The Sound and the Fury (1959)

The Worst Film Ever

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely brilliant

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Leonard Maltin describes this film as a "strange adaptation" of the rather dense and difficult William Faulkner novel of the same name. Perhaps the lesson here is that the book is indeed unfilmable. The movie takes numerous liberties with the novel and generally omits large portions of it. I can't help but feel that Yul Brynner, with his peculiar accent, was miscast as Jason Compson. In the book, Jason is the youngest sibling of Caddy and Benjie; here he is described as an adopted son, and not "blood" kin. We also have a completely made up sibling named Howard, who does not exist in the book. The novel takes place in the late 1920's with many flashbacks, here the present day is the mid 1950's. Despite its shortcomings, including a rather overbearing and jazzy music score which doesn't really fit, The Sound and The Fury does have its merits, starting with the always watchable Joanne Woodward as young Quentin Compson, presumably around 18 years of age and still in high school. The photography was fine and the ambiance, both inside and out, of the deteriorating Compson mansion was spot on. The small town atmosphere of Jefferson, MS was captured nicely. I would recommend this film to Faulkner buffs and Joanne Woodward fans. Just don't expect too much.

The cast was hopelessly out of character from the novel. The characters that were supposed to be sympathetic (Benjy and Caddy) weren't at all. Benjy seemed more like a mute than a severely retarded man. Caddy was overblown and narcissistic, not tragic and beautiful. And who in the world decided on Yul Brynner as Jason? His acting was completely wooden. (and I know it was an attempt to be cold and distant, but he kept the same facial expression the entire movie) Not only that, but what was the point of having him and Caroline not "really" part of the family? Their accents were off-putting, not only that, but Caroline's character in the novel was whining, pitiful, and annoying, not demanding and rude like in the movie. Quentin was supposed to be a slut, a really "bad girl", but she didn't come off like that in the movie. "Howard" was a really unneeded character. He was the combination of Uncle Maury and Quentin (the boy) from the book, but really had no purpose to the movie. And were they trying to make the movie set in 1928 like it was supposed to be? Because it sure looked a lot like 1959 in most parts. I think the best performance was given by Ethel Waters as Dilsey. Oh, and when did Reverend Shegog show up? I see him listed in the characters, but they cut out the whole scene inside the church (probably one of the most moving scenes from the novel) If you're familiar with the novel, "loosely based" is an understatement.

I have long wanted to see this film, knowing that it would be weird. I would think that viewers who have read the novel -- arguably, with Absalom, Absalom, Huck Finn, and Moby Dick, one of the four greatest American novels written -- would be, at the least, perplexed at the handling of this story, which could have, in the hands of a French New Wave director, been made into something that resembled the book. I had thought that Yul Brenner would be cast as Benjy. It gets all the more bizarre. Fascinating look at great literature meets hungry Hollywood. Of course, I may not be fair in that I thought Kubrik's take on The Shining was excellent, while King fans were outraged. Two Stars for its being made.

My all-time favorite Southern movie! Highly underrated! I saw this film one summer afternoon as a teenager and spent the next several years searching for it in the local TV guide to no avail--nor was it available on video (still isn't!). Despite the PBS host who referred to it as "more sound than fury," I was knocked for a loop by the whole atmosphere created in this movie, which is very loosely based on the William Faulkner novel and the Compson characters in general. A couple years ago the True Stories movie channel (?) played it and I grabbed it on tape! My only complaint is that it is a Cinemascope feature and should be played in letterbox format to display the fine '50s-style clear-as-crystal cinematography to its maximum advantage. This is a movie that clocks you over the head with the soundtrack immediately, and the music defines the settings and characters throughout. Bear in mind that this is NOT a slavish interpretation of the mind-ripping book (not even close) nor could it be given its original release date! However, some of the characters are well-represented and even a few lines spoken word-for-word, and the production does an excellent job of capturing the heated Southern intensity of the original story. Joanne Woodward plays young Quentin Compson and the movie revolves around her teenage compulsion to connect with her mother (tall Margaret Leighton wonderfully cast as the wornout, dragged-down Caddy returning home after seventeen years' absence) and escape her cold, sarcastic, pitiless uncle, the "keeper," to a life she imagines will be flavored with love and freedom. Yul Brynner, cast as Jason Compson (not the book version--that guy was nearly insane), is perfect in the role of Quentin's enemy uncle. He captures the character's seething anger, always on the verge of rising to the surface and exploding. At the same time he is a person with a powerful sense of responsibility, and it is truly enjoyable to watch him struggle to keep his highly dysfunctional family in some semblance of order. A few familiar faces from the book include Dilsey (Ethel Waters in a superior performance), strong, softhearted and stressed by the Compson downfall, and little Luster, always put to taking care of huge half-witted Benjy (Jack Warden, who works to capture a very intense and disturbed personality behind a blank expression). Quentin's other uncle, Howard, keeps his father's drinking tradition alive as well as the eternal unhealthy fascination of the Compson boys for sister Caddy; Jason's Cajun mother just stays in bed most of the day, longsuffering and tiresome to all. I love the way this movie features vignettes of the individual lives these people lead, and the way they intersect without ever fully connecting. Anger, passion, frailty, loyalty--all against this wonderful backdrop of decrepit mansions and closeminded small-town malice. I refuse to complain about the way it strays from the novel because as a movie it stands on its own, a separate work, and tremendously enjoyable. Recommended!