![]() ![]() Herbert Stothart may not be in the ranks of Hollywood's 'mighty handful' (Alfred Newman, Steiner, Tiomkin, Waxman, Herrmann), but his 'MGM-sound' scores regularly deliver the goods. ![]() And Lotus - the strangeness of her, and her dance, contrasted with the goodness of O-lan! Aside from the oft-mentioned attributes of acting, photography and special effects, a major element in 'The Good Earth' is the score. ![]() I was always struck by the abruptness of the final scene, but its power and beauty form an excellent example of the art achieved within the often cynical Hollywood film factory. ![]() The scope of the story is very wide, and the filmmakers are up for the task. From the very beginning of the picture, right after the lion's roar, we see the poignant tribute to Irving Thalberg, and we know that we are embarking on an important viewing experience. 'The Good Earth' is of course the finest of its genre, for any number of reasons. In the 30s and 40s, MGM had a penchant for (then) contemporary Chinese-oriented stories ('The Son-Daughter', 'Dragon Seed', 'Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo', etc.), and whether this was a preference, or whether there were just a lot of Chinese-design sets to keep occupied at the studio, the results were strangely moving. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |