Long Day's Journey Into Night
This 1962 production of Eugene O'Neill's play stars the magnificent Katherine Hepburn (who won an Academy Award for her work in the movie) as Mary Tyrone, the drug-addicted matriarch of a troubled clan. She finds no comfort in her husband, James (Jason Robards), a miserly ex-actor whose bitterness has eroded everyone's goodwill. Their oldest, James, is an alcoholic, and their youngest, Edmund, has returned to await a doctor's prognosis.
Member Reviews
Loooong journey of a film - CW--
The tragic tale of the Tyrone family is etched so completely into the pantheon of America's greatest stories you almost feel obligated to sing it's praises. And there are definitely praises to be sung for this film, absolutely. But when you are getting close to hour three and you are watching the characters retread the ground they did fot the past two and a half, you begin to wonder : what's the fuss really about? To me, in this filmed version at least, it's the performances and the direction. Sidney Lumet keeps his camera still and focused throughout. Whether it be on a light bulb being unscrewed, or a character melting down on the floor, he never waivers. This, I think, keeps the melodrama of the words being spoken reeled in, retaining the power that could escape otherwise. And those performances! Hepburn is frightening as the mother escaping from reality, Stockwell endearing and pathetic as sickly Edmund, Robards maddening as the alcoholic Jamie and Richardson robust and almost sympathetic as James, the father everyone blames for every misfortune. So that leaves the fault, dare I say it? In the overlong and repetitive script. Yes, Eugene O'Neill creates a good deal of suspense in what is basically a three hour look at goings on in a house. And some of the dialogue is still sharp and compelling fifty odd years after it was written. But why do we have to watch the same arguments over and over? Even if something different was said each time, it would make sense. Instead we're left with the feeling that we want each scene just to end so that we, and the characters, can just get on with it.Sparely directed filming of famous play - Superdave
A day in the life of Eugene O'Neill's spectacularly dysfunctional family would be an endurance test for any normal person. The morphine-addict mother, alcoholic older brother and skinflint father gather around the youngest son as he is about to leave for a sanitarium for consumption. They rationalize, get nostalgic about earlier times and think wistfully (not to mention self-deludingly) of the lives they might have led, while dissecting each others' faults as only family members can. The characters (and by now the audience) begin to dread the coming of night as the brother's drinking and the mother's drug use threaten to turn them by turns nasty and insane. Since the script is the star, the direction consists mostly of camera movement into and across and amongst the various pairings and groupings of the principles, which would seem a sound choice. The stage-bound claustrophobia which so commonly results in filmings of great plays is a virtue here, as the family members literally cannot get away from one another. They are held together by blood and co-dependency. Little actually happens and the action is kept to a minimum, but the dramatic fireworks keep things moving along.Another play/movie where all the principals yell at each other - RandyCgy
There are people who consider Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night the greatest American play of the 20th century. I am not one of those people. This is another of those scripts where people spend a good deal of time yelling at each other and/or going crazy, while long-buried family secrets and hatred slowly simmer to the surface. And while I certainly found it more bearable than, say, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and A Streetcar Named Desire, I can't say that it moved me any great amount. Hebpburn gives good crazy, and the other performers are more than adequate, but I can't help but think that the whole is less than the sum of its parts.
Member Reviews
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Loooong journey of a film - CW--
The tragic tale of the Tyrone family is etched so completely into the pantheon of America's greatest stories you almost feel obligated to sing it's praises. And there are definitely praises to be sung for this film, absolutely. But when you are getting close ...Sparely directed filming of famous play - Superdave
A day in the life of Eugene O'Neill's spectacularly dysfunctional family would be an endurance test for any normal person. The morphine-addict mother, alcoholic older brother and skinflint father gather around the youngest son as he is about to leave for a ...Another play/movie where all the principals yell at each other - RandyCgy
There are people who consider Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night the greatest American play of the 20th century. I am not one of those people. This is another of those scripts where people spend a good deal of time yelling at each other and/or ...