It feels as if there is a crucial piece of the film missing here. At one point they warm up to each other but then their interactions are completely ignored, right until the very moment when Viv disappears without a trace. It then becomes clear that they also don't have a great deal of respect for each other.Ī promising subplot involving Hank's wife, Viv (Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder), and Leeland is also left underdeveloped. There are portions of the film where it almost feels as if one should admire their desire to remain independent but then their stubbornness slowly begins to erode the foundation of their unity and one begins to realize that virtually all of them are seriously compromised. Perhaps the biggest issue with the film, however, is the fact that it remains suspiciously neutral while chronicling the Stampers' misery. Its characters all have fascinating stories to tell but none are revealed in their entirety.
It is structured as a family drama but there are plenty of interesting social comments in it as well. Then a tragedy shakes up the family.īased on Ken Kesey's novel, Sometimes a Great Notion is an unusual film to say the least. But day after day the Stampers continue to cut trees and ship them to their contractor. Meanwhile, some of the union leaders visit Hank's home to remind him that what he and his boys are doing isn't right because it prolongs the strike and hurts local businesses that are trying to survive. But Henry disagrees - the past cannot be undone and all that matters now is the present. He or someone else from the family, Leeland insists, could have at least attended her funeral after she committed suicide. Eventually, a few upset him and he reminds Henry that he should feel at least partially responsible for the death of his mother. In the days that follow, Leeland is often the recipient of bad jokes. He isn't entirely sure why he has come back as living in Oregon was never something he enjoyed. Leeland has been living in New York City for years and no longer looks like the boy everyone remembers - now he is skinny and has a long dark hair, looking almost like a girl. Things change when Henry's younger son and Hank's half-brother, Leeland (Michael Sarrazin, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), returns home.
Each day, he reminds them that they have a contract to fill and families of their own to take care of. The injured family patriarch, Henry (Henry Fonda, Once Upon a Time in the West), has decided to stay out of all the drama involving the local union boys and told his eldest son Hank (Paul Newman) and nephew Joe Ben (Richard Jaeckel, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid) to keep working. In the logging town of Wakonda, Oregon everyone has gone on strike - everyone but the Stampers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
There are no supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc. Paul Newman's "Sometimes a Great Notion" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. Producers: John Foreman, Paul Newman, Frank Caffey Starring: Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Michael Sarrazin, Richard Jaeckel, Cliff Potts Svet Atanasov on Januwhere this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5. Filled with complex characters and issues that still resonate today, SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION is an intense and riveting portrait of life set against the rugged backdrop of logging.įor more about Sometimes a Great Notion and the Sometimes a Great Notion Blu-ray release, see Sometimes a Great Notion Blu-ray Review published by Dr. In the process, one man is killed, the family patriarch (Henry Fonda) is injured, and the eldest son (Paul Newman) almost loses his wife (Lee Remick) to his half brother (Michael Sarrazin). Based on the best-selling novel from author Ken Kesey (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST), the story focuses on a two-fisted Oregon family that busks their close-knit timber community to deliver a shipment of logs in defiance of a strike. Paul Newman makes his directorial debut in this sweeping saga. Sometimes a Great Notion Blu-ray offers decent video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
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