I'm sure Jack Warner was a good man, but why he let Ayn Rand have carte blanche over this film defies logic. Her writing--essentially a linear series of dialogue that supposedly makes sense when seen in order--is so hamfisted that it staggers belief. The only way to describe it is to imagine a badly-made parody of a popular film that a younger relative has made and spent time on that you're forced to watch, only with some real Hollywood actors. This isn't a movie as much as it's philosophy porn for dummies.
And it's hard to excuse Rand for this since she was handed an obscene amount of power to bring this to film. King Vidor, the actors....no, this falls at the feet of Rand. Many other reviewers here will go on about her philosophy but the only thing I see when I see this movie is how badly it is written. 'Romantic Realism?' Give me a break. Rand's writing is Harlequin posing as actual literature. Rod Serling has a lighter touch. Yes, Rod freaking Serling. Rand beats him by a clear country mile.
I wish there was something redeeming about this film but I fear the only thing I can come up with is a possible Rifftrax. Dramatically this is stilted so far that it's damn near horizontal. And the blame falls on the writer who had enough power to get her words onto the screen. Pity that a woman who pushed a philosophy of elites being held down by the mass ends up showing everybody in the world just how elite she isn't. With one horrifically bad movie, Rand could be shown to show how utterly silly her philosophy is: she may have been good in some respects that I'm unaware of, but as a screenwriter she ranks below Ed Wood. And Ed Wood was entertaining.
And it's hard to excuse Rand for this since she was handed an obscene amount of power to bring this to film. King Vidor, the actors....no, this falls at the feet of Rand. Many other reviewers here will go on about her philosophy but the only thing I see when I see this movie is how badly it is written. 'Romantic Realism?' Give me a break. Rand's writing is Harlequin posing as actual literature. Rod Serling has a lighter touch. Yes, Rod freaking Serling. Rand beats him by a clear country mile.
I wish there was something redeeming about this film but I fear the only thing I can come up with is a possible Rifftrax. Dramatically this is stilted so far that it's damn near horizontal. And the blame falls on the writer who had enough power to get her words onto the screen. Pity that a woman who pushed a philosophy of elites being held down by the mass ends up showing everybody in the world just how elite she isn't. With one horrifically bad movie, Rand could be shown to show how utterly silly her philosophy is: she may have been good in some respects that I'm unaware of, but as a screenwriter she ranks below Ed Wood. And Ed Wood was entertaining.