best as "Piggy" in "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds" (1953).

The great Thomas Mitchell (1892-1962) plays Joseph Tumulty, another Wilson advisor. Mitchell has considerable screen time, but it's taken up by Mitchell running around and shouting. Mitchell is best remembered for playing Scarlett O'Hara's father in "GWTW" (1939), as Uncle Billy in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), and the mayor in "High Noon" (1952). Mitchell was the first person to win an Oscar ("Stagecoach"), Emmy, and Tony.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke's (1893-1964) plays Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. His strong voice and stony appearance graced nearly 100 films. He played the evil bishop in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), Dr. Livingstone in "Stanley and Livingstone" (1939), and King Arthur in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1949). I remember him best as the Pharaoh in "The Ten Commandments" (1956). Hardwicke plays Lodge as a one-dimensional and one syllabic character.

Geraldine Fitzgerald (1913-2005) was nominated for an Oscar in "Wuthering Heights" (1939). She plays Wilson's first wife.

This was a pet project of Darryl Zanuck (1902-79) and received 10 Oscar nominations and won 5 Oscars but was a box office flop. This was even more devastating since it was the most expensive film production, costing more than even "GWTW".

Zanuck had high hopes for this film. He was nominated personally for an Oscar twice - "G-Men" (1935) and "The Longest Day" (1962) - and among his nearly 200 films are such notables Oscar winners as "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940), "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949) and "Pinky" (1949). He once said - We are in this business primarily to provide entertainment, but in doing so we do not dodge the issue if we can also provide enlightenment." Unfortunately he provided very little entertainment in this film, and not much enlightenment. And at more than 2 hours it is really too much to bear. Alexander Knox apparently was told to play Wilson as if he were constipated, and watching him in virtually every scene is simply too much to bear.

Other Presidents have fared better in films. For recent Presidents, JFK is probably the #1 source of film material ("JFK", "The Missiles of October"). Overall, Lincoln would probably be #1 ("Young Mr. Lincoln", "Abe Lincoln in Illinois") and Washington would be #2 ("1776", "The Crossing"). Both Roosevelts have done well ("Sunrise at Campobello", "Eleanor and Franklin", "Rough Riders", "The Wind and the Lion"). There is only one film about Wilson and this is it. So on that basis only the film has some interest.

I learned so much about this president and our history through this movie. I have lots of gratitude and respect for President Wilson. I highly recommend this historical documentary like movie.

How this turd won an oscar for screenwriting is beyond me. The guy preaches, and preaches, and preaches, then becomes president, then preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, becomes a widower, preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, remarries, preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, and preaches, then leaves office. The End.

Any student studying history should skip this movie if they want facts about Wilson. This movie portrays Wilson as a peace and civil rights fighter while in reality, he was a white supremacist and imperialist. But good movie to study how history is glorified because this film is good at glorifying Wilson who probably is one of our ugliest presidents. The funniest scene is when Wilson scolds the German ambassador which is pure fiction (remember that this movie was made during WW2). Leonard Maltin needs to study his history a litte more.