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Re: One thing you didn't mention (Reply to this comment)
by macresarf1
I find lorendiac right on all counts.
I have been re-evaluating ALL THE KING'S MEN on the basis that, though it does not have the power of the novel, and its punchy style is a bit outdated, its relevance as a comment on the American political system still works.
The psychology of the picture is as valid as it was in the novel. Power easily transforms people into either wh*res or exploiters. The prescience of ALL THE KING'S MEN can be seen in the career of Lyndon Baines Johnson, as well as Willie Stark. He was a poor Southern boy who learned that to win in our system, you almost always have to stoop to unethical behavior.
The pattern does not quite fit George Walker Bush, but the lesson is the same.
Fine review. Fine comment.
[Macresarf1]
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Oct 07 '04
11:35 am PDT
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One thing you didn't mention (Reply to this comment)
by lorendiac
The movie was based on the novel of the same title, which was written by Robert Penn Warren and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1947 (which is probably what caused it to attract the attention of Hollywood moviemakers). I never saw the film, but I read the book as a teen and it was very strong and unflinching, and it sounds like a good piece of the strength carried over into the film adaptation. I believe the edition I read had a foreword by the author mentioning that it was loosely based on the life of Huey Long of Louisiana, who served as Governor and Senator and was very charismatic and had intentions of ending up in the White House someday, except he was assassinated first. I've read a biography of Huey Long and I don't think Warren was trying to duplicate the events of his life so much as he was trying to describe the personality: a Southern politician who had the same sort of ability to sway the common people with fiery speeches, and really believed every shady deal he made was being made to benefit the local citizens whether they knew it or not.
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Mar 15 '03
9:38 pm PST
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