Hats off to Epdean,the user who did the hard task of letting us know about the situation in China when our film begins.I wish every "historical" movie had an user like him.
What about the movie?It' s perhaps not as absorbing as "Dr Zhivago" (it's important to notice that anyway Robert Bolt took liberties with Pasternak's novel),but it's a very worthwhile epic ,with a very good cast including David Niven,Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, the most beautiful woman Hollywood ever knew.But the best performance comes from Flora Robson as the empress, a spider on her cobweb.The lines are above average: "we're in the country of poppy and we can't get any morphine!" and China in "55 days" is less "chocolate box" than in "Inn of sixth happiness".
What about Ray?They said he was always drunk during all the shooting.I can feel his touch even there ! Teresa's character is in search of a family,as the heroes of "rebel without a cause" (particularly Plato)of "run for cover" " "they live by night" and more were.And as it often happens in Ray's movies,someone has to sacrifice his/her life so the others can go on:Mitchum in "lusty men" ,Derek in "run for cover" Granger in "they live by night" Mineo in "rebel without the cause....and who-you-know in "king of kings" .
Ava Gardner's death ,while trying to bring food and medicine to the children will lead Heston to something he would probably not have thought of.In his absorbing memoirs "in the arena",he wrote that Ava had to die for another less romantic reason though.
What about the movie?It' s perhaps not as absorbing as "Dr Zhivago" (it's important to notice that anyway Robert Bolt took liberties with Pasternak's novel),but it's a very worthwhile epic ,with a very good cast including David Niven,Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, the most beautiful woman Hollywood ever knew.But the best performance comes from Flora Robson as the empress, a spider on her cobweb.The lines are above average: "we're in the country of poppy and we can't get any morphine!" and China in "55 days" is less "chocolate box" than in "Inn of sixth happiness".
What about Ray?They said he was always drunk during all the shooting.I can feel his touch even there ! Teresa's character is in search of a family,as the heroes of "rebel without a cause" (particularly Plato)of "run for cover" " "they live by night" and more were.And as it often happens in Ray's movies,someone has to sacrifice his/her life so the others can go on:Mitchum in "lusty men" ,Derek in "run for cover" Granger in "they live by night" Mineo in "rebel without the cause....and who-you-know in "king of kings" .
Ava Gardner's death ,while trying to bring food and medicine to the children will lead Heston to something he would probably not have thought of.In his absorbing memoirs "in the arena",he wrote that Ava had to die for another less romantic reason though.