Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Much madness is divinest sense...", October 2, 2000
An absolutely beautiful, thought-provoking film, with a poetic script and superb performances all around. Of course, it will never be a favorite among those people C. Wright Mills once called "crackpot realists;" but for those who aren't afraid to let their imaginations soar, this film will carry you to joyous heights. Funny, poignant, romantic, it will make you think about what's truly important in life, and remind you of all life's possibilities. Once seen, never to be forgotten, it casts a sweet spell over the willing viewer - a nightingale singing in the grime of the city. Highly recommended!
|
|
|
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A film that ponders, "What is insanity?", May 9, 2005
What does it mean to be insane in a world that doesn't make sense? Movies have revisited that question in a host of films over the years, from MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN to HARVEY to A THOUSAND CLOWNS to THE RULING CLASS to HAROLD AND MAUDE to CATCH-22 to OFFICE SPACE. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS is one of the more compelling films in this genre. The film concerns the former Justice Playfair, who upon the death of his wife, loses his mind and believes that he is Sherlock Holmes. His brother becomes enmeshed in a blackmail scheme, and to gain control over his brother's estate to pay off the blackmailers, attempt to have him committed. To that end, he approaches the Strauss Clinic, whose head is anxious to commit because of the sizable amount of cash that Playfair's joining them will bring. But they need to have their resident psychologist, Dr. Mildred Watson, sign the commitment papers, and before she is willing to do this, she insists on interviewing Playfair. Our hero is resistant to her investigating him until it strikes him that she is truly Dr. Watson. Perhaps not the male he was anticipating, but a Dr. Watson nonetheless. So, the game is afoot, with the initially sceptical and resistant Watson following Playfair/Holmes in his investigation of a series of clues left by his great nemesis Moriarty. What makes it easy for her to believe in Holmes is the fact that he is such a remarkably compelling Holmes. His deductive powers are extraordinary, even Holmes-like. Like Holmes in the novels, he can look at a person an deduce an extraordinary number of details about them.
The title is taken from the greatest story of an insane individual in an insane world ever created, Cervantes's DON QUIXOTE. Holmes explains to Watson that Quixote took it too far: "He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be, well . . . " As he explains later, one thing that shows how extraordinary human beings are the enemies arrayed against them, which is what Moriarty comes to represent. Holmes comes to represent the quixotic aspects of human nature, which nutty everyday life violently opposes. The film's title, by the way, inspired the founders of the group They Might Be Giants.
This is one of George C. Scott's finest roles. He was such a powerful, unique actor, that it is natural to think that he had a greater career than he did in fact. The truth is that he made perhaps a half dozen truly great films, and many of those in supporting roles, such as ANATOMY OF A MURDER, THE HUSTLER, and DR. STRANGELOVE. It is bizarre, in looking at his career, to realize that he managed far fewer great roles than his talent should have merited. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS came out a year after Scott's greatest screen role in PATTON. This role as Playfair/Holmes was perfectly suited to his talents, and in many ways parallels his performance in Patton. Both Patton and Holmes did not quite fit in the world in which they lived. Both were idealists. Both were in fundamental conflict with the society as a whole. Part of what makes THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS work is the passion with which Scott sells the central role. Joanne Woodward is marvelous as Dr. Watson. Like Scott, she is someone who has been underutilized in her career. Scott is a powerful presence, but Woodward manages not to be overwhelmed by his strong acting style. The rest of the cast is a good deal less talented than the two principals. You can, if you pay careful attention, recognize a very young F. Murray Abraham as the usher in the movie theater. And I'm not certain of her name, but I've always felt grateful to the character actress who delivers one of my all time favorite surreal movie lines. In their search for Moriarty, Holmes and Watson end up in the balcony of a theater, where a Western is showing. We are not really shown what is happening on the screen, but at one point the woman who is the object of my gratitude leans forward in her chair, and reacting to what she sees in the film, utters passionately, "God bless you, Barbara Stanwyck."
|
|
|
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please re-release on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, June 1, 2005
Please re-release this wonderful George C. Scott movie on DVD so that humble people such as myself can afford it.Thanks!!!!!!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Christopher Plummer
DVD ~ Michael Caine
DVD ~ Nick Nolte
by Nevada Barr
DVD ~ Marlon Brando
on 
