rosenthal_s Reviews

A Moon for the Misbegotten (1975 TV Movie)

don't miss it

[10/10 · 25 September 2002]

Superb reproduction of one of the triumphant productions of the American theater. This production single-handedly put A Moon for the Misbegotten among Eugene O'Neill's best-loved and most-produced plays. Great work by three great actors who are unfortunately no longer with us, Jason Robards, Colleen Dewhurst, and Ed Flanders.

Death of a Salesman (1966 TV Movie)

must buy from Broadway Theatre Archive

[10/10 · 31 August 2001]

Just got this from Broadway Theatre Archive. I would recommend this to anyone remotely interested in this play and the history of American theater. While not the "film" the Dustin Hoffman version is, I found it more moving. It preserves two great performances, the original ones on Broadway. Lee J. Cobb is amazing. More than any other performance of this I've seen, he successfully shows Willy's horrifying diminishment in mental capacity while losing none of his character's or the play's emotional power. Mildred Dunnock is softer toward Willy than her successors but shows the steel within her when she deals with her sons. All in all a heartbreaking performance.

George Segal is good as Biff, but unlike the more evenly balanced Dustin Hoffman-John Malkovich version, is somewhat dwarfed by Lee J. Cobb's Willy. James Farentino, who made a superb Biff on Broadway with George C. Scott, makes a superb Hap.

The Contractor (1974 TV Movie)

excellent reproduction of important off-Broadway play

[10/10 · 19 January 2001]

Just got this from the Broadway Theater Archive. This dates from a golden period of PBS, when they were doing first-rate productions of plays that there would be no record of otherwise. David Storey was a particularly important British playwright of the seventies. His novel This Sporting Life was also made into a first rate film of the early sixties that made Richard Harris a star. This play involves men setting up a tent for their employer's daughter's wedding. Through their activities we see the inner hopes, dreams, and disappointments of both employers and employees in how they interact with each other, and in how they treat a mentally retarded fellow worker (a great performance by Kevin O'Connor).

Sunshine (1999)

fascinating, thought-provoking film

[10/10 · 5 July 2000]

This was a fascinating, thought-provoking film. I can't remember another film that examined the emotional costs of Jewish assimilation with such honesty. The performances were uniformly excellent, particularly Jennifer Ehle, who seems to be a true star-to-be. One minor quibble. I suppose Ralph Fiennes wouldn't have taken the movie if he didn't have all three roles, but it might have been more effective if the three parts were played by different actors.