A Face in the Crowd (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

A stark depiction of the rise of a demagogue.Director Elia Kazan's intense political drama A Face in the Crowd (1957) is a striking testament to the power of media. Kazan demonstrates how a cult of personality can start from humble grassroots and fester into a malignant tumor upon society.A Face in the Crowd gives you insight into the lives of men like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump. You witness their sleaze, stupidity, manipulation, selfishness, crassness, racism, and contempt for their fellow men. Kazan satirizes the entire Republican party essentially within A Face in the Crowd.Budd Schulberg's script is one of cinema's best. His words feel so genuine to his redneck, senator, socialite, and everyman characters. His satirical critique clearly shows and tells you how tyrants and con artists fake their way to fame and influence. A Face in the Crowd does more than depict their ascent and fall, but also how these demagogues influence the populace with lies and catchphrases. It's all meticulous manipulation of the masses.Kazan's direction is impressive taking small town thinking and applying conservative rhetoric across the country. Kazan plays with conventions of song, radio, television, and speeches with a biting eye. His use of shadows, close-ups, and still shots are haunting as he openly displays all the dark grit of these shady characters. Elia Kazan's direction is the real star of A Face in the Crowd.Andy Griffith's powerhouse performance as Lonesome Rhodes is fascinating as he swings his entire body into this role. His soulful and captivating singing, coupled with his jeering one liners and endearing rural storytelling, make Griffith's leading man the gripping man of the hour. Griffith captures the selfish narcissist at his lowest personal moments, all while manipulating the audience of A Face in the Crowd much like Rhodes' own listeners and viewers. Watch the ratings indeed!Patricia Neal is outstanding and endearing as the woman that discovers and exploits Griffith's Lonesome. Her eventual mental and emotional destruction is horrifying and saddening, while entertaining as her character is the hero we need to stand up to Lonesome's fraudulence. Walter Matthau is interesting as the first man to realize how fake Lonesome is in actuality. His final monologue to Lonesome as Kazan pans inwards is classic filmmaking. Lee Remick is charming and mesmerizing in her film debut as Betty Lou.Tom Glazer's folk score is memorable and fun, serving to offset the fury you feel for how evil Lonesome's character really steeps to in A Face in the Crowd.In all, A Face in the Crowd is timeless in message, while too long and slow for modern audiences in honest. A half hour could have been cut to make the pacing hit you harder. As is, A Face in the Crowd is intriguing and fascinating, but will tune you out at times until Andy Griffith or Elia Kazan draw you back.

In today’s political climate, Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd is as relevant as ever, demonstrating power’s ability to corrupt, and with great performances by Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal.

I truely loved this story! I use to watch Andy Griffith as a child occasionally but have really started enjoying watching his reruns and when I watched a interview with the "Thelma Lou" actress she mentioned it. So I looked it up and thought it looked good. And was amazed! For an old movie I found it to be very very touching and a lesson to be learned.

This movie really burst Andy into the Big Screen in a unique way that his work in NYC and Broadway could not. It has been said that Andy Griffith threw himself "completely" into this role with such rawness and abandon, that the dark depths of this character scoured his soul in such a way, that he told his family that he would never do a role like that "Lonesome Rhodes" Character...ever again. To channel all that negative energy and raw emotion into this character was obviously something Andy never wanted to experience ever again. He certainly wanted to stay with TV audiences for a long...long time.Like most actor's he wanted/needed to be loved,and appreciated,and never one associated/type-casted as some hated, negative, mean-spirited character.Lonesome Rhodes....just "oozes of grit and booze". Andy never accepted another role of this caliber. He really never wanted to be type cast in this way. However, he went on to endear himself to millions on "The Andy Griffith Show" a gracious and kindly peace officer surrounded by many memorable characters. Much later in his life...he returned as Mattlock-- the folksy, but wise fellow, appreciated by all, but that pales by comparison to Andy Taylor and his crowd. That still strikes a deep cord in the heartstrings across America. Hollywood and New York cannot quite capture that type of sitcom. Could be too much of Hollywood and Reality TV real life directors and TV stars are more like Lonesome.His character in "A Face In The Crowd," may even remind you of some of these slimy "flash in the pan" representatives selling their wares on the Cable Channel, or some of the slick politicians up in Washington, D.C. on Capital Hill, or perhaps even some of those Prosperity Preaching TV people. His character is haunting and eerily mystifying, as you can easily see in this movie.

Lonesome Rhodes was a product of media sycophants who created him and then lost control of him. Marcia Jeffries ( portrayed by Patricia O'Neal) could have worked for Fox News. She saw a character whom she could use to further her career and pushed the simpleton to the point where he believed everything people said about him. However he had no substance; He was merely a carnival huckster who led a populist movement and hob nobbed with politicians and captains of industry, who like another huckster of recent times, tolerated him but nonetheless ridiculed him in private. Unfortunately, he weilded public opinion and could ruin any of them. Thankfully the situation resolved itself, just like it always will.

Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau head the cast with exceptional support from, Lee Remick and Anthony Franciosa. Elia Kazan has always made movie's that take a bite at reality, "On the Waterfront", "Baby Doll", "A Streetcar Named Desire", even "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" to name but a few. Right from the start you can feel the atmosphere in "Budd Schulberg's" A Face in the Crowd 1957.We first meet "Andy Griffith", Larry Rhodes in a Jailhouse spending the night for Drunk and disorderly behaviour. "Patricia Neal" Marsha finds him whilst doing a radio show called "A Face in the Crowd". She renames him Lonesome Rhodes and he's an instant hit with the public, as he has a way with words that touches people. However power goes to his head and his world ends up crumbling around him.I've kept the description here short as I don't want to give the whole game away as it is an absolute must see. This film was apt when it was made and still holds true today. Griffith and Neal give outstanding performances in this film. It's critically acclaimed and rightly so. The Dvd does have a few special features that are well worth looking at too.Excellent!

`A Face In The Crowd' was directed in1957 by: Elia Kazan (On The Waterfront, 1954; Baby Doll, 1956; A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951; East Of Eden, 1955, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, 1945). He may be perhaps the greatest of all American directors and certainly one of most consistent along with Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder. Kazan was the co-founder of the New York Actor's Studio that taught the Stanislavski theory of acting or Method Acting as it would become known. The idea is to suppress the actor own personality and thereby become the role they are playing. Kazan was looking to move cinema away from the closed romantic realism of classic Hollywood into new territory and subject matter such as: youth, sex, racism and politics. In `A Face In The Crowd' we get to see almost a prophetic look at the corrupting power of the then new medium of television. Television is being used as a medium to sway public opinion in your favour, be it sell vitamin pills or your politics. We also see the coaching of a US senator in the Method to create a change of personality and thus win over the television viewer/voter. Yet as quick as it can make you it can also break you. It seems even more relevant today.`A Face In The Crowd' starred Andy Griffith (Matlock (TV)) who is brilliant is wonderfully cast in his debut picture as Lonesome Rhodes. He exudes a raw comic energy of a larger than life character that is perfect for the role. He is supported by excellent performances from Walter Matthau and Patricia Neal (The Day The Earth Stood Still, 1951; Breakfast At Tiffiny's, 1961; Hud, 1963). The screenplay was written by Budd Schulberg (A Star Is Born, On The Waterfront) and supposedly based on the career of Arthur Godfrey. The excellent cinematography was by Harry Stradling (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951; Johnny Guitar, 1954).A felt that this was a wonderful film similar in many ways to `All The King's Men' (1949, Robert Rossen) and `Network' (1976, Sidney Lumet) and deserves to be more widely known.The DVD is an excellent transfer with a short documentary featuring Andy Griffith and Budd Schulberg.

A must-have in the collection.Superb 50's cinema.

A great movie - arrived on time and in good condition.

Just fell in love with Patricia Neal