Elmer Gantry
|
List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $4.43
Your Save: $ 10.55 ( 70% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger, Shirley Jones
Directed By: Richard Brooks
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792849155
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 0792849159
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2001-03-06
Running Time: 146
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1960-07-07
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Brothers and Sisters, Doin' it for Themselves"
Comment: Burt Lancaster, Burt Lancaster, Burt Lancaster--bringing his genius to the role of Elmer Gantry as no one else in Hollywood could. A master at the art being a silver-tongued devil on the silver screen, if there ever were one. All of the players are right on in their characterizations, but Burt is over the top and we are mesmerised by him. A great study in revival religion and what has now become the electronic church. Oratory that gives you goose bumps.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wow! Rich, Complex, Relevant, A Must-See
Comment: In "Elmer Gantry," Burt Lancaster gives one of the all-time great screen performances. Lancaster's performance is so rich, so real, that the viewer knows this man, knows what Gantry smells like (sweat and eau de cologne) and what he eats (big slabs of beef). I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it.
Gantry's entire repertoire is performed with encyclopedic thoroughness and accuracy. We see Gantry the narcissistic conman, Gantry the philanthropist, Gantry the flamboyant showman. Just when we think we've seen it all, just when we think we can write Gantry off as a cross between a clown, a self-deceiver, and a blowhard, the movie reveals another nuance in Gantry's soul - something we'd never seen before, and yet realize is totally believable, and, in fact, essential to understanding the man. Our views of the man change. We can't help but love him.
One such scene: almost 75 % of the way through the movie, in fact, after a shorter and shallower movie would have ended, Gantry says to another man, "Don't you know that that hurts?" in a voice we haven't heard him use before. Lancaster is breathtaking in this, the film's quietest line reading. Lancaster is so magnificent in this, his Oscar-winning role, that you have to wonder if he is not calling on much of his own character, as a charming, larger-than-life Hollywood star, to play the charming, larger-than-life star of tent revivals. Lancaster received a letter from a childhood friend saying that Lancaster's performance as Elmer Gantry reminded him of the Lancaster he remembered from real life.
The rest of the cast is also superb. Jean Simmons is domineering, spiritual, spooky, and lustful, by turns. Shirley Jones is heartbreaking as a doomed woman. Arthur Kennedy is perfect as a skeptical journalist. Dean Jagger perfectly times and pitches his paternal air, his outrage, and his surprised forgiveness. Patti Page is poignant as Sister Rachel. Edward Andrews is the embodiment of a sanctimonious, ambitious, brothel owner.
Of course this film addressing religious corruption, lynch mob mentality, and illicit sex was made under strict rules of censorship. There are no four letter words, no naked breasts, no bleeding wounds. And yet this film raised goose bumps in ways that more explicit movies only wish they could. A crowd bays for blood; a man pulls a horse whip out of a paper bag and cracks it. Refuse is thrown at a man, and what looks very like maggots. A police officer arresting a prostitute says "You wouldn't believe what I caught this one doing." A virgin is taken under a building by a man who has practically hypnotized her. Wow!
"Elmer Gantry" is critical of Christian revival meetings that were popular in the rural South and Midwest in the early decades of the twentieth century. Its indirect targets were understood to be the historical figures, Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday. Some Christians might avoid the movie for this reason. That would be a mistake. The movie is ultimately very charitable to all of its characters, even Babbit, the brothel owner. Like Gantry himself, the film sees humanity in all its beauty and ugliness, understands, and forgives. This is no black/white, two-dimensional screed. It's a complex exploration of complex behaviors, longings, needs, desires, ambitions. A woman can be a virgin dedicated to God and also a lover who empties sand out of her high-heeled shoe after a night of illicit passion on a beach. A villain who contributed to the ruination of a young woman's life can redeem himself through application of biblical concepts of humility and forgiveness.
Too, the flimflamming "Elmer Gantry" skewers is not limited to churches. There is a charming narcissist of uncertain background on the world stage today who, like Gantry, attracts chanting crowds, causes women to faint and men to believe in a national renaissance. This particular charismatic public speaker is not a religious leader, but a candidate for the presidency. The speaker who wows crowds, the crowds who yearn to surrender themselves to a putative messiah, are forever with us. That being the case, "Elmer Gantry" is a film that will never lose its relevance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Elmer "where are ya now, when we need you" Gantry
Comment: Ah yes, when men were men, and Burt Lancaster was the best of all possible men! He has always breathed a quality of three-dimensional life into the characters that he portrayed that made him almost mythical. But clearly this was one of Burt's best acting performances. The man embodied sheer brilliance.
In one scene Elmer (Burt Lancaster) walks into an all black Church, takes a place in the pews and starts singing "I'm On My Way" with the rest of the parishioners. Everyone stops singing... except Elmer. He singings from such a depth of heart that everyone in the Church soon after embraces him as a brother. That magnitude of passion is Burt being Burt. He was one of a kind.
As the jilted Lulu Baines, Shirley Jones is not only breath-takingly beautiful but also heart-breakingly real and emotionally genuine. If you can only remember Shirley Jones as Mother Partridge from "The Partridge Family" television series, then you definitely need to watch this film. She shows true talent and skill in this role. (She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.)
This film should be rated "M" for mature; it is made for an adult, clear thinking audience. If you are ready to put on your big girl panties (or big boy jockies) and deal with real world issues.... watch this DVD. You will be a better person for having done so. And that's something you can't say that about many films being produced nowadays.
If it is true that we have a panoramic life review when we die, then re-watching this film will be among the highlights of my current incarnation. In my next life I want to be the sister, Sharon Falconer, to Burt's Elmer Gantry. That would be a life and love worth living! And what is love but the morning and evening star...
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great Singular Performance by Lancaster
Comment: Burt Lancaster is great in this movie, but everything else in the
movie is merely average. Shirley Jones steals some scences but
she is only in the movie for a very short period of time. The movie
is a long watch and becomes a bore whenever Lancaster is not
center stage. I recommend reading the book which is an all time classic
and covers more of Gantry's life giving him more depth then the movie.
This is one movie that would greatly benefit from a modern day remake.
A filmmaker today could better explore the depths of Gantry's
personality and show his vices. Someone like George Clooney, while
not being able to surpass Lancaster, would make a huge hit out this
material.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "People are all the same in one thing. They're all afraid to die and they want you to save them."
Comment: Elmer Gantry doesn't need a lightshow, radio mikes or his own TV channel, he creates his own energy and carries all before him with a gift of the gab that can turn any situation to his advantage. Phoney as a two-dollar bill and first seen drinking, womanising and fighting in that order, Gantry is a crude, vulgar showoff with a vocabulary that belongs in an outhouse who goes from selling vacuum cleaners to selling religion in a travelling revival show. Worming his way under her guard to become bad cop to Jean Simmons' Sister Sharon's good cop, he damns them and she saves them. If he's a sharp operator, she's not exactly a mug herself: "God chose me. I chose you." Before long, he's converting her to the ways of the flesh and all hell breaks loose...
Sinclair Lewis' novel may well be Book of the Month Club choice stuff, but at least in those days books of the month were about something. A work of both ambition and substance, this is the kind of film that Day of the Locust wanted to be. Sharing many of the same themes, but putting them over with breathless energy, it is filled with outstanding moments. Gantry's reunion with Shirley Jones is touchingly pathetic without being openly sentimental, giving a real sense of wasted lives, and there is real tension in the miracle leading up to the genuinely apocalyptic ending that puts Frank Capra's earlier Miracle Woman to shame.
The sexual chemistry between the leads is just as convincing, and the film is not without humour as well, even throwing in a sly in-joke when Gantry tells how Arthur Kennedy's doubting Thomas learned his use of words from "Sinclair Lewis, lot of other atheists." The films own use of language is superb, and not just when sermonising. It is hard to believe that some of the dialogue crept past the 50s censors - although there is no foul language, the screenplay is incredibly daring for its day. Shirley Jones recounts to her fellow whores the time Elmer "rammed the fear of God into me so fast I never heard my father's footsteps" in the pulpit one Christmas Eve, while Gantry propositions Sharon with "I'd like to tear those holy wings off you, make a real woman of you. I'd show you what heaven's like." It's no surprise that MGM pulled out of a planned version in the mid-50s to be produced by and star William Holden (who was so sure the film would be made he turned down the lead in Giant to make it).
It may not be Lancaster's greatest performance, but in true Oscar-winning fashion it's hands down his showiest - at times you want to tell him to put those teeth away before he hurts someone. You know exactly what he is in any given scene, it's putting them all together that makes it hard to get a complete picture. Gantry's semi-redemption is more subtle and complex and elusive than the cinematic norm and therefore more poignant.
Both Simmons and Oscar-winner Jones, cast wildly against type as the fallen woman, are superb. The under-appreciated Arthur Kennedy, in what is almost a dress rehearsal for his cynical reporter bit in Lawrence of Arabia also offers strong support: the moment where his dictation of a newspaper article matches the power of Gantry's oratory and stops the other reporters in their tracks is beautifully underplayed.
The DVD includes a trailer with Lancaster's Gantry selling the film the way he sells religion. Wearing its length lightly and taking you with it every step of the way, this is more than worth the money, with outstanding direction and screenwriting from Richard Brooks and great performances from all concerned, Elmer Gantry is terrific.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Brothers and Sisters, Doin' it for Themselves"
Comment: Burt Lancaster, Burt Lancaster, Burt Lancaster--bringing his genius to the role of Elmer Gantry as no one else in Hollywood could. A master at the art being a silver-tongued devil on the silver screen, if there ever were one. All of the players are right on in their characterizations, but Burt is over the top and we are mesmerised by him. A great study in revival religion and what has now become the electronic church. Oratory that gives you goose bumps.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wow! Rich, Complex, Relevant, A Must-See
Comment: In "Elmer Gantry," Burt Lancaster gives one of the all-time great screen performances. Lancaster's performance is so rich, so real, that the viewer knows this man, knows what Gantry smells like (sweat and eau de cologne) and what he eats (big slabs of beef). I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it.
Gantry's entire repertoire is performed with encyclopedic thoroughness and accuracy. We see Gantry the narcissistic conman, Gantry the philanthropist, Gantry the flamboyant showman. Just when we think we've seen it all, just when we think we can write Gantry off as a cross between a clown, a self-deceiver, and a blowhard, the movie reveals another nuance in Gantry's soul - something we'd never seen before, and yet realize is totally believable, and, in fact, essential to understanding the man. Our views of the man change. We can't help but love him.
One such scene: almost 75 % of the way through the movie, in fact, after a shorter and shallower movie would have ended, Gantry says to another man, "Don't you know that that hurts?" in a voice we haven't heard him use before. Lancaster is breathtaking in this, the film's quietest line reading. Lancaster is so magnificent in this, his Oscar-winning role, that you have to wonder if he is not calling on much of his own character, as a charming, larger-than-life Hollywood star, to play the charming, larger-than-life star of tent revivals. Lancaster received a letter from a childhood friend saying that Lancaster's performance as Elmer Gantry reminded him of the Lancaster he remembered from real life.
The rest of the cast is also superb. Jean Simmons is domineering, spiritual, spooky, and lustful, by turns. Shirley Jones is heartbreaking as a doomed woman. Arthur Kennedy is perfect as a skeptical journalist. Dean Jagger perfectly times and pitches his paternal air, his outrage, and his surprised forgiveness. Patti Page is poignant as Sister Rachel. Edward Andrews is the embodiment of a sanctimonious, ambitious, brothel owner.
Of course this film addressing religious corruption, lynch mob mentality, and illicit sex was made under strict rules of censorship. There are no four letter words, no naked breasts, no bleeding wounds. And yet this film raised goose bumps in ways that more explicit movies only wish they could. A crowd bays for blood; a man pulls a horse whip out of a paper bag and cracks it. Refuse is thrown at a man, and what looks very like maggots. A police officer arresting a prostitute says "You wouldn't believe what I caught this one doing." A virgin is taken under a building by a man who has practically hypnotized her. Wow!
"Elmer Gantry" is critical of Christian revival meetings that were popular in the rural South and Midwest in the early decades of the twentieth century. Its indirect targets were understood to be the historical figures, Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday. Some Christians might avoid the movie for this reason. That would be a mistake. The movie is ultimately very charitable to all of its characters, even Babbit, the brothel owner. Like Gantry himself, the film sees humanity in all its beauty and ugliness, understands, and forgives. This is no black/white, two-dimensional screed. It's a complex exploration of complex behaviors, longings, needs, desires, ambitions. A woman can be a virgin dedicated to God and also a lover who empties sand out of her high-heeled shoe after a night of illicit passion on a beach. A villain who contributed to the ruination of a young woman's life can redeem himself through application of biblical concepts of humility and forgiveness.
Too, the flimflamming "Elmer Gantry" skewers is not limited to churches. There is a charming narcissist of uncertain background on the world stage today who, like Gantry, attracts chanting crowds, causes women to faint and men to believe in a national renaissance. This particular charismatic public speaker is not a religious leader, but a candidate for the presidency. The speaker who wows crowds, the crowds who yearn to surrender themselves to a putative messiah, are forever with us. That being the case, "Elmer Gantry" is a film that will never lose its relevance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Elmer "where are ya now, when we need you" Gantry
Comment: Ah yes, when men were men, and Burt Lancaster was the best of all possible men! He has always breathed a quality of three-dimensional life into the characters that he portrayed that made him almost mythical. But clearly this was one of Burt's best acting performances. The man embodied sheer brilliance.
In one scene Elmer (Burt Lancaster) walks into an all black Church, takes a place in the pews and starts singing "I'm On My Way" with the rest of the parishioners. Everyone stops singing... except Elmer. He singings from such a depth of heart that everyone in the Church soon after embraces him as a brother. That magnitude of passion is Burt being Burt. He was one of a kind.
As the jilted Lulu Baines, Shirley Jones is not only breath-takingly beautiful but also heart-breakingly real and emotionally genuine. If you can only remember Shirley Jones as Mother Partridge from "The Partridge Family" television series, then you definitely need to watch this film. She shows true talent and skill in this role. (She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.)
This film should be rated "M" for mature; it is made for an adult, clear thinking audience. If you are ready to put on your big girl panties (or big boy jockies) and deal with real world issues.... watch this DVD. You will be a better person for having done so. And that's something you can't say that about many films being produced nowadays.
If it is true that we have a panoramic life review when we die, then re-watching this film will be among the highlights of my current incarnation. In my next life I want to be the sister, Sharon Falconer, to Burt's Elmer Gantry. That would be a life and love worth living! And what is love but the morning and evening star...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Singular Performance by Lancaster
Comment: Burt Lancaster is great in this movie, but everything else in the
movie is merely average. Shirley Jones steals some scences but
she is only in the movie for a very short period of time. The movie
is a long watch and becomes a bore whenever Lancaster is not
center stage. I recommend reading the book which is an all time classic
and covers more of Gantry's life giving him more depth then the movie.
This is one movie that would greatly benefit from a modern day remake.
A filmmaker today could better explore the depths of Gantry's
personality and show his vices. Someone like George Clooney, while
not being able to surpass Lancaster, would make a huge hit out this
material.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "People are all the same in one thing. They're all afraid to die and they want you to save them."
Comment: Elmer Gantry doesn't need a lightshow, radio mikes or his own TV channel, he creates his own energy and carries all before him with a gift of the gab that can turn any situation to his advantage. Phoney as a two-dollar bill and first seen drinking, womanising and fighting in that order, Gantry is a crude, vulgar showoff with a vocabulary that belongs in an outhouse who goes from selling vacuum cleaners to selling religion in a travelling revival show. Worming his way under her guard to become bad cop to Jean Simmons' Sister Sharon's good cop, he damns them and she saves them. If he's a sharp operator, she's not exactly a mug herself: "God chose me. I chose you." Before long, he's converting her to the ways of the flesh and all hell breaks loose...
Sinclair Lewis' novel may well be Book of the Month Club choice stuff, but at least in those days books of the month were about something. A work of both ambition and substance, this is the kind of film that Day of the Locust wanted to be. Sharing many of the same themes, but putting them over with breathless energy, it is filled with outstanding moments. Gantry's reunion with Shirley Jones is touchingly pathetic without being openly sentimental, giving a real sense of wasted lives, and there is real tension in the miracle leading up to the genuinely apocalyptic ending that puts Frank Capra's earlier Miracle Woman to shame.
The sexual chemistry between the leads is just as convincing, and the film is not without humour as well, even throwing in a sly in-joke when Gantry tells how Arthur Kennedy's doubting Thomas learned his use of words from "Sinclair Lewis, lot of other atheists." The films own use of language is superb, and not just when sermonising. It is hard to believe that some of the dialogue crept past the 50s censors - although there is no foul language, the screenplay is incredibly daring for its day. Shirley Jones recounts to her fellow whores the time Elmer "rammed the fear of God into me so fast I never heard my father's footsteps" in the pulpit one Christmas Eve, while Gantry propositions Sharon with "I'd like to tear those holy wings off you, make a real woman of you. I'd show you what heaven's like." It's no surprise that MGM pulled out of a planned version in the mid-50s to be produced by and star William Holden (who was so sure the film would be made he turned down the lead in Giant to make it).
It may not be Lancaster's greatest performance, but in true Oscar-winning fashion it's hands down his showiest - at times you want to tell him to put those teeth away before he hurts someone. You know exactly what he is in any given scene, it's putting them all together that makes it hard to get a complete picture. Gantry's semi-redemption is more subtle and complex and elusive than the cinematic norm and therefore more poignant.
Both Simmons and Oscar-winner Jones, cast wildly against type as the fallen woman, are superb. The under-appreciated Arthur Kennedy, in what is almost a dress rehearsal for his cynical reporter bit in Lawrence of Arabia also offers strong support: the moment where his dictation of a newspaper article matches the power of Gantry's oratory and stops the other reporters in their tracks is beautifully underplayed.
The DVD includes a trailer with Lancaster's Gantry selling the film the way he sells religion. Wearing its length lightly and taking you with it every step of the way, this is more than worth the money, with outstanding direction and screenwriting from Richard Brooks and great performances from all concerned, Elmer Gantry is terrific.
Elmer gantry salesman teams up with sister sharon falconer evangelist to sell religion to america in the 1920s Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 01/02/2002 Starring: Burt Lancaster Arthur Kennedy Run time: 147 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Richard Brooks
|
|
|
- Ask about this healthcare product "Elmer Gantry" in the forum
- Give review on this healthcare product "Elmer Gantry" in the forum
- Search related information in the forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
