The Fountainhead dvd movie.|
The Fountainhead buy bestselling dvd movies, videos find reviews, ratings, prices |
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List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $17.49 You Save: $2.49 Features • Black & White • Closed-captioned • Dubbed • DVD-Video • Original recording remastered • NTSC In Theaters : 02 July, 1949 DVD Release : 07 November, 2006 |
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The Fountainhead description Exhibiting a darker edge to his hero persona, the strapping Gary Cooper has the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff as architect Harold Roark, a "fool visionary" who refuses to conform his artistic ideas to popular taste. His inflexibility makes enemies out of a tabloid architecture critic and a tycoon (Raymond Massey), who proclaims, "All men can be bought... there are no men of integrity." Keating (Kent Smith), a former classmate, urges Roark to take "the middle of the road so it's sure to please everybody." But Roark will not compromise, and when one of his building designs is radically altered without his consent, he resorts to drastic measures. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand from her towering and controversial bestseller, The Fountainhead is about as subtle as that phallic drill Roark wields so impressively, which catches the frenzied eye of the formidable Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal in her film debut). She recognizes Roark's nobility, but fears he has no chance "in a world where beauty, genius and greatness have no chance." Rand did little to dilute her polemics for the screen, resulting in melodramatic scenes that border on high camp, such as Roark and Francon's rather sexually charged discussion about limestone. Rand practiced what she preached. According to a bonus featurette about the making of the film, she refused to trim Roark's then-unprecedented six-minute courtroom speech in which he defends his actions. Even for those who don't adhere to her philosophy, The Fountainhead does offer something rarely seen on screens these days, a man of unshakable principles. And Hollywood could sure note Rand's object lesson about the perils of mediocrity and catering to "the mob." For Cooper fans, The Fountainhead is an essential addition to your DVD library. --Donald Liebenson |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Nicely done |
| A nicely done movie that, a bit to my surprise, kept my three kids (ages 11, 14, 17) all entertained. I think the reason is that this movie is so plainly different from the current, bubblegum movies they see so often. Why not five stars, as I'm tempted to give?
First there's the fact that no one seems to smile in the whole film. Indulge me for a moment while I mention that I find this over-seriousness a recurring problem in Ayn Rand's work. It's a shame she never learned to lighten up a bit (or to appreciate the merits of well-placed charity, but I digress). The second problem, which is hardly the fault of the movie, is that the modern style of architecture that seemed so cutting edge at the time has now been done to death -- to the point that the wonderful buildings that are supposed to be driving the story tend to leave the viewer wistful for classicism. The third problem (WARNING - PLOT SPOILER) is that blowing up a building has a different flavor to it in these post-9/11 days than it did earlier. These are serious flaws, but perhaps they mostly show how much I enjoyed the movie overall, given that I still rate it between 4 and 5 stars. |
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