![]() Some have criticized Kesey's novel for overachieving. It's halfway there, but gives a falseness to some of the scenes that gets in the way of the gritty, emotional drama to it all. The music by Henry Mancini shows the strain of this amazing composer as he moves from the light orchestral work he did in the 1960s ("Moon River," "Pink Panther," "Days of Wine and Roses," etc.) to something embracing country, rock and roll, and contemporary music being used so effectively in New Hollywood films. The rainy coastal landscape, the rambling house on the river, even the dirt bike race and the scenes of the little town all make you yearn for more intensity and involvement, visually. ![]() There are scenes of machinery and logging that are impressive in their raw scale and masculinity, for sure, but that is partly fast editing at work, and amazing subject material. Furthermore, the filming is straight on and meant to show what is happening more than contribute to the ambiance of the experience. Lee Remick is a character from another movie plopped into this rough and tumble Oregon backwoods scene, and the second leading man, a kind of implied narrator to it all, is played by little known Michael Serrazin, a pretty boy who holds his own but is uninspiring. The result is grossly unappreciated, because the strengths here make the flaws bearable. But Paul Newman, as lead character and, yes director (stepping in when the original director left), has tried. There are so many threads in the book, powerful themes and small ones, that get interwoven into a vivid, unashamed adventure-romance with interior explosions and characters clashing with nature and cultures clashing of cultures, it's really impossible to make a movie out of it. And it's based on a Ken Kesey novel that is one of my favorite books, a sprawling, difficult, layered up masterpiece of some kind, for its time at least, and for when I read it as a 20 year old looking for meaning in life. Sometimes a Great Notion (1970) This is an amazing story, with some harrowing scenes and really terrific acting. I think if you see Sometimes A Great Notion you'll agree. Paul Newman deserved a lot more credit for this film than he got. Bing Crosby recorded a fine version of it on one of his albums. Sometimes A Great Notion also got a second Oscar nomination for Best Song with We're All His Children by Henry Mancini and Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Richard Jaeckel got a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and the pity is that he was up against another popular character actor in Ben Johnson who won for The Last Picture Show. It will stay with you forever as it has me since I saw the film when it first came out. It's a long drawn out affair for reasons you'll know if you see the film. Newman reached his creative heights in Jaeckel's death scene which was played between him and Jaeckel. One of them Richard Jaeckel got his career role as a Stamper cousin. And he got some good performances from the rest of the cast. Newman directed the film and he had a good eye for the scenery of the Oregon logging country. They would be half brothers Paul Newman and Michael Sarrazin who've also got issues between themselves that may prevent the Stampers from forming a united front. But whereas Spencer had a noble dignity to him, Ben Stamper is a dissolute old cuss who has enjoyed all the vices known and imparted a love for them unto his children. There are some similarities between Fonda's character and the family patriarch he played in Spencer's Mountain. ![]() But a strike by timber union loggers causes enmity between them and the Stampers who are seen as scabs. Enough to survive, but they do it on their own. Henry Fonda plays the head of the Stamper clan who own a lot of acreage in Oregon timber country and the family business is cutting logs. The film seem to stretch everyone's creative levels especially one performer I'll single out later. A lot of people seem to be down on this film for reasons I really can't understand.
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