Hi everyone,
I always found the movie mildly interesting, but the ending seemed rather odd. I finally read the novel and now I understand why. Hemingway's ending had him dying while chasing down a German U-Boat crew. The movie decides to make a sympathetic German Jew refugee statement, at the cost of audience credibility. So instead of dying heroic, Thomas Hudson dies "dumb", and the audience just doesn't "buy it".
A real shame because the film comes very, very close to capturing the spirit of the novel; something that is very difficult to do with Hemingway.
I do enjoy the narrative, the depiction of the difficulty of family life among talented people, the price to be paid for war, and the reconciliation with death that we must all face at the end. Good cast...well done by all. If only the script had been better...!
Update 1-8-06. Another mistake that struck me (but forgot to mention earlier), was the abrupt "cut" right after Hudson & his ex-wife re-conciliate, when he suddenly realizes that she has come to give him the bad news about his son's death. By not lingering for just another minute or two longer, a great chance for some final tender moments were missed, and some real pathos. Too bad...it leaves a real empty emotional feeling for the audience, and nothing for them to "grab onto" later either.
This, plus the altered ending is what disappoints the audience, and is why the film was never popular. The ending is "dumb", with Eddy recklessly firing on the authorities without good reason, and Hudson dying foolishly later as well.
That's "show biz" I guess...(maybe I should gone into the movie business myself. Oh well...too late now!)
Regards,
Steve
I always found the movie mildly interesting, but the ending seemed rather odd. I finally read the novel and now I understand why. Hemingway's ending had him dying while chasing down a German U-Boat crew. The movie decides to make a sympathetic German Jew refugee statement, at the cost of audience credibility. So instead of dying heroic, Thomas Hudson dies "dumb", and the audience just doesn't "buy it".
A real shame because the film comes very, very close to capturing the spirit of the novel; something that is very difficult to do with Hemingway.
I do enjoy the narrative, the depiction of the difficulty of family life among talented people, the price to be paid for war, and the reconciliation with death that we must all face at the end. Good cast...well done by all. If only the script had been better...!
Update 1-8-06. Another mistake that struck me (but forgot to mention earlier), was the abrupt "cut" right after Hudson & his ex-wife re-conciliate, when he suddenly realizes that she has come to give him the bad news about his son's death. By not lingering for just another minute or two longer, a great chance for some final tender moments were missed, and some real pathos. Too bad...it leaves a real empty emotional feeling for the audience, and nothing for them to "grab onto" later either.
This, plus the altered ending is what disappoints the audience, and is why the film was never popular. The ending is "dumb", with Eddy recklessly firing on the authorities without good reason, and Hudson dying foolishly later as well.
That's "show biz" I guess...(maybe I should gone into the movie business myself. Oh well...too late now!)
Regards,
Steve