Too much of everything

Pretty Good

i must have seen a different film!!

As Good As It Gets

Perhaps this story (by Hemingway) just doesn't work on the big screen. I tried the Gary Cooper - Helen Hayes version, but didn't find that done well enough to make it all the way through the film. I slogged all the way through this version for only one reason -- I admire the work of David O. Selznick. Beginning with 1935's "A Tale Of Two Cities", there wasn't much that Selznick did that wasn't impressive. But, with 1949's "The Third Man", things began going downhill, and certainly was at a nadir with this film.Selznick made some accomplishments here. Better than most films, I felt this movie showed the horrors of war. Many of the on-location settings are stunning. And, there is at least one top notch performance here -- that of Vittorio De Sica. And, Rock Hudson does well.But there are problems. Perhaps the biggest problem is Jennifer Jones. Until this film, I never saw the attraction. And after this film...I still don't see the attraction. With some other actress, perhaps I could have done more than simply tolerate this film.The other problem with the television broadcast of this film is that the movie is badly in need of restoration. The picture is downright fuzzy.Books and films are two very different mediums. A film producer or director has to tell a story in a very different way than does an author. One has several hundred pages to tell a story. The other has usually about 2 hours to tell the same story. But just maybe this story doesn't work on film. At least in my 2 experiences it hasn't.

I really wanted to like A Farewell to Arms. But despite for love for Ernest Hemingway and for Rock Hudson, A Farewell to Arms just didn't work for me. Granted it does look amazing, with ravishing use of CinemaScope and the scenery and costumes are gorgeous as you can see in the first hour. The direction is fine, and the music is beautiful and cleverly composed. However, in the pace the film was very pedestrian, but the pace wasn't the only dull thing about it. I am especially talking about the story, which was overall uninteresting and wasn't affecting, and the script, which is really stilted in a lot of scenes. The ending also felt abrupt. The acting is not good, considering how talented the actors are. I love Rock Hudson, and he visibly tries hard and looks really handsome here but he seems very out of his depth. Jennifer Jones is miscast, and her performance is a very uneven mix of overacting and underacting, also she seems very detached from her character and Hudson as well. As for Vittoria di Sica, he overdoes it so wildly you feel as though he accidentally walked onto the wrong set. All in all, despite the talented cast and director and the beautiful visuals and score, the film was dull. 3/10 Bethany Cox

David Selznick loved Jennifer Jones and per John Huston in his book "put everything on the line for his adored Jennifer" I met Douglas Fairbanks Jr years ago at a party when he was in New York and Fairbanks remarked that of major producers he knew, David Selznick stood out because of Mr. Selznick's love of great literature. David Selznick's brilliant productions of Gone With The Wind, Rebecca, David Copperfield, et al reflect Selznick's great love of great novels. (David Selznick wanted to but could not get financing for War and Peace starring of course Ms.Jones) One wonders why David Selznick insisted on remaking A Farewell to Arms but push ahead he did. David Selznick made a releasing deal thru 20th (Likely because of Jennifer Jones' attachment and successes at 20th Century Fox -Song of Bernadette, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, et al) and hired John Huston to direct again possibly because of Jennifer's past history with John Huston (Beat The Devil, We Were Strangers). David Selznick micro managed his productions and fired John Huston whom he felt was titling the picture towards a war film versus a highly romantic film, i.e. favoring Rock Hudson over Jennifer Jones. Charles Vidor replaced Huston and also had clashes with David Selznick. In the mid 50's a gigantic production shot on location in Italy had to be a logistical challenge: Selznick also fired Arthur Fellows as line producer. Some of A Farewell To Arms scenes are brilliantly photographed and large in scope as is the trademark of a Selznick International picture.Jennifer Jones was a beautiful movie star. I would recommend a review of Ms. Jones career, as Ms. Jones is sadly forgotten but was a huge box office star and acclaimed screen actress of her day: Madame Bovary, Good Morning Miss Dove, Duel In The Sun, Ruby Gentry et al Some carp over Jennifer Jones' age in this film but Jennifer Jones looks fine in this picture (but ironically would look even much better years later in a fine and underrated film 20th's Tender Is The Night). My quibble with this film is the dialogue between Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson which seems so stilted and phony. Has anyone counted the number of times the word "darling" is used?Rock Hudson, then a gigantic box office star after George Stevens great film Giant and his run at Universal with hits such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, etc got first billing over the veteran Oscar Winning Jennifer Jones. Elaine Stritch is wonderfully sassy in a small but pivotal supporting role. We are likely never to see the likes of David Selznick again, a pioneer in film. Of all David Selznick's movies I liked Gone With The Wind best but also the splendid WWII Film Since You Went Away starring Ms. Jones and a superb Claudette Colbert I wish Selznick had done an original film like Since You Went Away rather than a remake of A Farewell To Arms. Mr. Hudson adored by his female co-stars such as Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Jane Wyman, et al never really had much to say about working with Jennifer Jones. Ms Jones until her death never commented much about anything ever about her career, her Leading Men, or about her stormy private life. A book on the back story filming of this movie would prove to be interesting. Reading Memo From David O Selznick and David Thomson's Showman would help understand David Selznick's obsession with Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms and Ms. Jones in particular. This was the final film personally produced by David O Selznick.

Jennifer Jones is splendid in this David Selznick production. When Jennifer Jones was in a picture with out without the Selznick Studio involved David Selznick did all he could to make sure his great love Jennifer Jones was shown to every good advantage and also that the picture had the finest in production values.The Camera work here in particular the scenes in the Alps is superb My quibble with the film is that Rock Hudson is too distant as Jennifer's lover. Perhaps another actor such Burt Lancaster as Paul Newman would have been much better. (Years later when Paul Newman was a superstar Jennifer had a cameo in his "Towering Inferno"). David Selznick chose John Huston to direct as Huston had worked with Jennifer Jones twice before but David Selznick seeing that Huston was following the war theme too closely and not his adored Jennifer fired Huston. Charles Vidor replaced Huston but also had his quarrels with David Selznick. David Selznick cast Rock Hudson and gave Hudson top billing over Jennifer Jones due to Rock Hudson's great success in George Stevens great "Giant" with Elizabeth Taylor and the fact Rock Hudson at the time was the number one male box office star in the World due to his series of hits with Jane Wyman at Universal in Ross Hunter's great films Magnificent Obsession and All That Heaven Allows.I recommend this film for the fine work of Jennifer Jones and also to see a maestro Producer at work in Mr. David O Selznick