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georgegolembiewski
Reviews
The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
Vanilla version of a lovely story
I loved watching this period piece about the great Seabiscuit. The
opening scene at the railroad station was shockingly racist. This clumsy attempt at humor was offensive to me as an American, but I must remember this was 1949. After this the movie shows some beautiful scenes of Kentucky horse country. The actor Lon MCallister seems awfully big for a jockey, but is a perfect love interest for young Shirley Temple who does a nice job in the role. The scene stealer is of course the inimitable Barry Fitzgerald who gives a predictably colorful performance as the oh so wise horse trainer. All in all a sanitized version of the real Seabiscuit story.
Panther (1995)
Interesting topic, poor account
This film is a disappointment though it is worth seeing. The white Police are always the oppressors of the noble black community. They refer to a large street crowd of black people as "pickaninies". When black people use dope it the fault of the white power structure. Never is individual responsibility expressed as a reason for failure. The history of these troubled times is not portrayed with a sense of balance you might see in a Spike Lee film. The research is as bad as Oliver Stone's JFK. If you see this film don't take it as an accurate representation of the subject matter.
Uprising (2001)
Good movie, shameful stereotypes
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Uprising despite its obvious flaws. A good story is told how Warsaw Jews defy the Natzis, but it is all too simplistic and frought with inaccuracies. All the Jews are young and handsome while Poles are plain looking middle aged people with tattered clothing ,unwashed,and with bad teeth. They also are all indiifferent to the plight of the Jews , and will only help if given money or threatened by the courageous and noble Jews. Poles on thother hand are just voka swilling mercenaries. In truth the Warsaw Ghetto uprising could never got off the ground without the assisrance of the Polish underground. Nowhere in this movie are Poles given credit for their contributions to this effort. Like the Jews they too were victims of the Natzi atrocities, but you'd never know that from wathing this film. Uprising is a great story with some serious deficiencies. A more balnced portrayal of the plight of Polish Jews , and Polish Catholics would have really educated the public about this moment in history. Unfortunately this did not happen.
Decoration Day (1990)
Another gem from Hallmark Hall of Fame
This is a movie you remember. It is a poignant tale of race, honor, patriotism, and love. The film's very title evokes memories of an earlier time in America, a time when there was less shouting and more respect for others. The former Judge excellently portrayed by James Garner has a great deal of love for his old boyhood friend from days gone by. The work that the Garner character goes through to redeem this old relationship is very reaffirming. Bill Cobb does a great job as the embittered former friend of Garner. This is truly a great film with a little romance thrown in. A must see for a more mature audience.
And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988)
A group of gypsies fleeing the Natzi's during World War II.
This is a good film that depicts a small group of gysies escaping the German army during World War II. The group is fleeing south from Poland through Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Bucholz gives a good performance as the gypsy leader who must mediate disputes. Through all their travail there is romance with the leaders adolescent daughter and a boy from another gypsy family. The film is unique in that the hunted are not Jews or prisoners of war, but gypsies. I was so glad to see someone,somewhere make a film where a group other than Jews are depicted as the targets of Natzi hatred. Sadly you may never see this film since it was shown only once on Showtime in mid-afternoon a number or years ago.