Review of The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) by Mike M — 25 Jul 2010
Took us four sittings over the past to weeks to get through this, owing to schedules, but also the pace of the story itself. A modest melodrama with some real fascinating elements, not least of which is Kirk Douglas channelling Satan Himself.
..fun stuff about movie business, probably hasn't changed too much in some respects. Great to see familiar faces in roles set to a "frank exposé" of behind-the-scenes human mis-behavior.
Story and Douglas do a great job of presenting guy who's a real prick who nevertheless benefits everyone even as he's being The Prick. Is he really such a bad guy? He's a bitch, that's for sure, but so's life, so they say.
..truth is this a comedy that takes itself seriously, and we get a guilty-pleasure glimpse of dirty laundry-type stuff, and a genuine peek at movie-business stuff, especially elements of direction and story-telling.
Knowing that some of this is probably based of real characters helps Not quite as fun as Sunset Boulevard but probably more informative and accurate. A key movie for classic Hollywood-lore buffs, like us.
..sigh.
This review of The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) was written by Mike M on 25 Jul 2010.
The Bad and the Beautiful has generally received very positive reviews.
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