cult film freak: RAGTIME

Written by James M. Tate / 12/31/2010 / No comments / adaptation , eighties , howard rollins jr. , james cagney , milos forman , period piece , samuel l. jackson

RAGTIME

12/31/2010 | No comment

title: RAGTIME
year: 1981
cast: Howard Rollins Jr., James Cagney, James Olson, Brad Dourif
rating: **

With a great script, director Milos Forman can make a perfect film. With a mediocre script, Milos will make a mediocre film that looks great. Such is the case in this period drama centering on a black man, Howard Rollins, holed-up in a library with thugs (including a young Sam Jackson) and explosives because of what happened to his car and his lady. Legendary James Cagney plays a police commissioner after a long screen absence, but seems to be going through the motions: perhaps because of his advanced age. But the most frustrating aspect of this E.L. Doctorow adaptation is that it initially promises to be a big film on a grand scale, teasing us with gorgeous sets, historical tie-ins, and various eclectic characters who, by the end, mean very little.

Share This Post :

Tags : adaptation , eighties , howard rollins jr. , james cagney , milos forman , period piece , samuel l. jackson

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)THE BREAK 9)CALCULATED RISK 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)THE CROWDED SKY 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)FALLEN ANGEL 20)THUNDER ISLAND 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER