When I think of something trashy and good, I'm thinking of something so bad it's good. Or maybe something that's trying really hard to please and is working, even if it is kind of crappy, maybe something like The Mummy Returns, which truly did please me. I don't think melodrama is in its nature trashy. This past weekend, I saw for the first time in my life Gone with the Wind, and, as God is my witness, I'm never watching that clumsy piece of filmmaking again. It is a florid melodrama, and so is Written on the Wind. But Written on the Wind handles itself so amazingly well. I almost wanted to clap when "The End" appeared on the screen. It is my personal Gone with the Wind, about 10 times better than that supposed masterpiece.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
As for the writing, the story and the dialogue, it was all good. Maybe not the best in the world, but still quite good. I did care about the characters, a good (and necessary) sign for a drama. The only weak spot is the courtroom scene, which is particularly bad even for this most cliched type of scene. But it also incorporates a lot of Freudian touches into the script, so there is always more going on beneath the surface. Especially watch Marylee and the scenes involving her. Pay close attention to her final scene in the film, where she has sole control of the Hadley oil industry. Look at what she is holding in her hand, for instance (and make sure to notice the painting of her father behind her in this same scene).
The acting was quite high quality, for the most part. Rock Hudson was good as the tough guy who has to try to keep the lid on his emotions. Robert Stack was excellent as a pathetic rich boy (he also played drunk well, which is very hard to do), and Dorothy Malone is a standout as the nympho sister who works as a catalyst for the harrowing climax. The only weak point in this cast is Lauren Bacall, who, while not bad, does not exhibit much depth in the role of the newcomer into the oil dynasty.
The real point of light in the whole proceedings is Douglas Sirk. He is why I picked this film up. I had heard his name countless times in my readings, and had always been interested. I mean, go through any user comments on this site to any of his films. People will say how cheesy or soap-opera-like his films are, but they all still love his films (I don't recall a single negative comment in all of those that I read, and I read most of them). Any director who can do that, heck, any director who can be singled out as an auteur in the American studio system, deserves recognition. And Written on the Wind has an amazing style when compared to other Hollywood features of the same period. The way he moves his camera is quite a feat at times. Watch the way the camera rolls from Stack's yellow car to the upstairs bedroom window in the prologue/climactic scene, or how the camera follows the bartender through the beaded door, allowing the beads to graze the lense (most Hollywood films in the studio system would have done a lot to have avoided this, but it adds a particular feeling to what is happening in that scene), or, my favorite scene, watch both the camera placement (actually, here, the decision NOT to move the camera) and the editing of the sequence involving the father's death. Possibly the most noticeable technique that differentiates this film from other Hollywood films of the same era is the startling use of color. The production design is more reminiscent of an MGM musical than a melodrama. The way color is used is very painterly, of the more modern art variety like Lichtenstein and Warhol. I don't know exactly what Sirk did all that for, but it makes these color films much more impressive than the often boring realistic style used in most films of the same period. In fact, I generally prefer black and white to color at this period, because so many cinematographers were unskilled in the way of color yet. Watching Written on the Wind is something akin to a light acid trip, and I'm sure Sirk regained popularity in the late 60s because of it.
All in all, Written on the Wind is quite spectacular. I can't wait to see more Sirk films. I just rented Imitation of Life and Magnificent Obsession, so hopefully they live up to the high standard Written on the Wind has already set. 9/10.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
As for the writing, the story and the dialogue, it was all good. Maybe not the best in the world, but still quite good. I did care about the characters, a good (and necessary) sign for a drama. The only weak spot is the courtroom scene, which is particularly bad even for this most cliched type of scene. But it also incorporates a lot of Freudian touches into the script, so there is always more going on beneath the surface. Especially watch Marylee and the scenes involving her. Pay close attention to her final scene in the film, where she has sole control of the Hadley oil industry. Look at what she is holding in her hand, for instance (and make sure to notice the painting of her father behind her in this same scene).
The acting was quite high quality, for the most part. Rock Hudson was good as the tough guy who has to try to keep the lid on his emotions. Robert Stack was excellent as a pathetic rich boy (he also played drunk well, which is very hard to do), and Dorothy Malone is a standout as the nympho sister who works as a catalyst for the harrowing climax. The only weak point in this cast is Lauren Bacall, who, while not bad, does not exhibit much depth in the role of the newcomer into the oil dynasty.
The real point of light in the whole proceedings is Douglas Sirk. He is why I picked this film up. I had heard his name countless times in my readings, and had always been interested. I mean, go through any user comments on this site to any of his films. People will say how cheesy or soap-opera-like his films are, but they all still love his films (I don't recall a single negative comment in all of those that I read, and I read most of them). Any director who can do that, heck, any director who can be singled out as an auteur in the American studio system, deserves recognition. And Written on the Wind has an amazing style when compared to other Hollywood features of the same period. The way he moves his camera is quite a feat at times. Watch the way the camera rolls from Stack's yellow car to the upstairs bedroom window in the prologue/climactic scene, or how the camera follows the bartender through the beaded door, allowing the beads to graze the lense (most Hollywood films in the studio system would have done a lot to have avoided this, but it adds a particular feeling to what is happening in that scene), or, my favorite scene, watch both the camera placement (actually, here, the decision NOT to move the camera) and the editing of the sequence involving the father's death. Possibly the most noticeable technique that differentiates this film from other Hollywood films of the same era is the startling use of color. The production design is more reminiscent of an MGM musical than a melodrama. The way color is used is very painterly, of the more modern art variety like Lichtenstein and Warhol. I don't know exactly what Sirk did all that for, but it makes these color films much more impressive than the often boring realistic style used in most films of the same period. In fact, I generally prefer black and white to color at this period, because so many cinematographers were unskilled in the way of color yet. Watching Written on the Wind is something akin to a light acid trip, and I'm sure Sirk regained popularity in the late 60s because of it.
All in all, Written on the Wind is quite spectacular. I can't wait to see more Sirk films. I just rented Imitation of Life and Magnificent Obsession, so hopefully they live up to the high standard Written on the Wind has already set. 9/10.