suitsme69 Reviews

East of Eden (1981)

They Don't Make 'em Like This Anymore!

[2 September 2002]

This was produced during ABC's Golden Age of great miniseries, which began with Roots and ended with War and Rememberance. But, IMHO this was the apex of their efforts. "East of Eden" is storytelling on the grandest scale possible, an epic tale of multigenerational sibling rivalry that covers decades, and thousands of miles of American terrain. Yet, it still retains the intimacy of family relationships as the Trask family is cursed to repeat the lessons of Genesis time and again. The film is chock-full of amazing performance, especially from Timothy Bottoms who is more than up to the Herculean task of portraying Adam Trask over a lifetime, from a weak-willed teenager to a pillar of his community and from Soon Tek-Oh who is able to take the stereotype of the pigdin-speaking Chinese houseboy and turn it on its ear. But this adaptation surely belongs to Jane Seymour. She gives a mesmerizing performance that not only rivals Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, but surpasses it; It is my all-time favorite performance by an actress in any medium. She was one of the greatest actresses of the latter half of the 20th Century, you will be quite amazed if your point of reference for her is only Dr. Quinn! Do try and find the uncut version of this film-it is well-worth your time.

The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me (2000)

No cinematic purpose...

[1/10 · 28 July 2000]

I really wish I could reccomend this film, as I was a big fan of the play in live performance. But sadly, director Tim Kirkman was unable to find the cinematic equivalent of the intimacy of this one-man show. I was all too aware of his jerking camera work throughout the film; it was almost as if he was someone's kid brother trying to call attention to himself...When directing a piece that is focused on an individual; it isn't a good idea to attempt to bring in some flashy camera work. This is unfair to the audience and the actor/author. I wish some one had just done a straightforward documentation on video...Unfortunately; this may be all future generations have as a record of a trailblazing one-man show.