On Saturday night I saw Fox film from the 40s, again with my wife and nephew; we watched the 2 hours and a half The Song of Bernadette (1943), with the glowing, magical performance of Jennifer Jones as the naïve peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous. Thanks to her the film is completely credible from a cinematic point of view. This was the final reconciliation with the Saints Lives genre, especially important because Jennifer Jones starred in my absolutely favorite all-time film Portrait of Jennie (1948); here, the quality that made her so perfect for the latter is apparent everywhere. Supported by a host of notables: Lee J. Cobb, Anne Revere, Gladys Cooper, Vincent Price, Charles Bickford, Charles Dingle, Sig Ruman, Mary Anderson et al she gives a one of a kind performance under the direction of masterful (sometimes) Henry King. The music, the cinematography, the sets, the atmosphere, everything is perfect and the length of the film was never apparent. Even my young nephew was taken by it and constantly checking info on his iPhone....Quite masterful. Afterwards we watched Portrait of a Lady, an A&E Biography of Jennifer Jones included on DVD release as a bonus.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 22:56:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015