Ragtime

Rating:
Summary: Underrated Classic
Review: A complex, engaging, colorful, masterpiece. Milos Forman has never disappointed as a director. Typical of him, he captures America better than just about any American director. The cast is superb. Howard Rollins, Jr. is nothing short of amazing as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. Elizabeth McGovern, Mary Steenburgen, James Olson and Brad Dourif also give great performances.

I have admittedly not read the book, nor have I seen the Broadway musical. I don't know what EL Doctorow thinks about the movie of his book (I gather he is not crazy about it). But the film has a wonderful pace and the soundtrack is stunning as well.

I think it is a crime that the soundtrack is not available on cd and the movie not available on DVD!

Rating:
Summary: WORST FILM OF THE 1980s
Review: Doctorow's pean to socialism and the waning of Amerika is typical claptrap from this anti-American writer. Cagney's last performance was mediocre at best, overwrought at worst. Norman Mailer actually turns out to be a better actor than an author--and he sucks! This tripe is strictly for leftists.

Rating:
Summary: The Envelope Please
Review: I first became aware of this film during a release time review on television. The review featured a clip of the outstanding cameo appearance by James Cagney.

The film was very badly cut for the theater release and, with many others, I was disappointed. The reviews were mixed and the release was not successful.

I cannot now recall how I came to see or own the 2-tape VHS director's cut. However, I do remember that my reaction was, "Oh, so that is what he intended!" It had gone from being mediocre to brilliant. Most of the reviewers here agree with me that it is a masterpiece. The two or three who do not agree seem to me to be talking about a different film, perhaps the theater cut. Perhaps one needed to see the hodge-podge of the theater cut in order to really appreciate the VHS.

Like many others writing here, I am hopeful, not to say anxious, for a DVD release; Amazon.com can testify that I have asked for it early and often. Perhaps like other great films, this one bears watching and re-watching. Perhaps I am like a small child that never tires of his favorites. In any case, my VHS tapes are becoming worn and the box tattered.

Some of the reviews here suggest that there is yet more material that might be included in such a release. Perhaps the combination of time and the new medium will allow Milos Forman to tell his story one more time. In any case, such a release will provide me with an occasion to see this great film once more.

Rating:
Summary: A great film's long overdue DVD release
Review: I've been waiting for "Ragtime" to be released on DVD ever since I purchase a DVD player! I expected this release during the run of the wonderful musical version on Broadway, but I'm glad to have it now. I don't believe there is reason for concern as far as the running time is concerned, though. (...) There are marvelous performances all around, and it's a bittersweet pleasure to again be able to witness the stellar performance by the late Howard E. Rollins Jr.

Rating:
Summary: A Milos Forman Classic
Review: If you missed seeing "Ragtime" back in 1981, it wasn't your fault because you probably didn't even know it existed. Much like Terry Gilliam's "Adventures of Baron Munchausen", this truly great movie was poorly distributed and miserably publicized and advertised when it was released. This is too bad because both films deserved much better. Anyway...

Milos Forman has time and again proven that he is not only one of the world's best directors but also one of the sharpest viewers of American culture and history. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "The People vs. Larry Flint", and, to an extent, "Man on the Moon" have at their core an indictment of American society: its racism, its hypocrisy, its perversity, its corruption, and its insanity. However, Forman is by no means anti-American. In fact, these movies also have at their hearts a deep fascination with America and a yearning to make it better. And like few directors can do, he doesn't create a manifesto disguised as a film. His characters and dialogue are believeable, and his filming is gorgeous to watch.

Of all his films--and that includes "Amadeus"--"Ragtime" is perhaps his best, in my opinion. Its complex narratives are logically, fluidly and masterfully meshed together. But what I find fascinating about the movie is that all the complicated, volatile emotional reactions the characters experience--sometimes ending in violence--all start from simple wants. Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (powerfully played by the late Howard Rollins) wants the racists who vandalized his car to repair it. Harry Thaw (played by the underrated Robert Joy) is an erratic millionaire who simply wants a nude statue of his wife taken out of public view. A father (movingly played James Olson) simply wants to keep his family together. His brother-in-law (Brad Dourif in an extraordinary performance) simply wants the girl he loves to love him back. And a Jewish immigrant (a wonderfully manic Mandy Patinkin) simply wants to make it in America. It's when all these desires collide that the fireworks of "Ragtime" begin. And like the great American tradition of 4th of July fireworks, "Ragtime" is dazzling to watch.

Rating:
Summary: Good First Half;Disastrous Second Half
Review: Milos Forman's "Ragtime" is a film with many components to recommend that is ultimately betrayed by an ill-advised vigalante tale in it's second half. The film starts out swimmingly showing the rich mosaic of New York life from the upper classes to the lower classes. The film's art direction and costume designs are richly detailed. Randy Newman's score is exquisite. About the only thing I wasn't buying was a ditzy Elizabeth McGovern as some kind of turn-of-the century Helen of Troy. Then we are abruptly slapped in the face with the second half. It starts innocently enough with a black man,Coalhouse Walker(Howard Rollins) having his Model-T desecrated by a group of loutish firemen. Before you know it this act has escalated into Walker seeking reparations through vigilanteism and acts of terrorism. It is a credit to Rollins that we are able to muster a modicum of sympathy for a character whose actions are despicable on the written page. While we're at it James Olson does a commendable job as "Father", a character written as an uptight stooge. This film's politics seem to have fomented not from the politics of the time it is set in but more from the politics of the sixties. Now it just seems dated. The DVD release includes a deleted scene where Evelyn Nesbitt(McGovern) encounters Emma Goldman, radical communist from the turn-of-the-century. It's an interesting scene and would not have seemed out of place in the film's final cut. Also, look close for Samuel L. Jackson as one of Walker's co-horts.

Rating:
Summary: Forman's "Ragtime" a sprawling masterpiece
Review: Milos Forman's screen version of Doctorow's novel manages to capture the epic, sprawling quality of the film with a tighter narrative focus that brings the central stories to the forefront. The murder of architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer)provides the backdrop for Forman's version of Doctorow's tale. The story of Coalhouse Walker (Howard Rollins)a piano player, the destruction of his car by a racist and the resulting revenge that Walker exacts (along with others)provides the central focus of the film. All of these stories are drawn together by the a generic family consisting of Mother (Mary Steenburgen), Younger Brother (Brad Dourif)and Father (James Olson). James Cagney's role as the police commissioner that must bring Walker under control was written just for the film. While Forman pares away much of the sprawling narrative of Docotrow's novel, he keeps the essential stories of the novel intact.

The image and sound quality are outstanding. Paramount has transferred "Ragtime" in high definition and the sparkling cinematography of Miroslav Ondricek shines. There's little to few of the analog or digital blemishes that you tend to see in these older films (the lone exception is the deleted scene which is clearly from an editing workprint for the film).

This marvelous deluxe DVD reissue features a fascinating featurette with Milos Forman, co-producer Michael Hausman, actor Brad Dourif and others discussing how Forman brought this massive glimpse into the heart of America to life. The featurette discusses everything from Doctrow's ideas to adapting the film (he wanted to do them as ten separate stories almost as a mini-series), the casting of the brilliant Howard Rollins and how Forman convinced James Cagney from coming out of retirement for his last screen role.

The commentary by Forman and Executive Producer Michael Hausman touches on everything from the subtle touches the actors brought to their roles to the difficulties in putting together the locations for the film. While some of the commentary is duplicated in the commentary track, the bulk of the two filmmakers observations are quite different and more involved. The single deleted scene from the film features a scene involving Fran Drescher as a abused Jewish woman and a potential riot in the Jewish slums of New York. The ten minute sequence shifts from color to black and white (the cut sequence) as the original deleted scene doesn't exist in color any longer.

Featuring a terrific cast of unknowns (Samuel L. Jackson plays "Gang Member No.2, Michael Jeter is "Special Reporter")and up and comers (Jeff Daniels, Harold Rollins, Mandy Patinkin)and Hollywood royalty (Donald O'Connor, Pat O'Brien and, of course, James Cagney), "Ragtime" captures the feel, texture and scent of America at a major turning point in her history. A marvelous film full of strong performances, Forman's abmitious production was nominated (but failed to win)for 8 Academy Awards including a nomination for Randy Newman's terrific score. Step into the turbulent world of "Ragtime" and get lost in America.

Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth's McGovern's scenes deleted.
Review: No question that Ragtime is a good movie, but there's also no question that for a significant number of people, Elizabeth McGovern is a major reason for buying this DVD. If so, and if the visual appeal is an essential part of that, then you should know that what is on this DVD is not what was in the theatrical release. I haveven't seen the VHS version, so I don't know if it was similarly butchered, but I really don't understand the point of this sort of stuff, and I find it irritating. I can understand adding scenes to a "director's cut" in a non-theatrical release, but under no circumstances does it make sense to me that scenes that were present in the theatrical release should be deleted in the non-theatrical releases. To make matters worse, the back of the box says "deleted scenes". There is a deleted scene that was not in the theatrical release, but it isn't worth watching, and it certainly doesn't make up the scenes that were present in the theatrical release and that have been cut out of this DVD. In this case, "deleted scenes" should be taken to mean, "scenes that you probably remember from the theatrical release have been cut from this version."

Anyone who objects to this sort of foolishness in principal should boycott this DVD. This isn't the first time that I have encountered this. It seems to me that the studios should feel some sort of sense of obligation to not do this, whether artistic or ethical.

Rating:
Summary: Milos Forman's Ragtime - A Good Cinematic Journey...
Review: Ragtime occurs a decade into the 20th century when film houses had live music accompanying the moving images on the silver screen and segregation still was strong in the United States. The houses for picture shows became locations for news as they attracted a paying public's interest, and people could see the death defying stunts of Houdini. The musicians played music that enhanced the emotional experience of the visual show on the screen as the audience could view Madison Square Garden receiving its naked statue made after a model. These were times before prohibition when people lived in and attended the New York City's largest restaurant in the Madison Square Garden. The book of E.L. Doctorow by the name Ragtime grabbed these moments as it followed a wide range of characters through numerous stories.

Milos Forman gave Doctorow's book a different and personal adaptation as he focused on a family in the small community of New Rochelle outside the city of New York. The family discovers an infant African-American child in the small kitchen garden, and later finds out the identity of the mother. The family takes in the mother and the child as they soon learn the name of the father, Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Howard E. Rollins Jr.). Walker works as a piano player for a big band, but before his job with the band he played in picture houses and small-secluded joints. When Walker finds his family he wants to marry his wife in order to do the right thing, but on the way home after he has proposed to his wife the local volunteering fire squad stops him. They harass him by putting horse dung on his driver's seat, and call him derogatory names. Coalhouse Walker Jr. demands that his rights are upheld, which leads him into a personal crusade for justice in the segregated town of New Rochelle.

Ragtime is somewhat fragmented like the novel, but it does not come close to touch the diverse tapestry of the written story. The film stays mostly with the struggles of Coalhouse Walker Jr. as he takes the law in his own hands. Nonetheless, the audience gets to experience some of the interesting characters, as a madly jealous husband demands that the statue on top of the Madison Square Garden is removed as it is supposed to look like his wife. The audience gets to follow the brother who travels to the luring city where he is mesmerized by the beauty of the model of the statue. Then there is a Jewish immigrant that supports his daughter and himself by making picture-flip books and ends up becoming one of the first film directors.

Initially, Robert Altman was assigned to film Ragtime, and it might have been a much different tale in that case as he had already made Nashville (1975) and later Short Cuts (1993). These two films depict a wide range of characters in a manner which would be needed in order to cover more of the book. Nonetheless, Forman told the story the way he wanted it and that offers much to ponder as the film deals with injustice, racism, deceit, jealousy, hope, infidelity, and much more. In the end, the audience will have experienced a good cinematic journey that will be remembered for the connections between the characters, which is somewhat amusing.


Rating:
Summary: The ignored classic.
Review: RAGTIME was one of Milos Forman's three great literary adaptations of the 80's, the others being AMADEUS and VALMONT. AMADEUS was a hit, but RAGTIME, which was largely ignored by the public and the critics, who badly wanted to show off the fact that they read the book, was a flop. Too bad. The original novel is like "Forrest Gump" in the early 1900's. A sketchy work in which the members of one upper class family meet with every possible type of person, real or imagined, including every famous person that you can find from that period in the encyclopedia. Forman's film, however, is a genuine masterpiece and one of the very best films ever made about America. He fleshed out the characters, eliminated the unnecessary, and concentrated basically on three main story lines. Unfortunately, the film was deemed too long, and Forman was forced to cut one of the story lines. I hope that when the DVD is released, the missing storyline is put back. Of the film as it stands now, Film Critic David Thomson said " it is a much underrated film. Complex about the time and its ideas." The only possibly distracting thing about the film is the amount of soon to be famous actors appearing in small parts, including Jeff Daniels, Samuel L. Jackson, Fran Drescher, etc.