Very poor direction - Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Discussion

[–] ilpohirvonen 12 years ago

When you say an artist like Otto Preminger is guilty of "very poor direction" you should have better arguments than the film's a mess and it should've been shorter. The outplaced jazz is deliberate. As is the editing and cinematography. Preminger was one of the poets of 50's Hollywood and remember -- the new wave was just beginning.

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[–] carrera65 12 years ago

Just saw the film last night. Second time in maybe 7-8 years. Still love it. Great drama, lots of tension. The ambiguity of the characters and of what happened (or did not happen) is what carries the film and makes it so rewarding to watch, still today. Who is the good guy, who is the bad guy? Who should we sympathise with? Was she raped? Is she a victim? Why is she not portrayed more like a victim? Why is she a tease? Did Stewart do the right thing? Maybe we should view the couple more like the teenagers in Malicks Badlands. The film does not tell us. And the jazz score - perfect. Great film. My sympathies are with those of you who do not get it. I feel sorry for you, regardless wether you like it or not.

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[–] buff-29 12 years ago

Guess if poor old Otto Preminger had had the help of somebody like thirsch-2 he might have amounted to something. Clowns like that make me giggle.

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[–] faterson 9 years ago

Yes, I agree that Otto Preminger is the main culprit responsible for why this is such a bad movie. I'll say more in my review.

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[–] fanaticita 9 years ago

Otto Preminger. .poor direction?????? You must be kidding. This film is one of the greatest courtroom dramas ever made. Its ratings are tremendous everywhere, and it was a box office hit when it was released in the 1950s. Where did anybody get the idea it was a comedy or that Preminger gave poor direction??

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[–] faterson 9 years ago

I'm not kidding, and I'm not the only one who believes this movie is poorly directed. Then again, I also believe Citizen Kane is one of the worst and most ridiculously overrated movies of all time – and I'm not kidding in that regard, either.

The world isn't black-and-white. Check out the user reviews of Anatomy of a Murder here on IMDb, sort the reviews using the "Hated it" dropdown menu option, and you will find plenty of well-argued opinions who share my low regard for this movie. One review was written by a husband and wife who are trial attorneys, and they said it was a bad movie even from the courtroom drama aspect of it. Go figure.

Of course, Otto Preminger is a classic director, but this movie, as I feel, is simply badly directed. When all the actors in the movie give bad, unnatural performances, who are you going to blame for it? The director, of course. You can read more on this in my review of Anatomy of a Murder:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052561/reviews-212

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[–] fanaticita 9 years ago

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Different strokes. . . .. ....

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[–] Nobody-27 8 years ago

It seems that every masterpiece has a troll who will criticize it without making a real point, just to get attention.

"Don't feed the troll" comes to mind...

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[–] cultfilmfreaksdotcom 8 years ago

Otto Preminger and Poor Direction should never be in the same sentence. This movie is brilliant. Compare it to all the other preachy courtroom dramas or the melodramatic anti death penalty flicks. It's perfect. And I'm not a lawyer, so if it's a stretch or unbelievably unrealistic, no problem. It flows.

All Movie Reviews www.cultfilmfreaks.com

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