The Following Is Based on the 1996 Version of the Crucible

The Crucible Film Review Assignment

The following is based on the 1996 version of The Crucible.

Directions: Comment on the following reviews. How would you respond to these comments?

1. “… whenever a film has hysteria as its subject, as this one does, the danger exists that it will become hysterical itself, and "The Crucible," all its promise notwithstanding, falls into that trap with a demoralizing thud. Rife with screaming fits and wild-eyed rantings, this film is too frantic to be involving, too much an outpost of bedlam to be believable.” ~ KENNETH TURAN, TIMES FILM CRITIC Your Response:

2. “The characters I believed in most were Elizabeth Proctor, the Rev. Hale, and Judge Danforth. As written and acted, they seem like plausible people doing their best in an impossible situation. Too many of the others seem like fictional puppets. The village girls in general (and Abigail Williams in particular) don't even seem to belong to the 17th century; as they scurry hysterically around the village, they act like they've seen too many movies. And as John Proctor, Daniel Day-Lewis has the task of making moral stands that are noble, yes, but somehow pro forma. ``The Crucible'' is a drama of ideas, but they seem laid on top of the material, not organically part of it.” ~ROGER EBERT, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES Your Response:

3. “Part of the problem at the outset is that, just as was the case in "The Age of Innocence," there is absolutely no apparent sexual frisson between Day-Lewis and Ryder, depriving the story of one of its motivating factors. This, combined with the relative hokeyness of the girls' carrying on, means that the picture's motor stalls before it even gets started.” ~TODD MCCARTHY, VARIETY.COM Your Response: 4. “The great Paul Scofield (Judge Danforth) is triumphant, avoiding the easy caricature of Danforth as a fanatic. He brings the role something new: wit. We laugh with this judge, which heightens the horror later when he blinds himself to truth in the name of God and his own ambition. The scene in which he ignores Rev. Hale (Rob Campbell), who knows the girls are faking, and bullies the servant Mary Warren (Karron Graves) into delusion and madness chills the blood.” ~ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5948849/review/5948850/the_crucible Your Response:

5. “Hytner uses 360-degree camera turns and strange angle shots to inject this largely lifeless business with some drama. Ryder tries to do the same by nearly working herself into cardiac arrest in several monologues. Day-Lewis is acting so hard you can see his lower teeth, which, by the way are sometimes horribly decayed and other times white enough to blind a dental hygienist.” ~ BARBARA SHULGASSER, EXAMINER MOVIE CRITIC Your Response:

Write your own commentary on the 1991 version of The Crucible ( you may attach a separate page if necessary.)

Adapted from: http://www.vanguardschool.lfchosting.com/ELA%20B30/Assignments/Assignment %2018%20-%20LOF%20Movie%20Review.doc