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Movies / On DVD / The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons

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The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

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Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:22

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: The sweeping saga of a prominent wealthy family's attempt to adapt to the changing times at the close of a decadent age. Though mutilated by studio executives before studio release, this film... The sweeping saga of a prominent wealthy family's attempt to adapt to the changing times at the close of a decadent age. Though mutilated by studio executives before studio release, this film remains a masterpiece of directorial artistry, as Welles refined the techniques of shadow, quick-cutting, camera angles, and sound manipulation he used for the previous year's "Citizen Kane" and actually edited the film while it was being shot. Based on a novel by Booth Tarkington. Academy Award nominations: 4, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead), Art Direction-Set Direction, and Cinematography. Winner, Best Actress (Agnes Moorehead) by the N.Y. Film Critics. [More]

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, J. Louis Johnson, Donald Dillaway, Charles Phipps, Dorothy Vaughan, Elmer Jerome, John Elliot, Nina Guilbert, Sam Rice, Olive Ball, Kathryn Sheldon, Anne O'Neal, Henry Roquemore, Mel Ford, Lillian Nicholson, Bobby Cooper, Drew Roddy, Jack Baxley, Nancy Gates, James Westerfield, Edwin August, Jack Santoro, Gus Schilling, Georgia Backus, Hilda Plowright, Bob Pittard, Billy Elmer, Maynard Holmes, Lew Kelly, John McGuire, Edward Howard, William Blees, Philip Morris, Louis Hayward

Director: Orson Welles, Freddie Fleck, Robert Wise, Richard Bennett

Director: Orson Welles, Freddie Fleck, Robert Wise, Richard Bennett
Producer: Orson Welles
Screenwriter: Orson Welles
Story: Booth Tarkington
Composer: Bernard Herrmann, Roy Webb

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Magnificent Ambersons

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Hacked about by a confused RKO, Welles' second film (from the novel by Booth Tarkington) still looks a masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Welles' technical brilliance shines through, securing the film its classic status.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
03/05/02
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The emotional sense of America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is so palpable you can taste it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/06/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

A masterpiece in every way (but ignore the awkward ending the studio tacked on without Welles's approval).

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/06/07
Don Druker
Don Druker
Chicago Reader

This is Orson Welles' lost movie, one he might have been able to rescue, had he been less brash -- and a film he and others believed to be superior to Citizen Kane.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/06/07
Shawn Badgley
Shawn Badgley
Austin Chronicle

Having mastered film technique in Citizen Kane, Welles devotes more attention to the characters, all of which are all individual creations rather than types. It's a deeper, more personal work than Kane even if it lacks the latter's narrative pull.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/23/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

All in all, The Magnificent Ambersons is an exceptionally well-made film, dealing with a subject scarcely worth the attention which has been lavished upon it.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/08/06
Thomas M. Pryor
Thomas M. Pryor
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Told in a magnificently opulent cinematic style.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/01/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Not 'Citizen Kane,' but what is?

comment Comment
10/23/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Orson Welles' heavily chopped up drama, it is still a nostalgic, dramatically powerful tale and should ultimately be savored for what it is rather than rejected for what it is not.

comment Comment
10/14/04
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser

No review available.

comment Comment
03/29/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

I must say that I much prefer it to Citizen Kane (1941). So sue me.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
02/26/04
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

A pretty sensational movie.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
02/18/04
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

A domestic drama that is every bit the equal of Welles' Citizen Kane.

comment Comment
08/16/03
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Ambersons – even in its mutilated form – has a resonance most movies can only dream of.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
10/22/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Oh, what might have been...

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

little more than a primitive form of soap opera

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/24/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Welles's second great masterpiece.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
TV Guide's Movie Guide
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Latest News for The Magnificent Ambersons

September 15, 2005: Hollywood Giant Robert Wise Passes Away at 91
Master filmmaker and 4-time Oscar winner Robert Wise has died at the age of 91. Probably best known as the director of films like "The Sound of Music," "West Side... More...

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