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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
"Nice thing about you, Joe, is that you can sound like a liberal, but at heart you're an American"
16 Aug 2009
Format:DVD
The Best Man could be said to form the centrepiece of a fine trio of films that examine the conflicting claims of idealism and cynical opportunism in the jungle of Washington politics. Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939) has an idealistic young senator discovering the realities of career advancement, and nearly 40 years later All The President's Men (1976) chronicles in absorbing detail the chilling extent to which criminal corruption has taken hold under Nixon.
The Best Man (1964) is set just as an unnamed political party is holding its convention to choose its presidential election candidate from 5 hopefuls (ie not quite as per the present Democrat/Republican procedure). The two front runners, Henry Fonda (liberal, principled) and Cliff Robertson (right-wing populist, ready to get as down and dirty as it takes) are slugging it out while Lee Tracy's ex-President (mysteriously already having stepped down in a departure from present practice) debates whom to endorse. The movie follows the see-sawing of advantage as both battle to grab Tracy's favour while having to make decisions about how far to jettison morality in pursuit of the Big Plum.
This is a classy production in every sense, both gripping and thoughtful, and never too talky which is an easy pitfall for this type of film to take. The stand-out feature is Gore Vidal's script, taken by him from his Broadway play, which is urgent, literate and economical in display of the characters' personalities and viewpoints. It never trivialises the competing pull of ambition and jettisoning of belief. The direction by Franklin Schaffner (Patton, Planet of the Apes, Papillon) is brisk in its movement from the domestic to the public, and though the whole thing is studio-set it never feels cramped or limited in scope. There's clever integration of library pictures of political conventions into the action.
Henry Fonda once again plays the liberal at war with his conscience; despite his screen presence, I thought he's here less interesting than Cliff Robertson who gets a long way down into the character of the self-made, driven, unscrupulous yet strangely sympathetic contender. The support acting is lively - Lee Tracy (of whom we learn that "he had a voracious appetite for high living") as the ex-President makes an Oscar-winning turn as a self-proclaimed folksy, simple man of politics, and Ann Sothern (excellent in Letter to Three Wives from 1949) is a fast-talking, demanding party mover-and-shaker.
Top-notch political satire, cynical but with a heart.
The Best Man (1964) is set just as an unnamed political party is holding its convention to choose its presidential election candidate from 5 hopefuls (ie not quite as per the present Democrat/Republican procedure). The two front runners, Henry Fonda (liberal, principled) and Cliff Robertson (right-wing populist, ready to get as down and dirty as it takes) are slugging it out while Lee Tracy's ex-President (mysteriously already having stepped down in a departure from present practice) debates whom to endorse. The movie follows the see-sawing of advantage as both battle to grab Tracy's favour while having to make decisions about how far to jettison morality in pursuit of the Big Plum.
This is a classy production in every sense, both gripping and thoughtful, and never too talky which is an easy pitfall for this type of film to take. The stand-out feature is Gore Vidal's script, taken by him from his Broadway play, which is urgent, literate and economical in display of the characters' personalities and viewpoints. It never trivialises the competing pull of ambition and jettisoning of belief. The direction by Franklin Schaffner (Patton, Planet of the Apes, Papillon) is brisk in its movement from the domestic to the public, and though the whole thing is studio-set it never feels cramped or limited in scope. There's clever integration of library pictures of political conventions into the action.
Henry Fonda once again plays the liberal at war with his conscience; despite his screen presence, I thought he's here less interesting than Cliff Robertson who gets a long way down into the character of the self-made, driven, unscrupulous yet strangely sympathetic contender. The support acting is lively - Lee Tracy (of whom we learn that "he had a voracious appetite for high living") as the ex-President makes an Oscar-winning turn as a self-proclaimed folksy, simple man of politics, and Ann Sothern (excellent in Letter to Three Wives from 1949) is a fast-talking, demanding party mover-and-shaker.
Top-notch political satire, cynical but with a heart.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Set during the convention of an unspecified political party which will elect its presidential candidate, two different candidates face off for the party's nomination. A cerebral pundit (Henry Fonda) and a "man of the people" (Cliff Robertson). They loathe each other and each has something they can use against the other in order to get the presidential bid. Directed by Oscar winner Franklin Schaffner (PATTON) with a screenplay by Gore Vidal (based on his play), the plot is contrived with each character a straw man for Vidal's agenda rather than any recognizable human being. They stand and they prattle on, pontificating on this and that. That being said, fifty years later and it still stings with truth, politics as dirty now as it was then. The performances vary. Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams are very good and Lee Tracy (in an Oscar nominated performance) something more than that. Alas Fonda is dull as usual, poor Margaret Leighton as his wife hasn't much to do but Shelley Berman as a snitch from Robertson's past is appallingly awful. His performance is shocking in its ineptitude. With Ann Sothern, Kevin McCarthy, Gene Raymond, Richard Arlen and Anne Newman.
The Optimum Classics import from Great Britain is a solid B&W transfer in its original 1.66 aspect ratio.
The Optimum Classics import from Great Britain is a solid B&W transfer in its original 1.66 aspect ratio.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Excellent, entertaining and well acted but no explosions or car chases. Wears its age pretty well. Some of the issues still crop up on US cable political shows. Would anyone make a film today where a sympathetic character who is an ex POTUS would admit to not believing in God and using religion for political ends?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A brilliant political thriller which keeps the viewer uncertain right...
Until I read about The Best Man in a positive review from a friend, this political thriller has completely passed me by, yet it is one of the best of the genre I have seen. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Mark Pack
NEVER OUTDATED... POLITICIANS AS THEY REALLY ARE...
In my humble view, one of the best pictures ever made about the mechanics of politics behind closed doors. Read more
Published on 18 May 2010 by Patrick Selitrenny
Thought-provoking - but flawed
This is a fine film with a fine script and a fine cast. And the picture and sound quality of the transfer are beautifully crisp and sharp. Read more
Published on 11 April 2010 by classic 1965
A gem!
44 years old and frighteningly relevant in 2008...
Marvel at Gore Vidal's script and take note as he forecasts a black president...
Marvel at Gore Vidal's script and take note as he forecasts a black president...
Published on 4 Nov 2008 by nedley
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