Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Adpatations Of A Novel To A Film
Review: "Mother NIght" in not one of my favorite Vonnegut novels, but the film adaptation is superb. This is one of the best adaptations I've ever seen from page to screen, and extremely thought provoking. I give it my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Adpatations Of A Novel To A Film
Review: "Mother NIght" in not one of my favorite Vonnegut novels, but the film adaptation is superb. This is one of the best adaptations I've ever seen from page to screen, and extremely thought provoking. I give it my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Movie, very close to the book
Review: I first saw this movie while browsing through the movie channels. It is now one of my favorites. Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin all put in terrific performances. This movie, like most based on Vonnegut novels, is filled with drama, dark humor, suspense, and mystery. I highly recommend this film. It has terrific acting, an excellent plot, and its just a darn good film. I also recommend the book of the same name by Vonnegut. The film's plot stays very close to the book so if you like the movie you'll like the book or vice versa.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Great Film
Review: Mother Night is an amazing read by Kurt Vonnegut, but I have come to expect that from him. What suprised me was the great film adaptation I found! Nick Nolte captures the essence of Howard W. Campbell Jr. just as I had imagined it. All the actors and actresses are wonderful, the setting tremendous, and the plot was straight on. An overall great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Mother Night A War Depiction
Review: Mother Night: A War Depiction The movie Mother Night was a well-done piece of work. The depiction of the prejudices in Germany and America during the time of World War II was accurate.
The movie was a thought provoking film, in that everyone had an important role to play and everything was pulled together smoothly for later reference. Kurt Vonnegut did a fairly good job with this plot of this movie.
The movie opens in black and white, with an older gentleman being put into prison and Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" playing. He is thrown into the prison cell in Haifa, Israel in 1961 and given a typewriter to prepare his memoirs. As the movie progresses, we find out the name of the prisoner, Howard W. Campbell Jr., and that he is an American. As he begins his memoirs he has flashbacks to earlier years, and he begins to narrate his life. Howard Campbell Jr. is an American who moved to Berlin, Germany with his parents. Once his parents moved backed to America, Howard remained in Germany to become a playwright, and he married a German actress, Helga. Howard becomes a successful playwright and very prominent. One day his life changes when Howard's "Blue Fairy godmother" gives Howard the option of becoming an American spy in Germany, and from then on Howard's life is never the same. Howard does a radio show every Sunday afternoon and calls himself the "last free American." The show seemed as if it was propaganda against Jews and any other races that were not German or Caucasian, but the real purpose of the radio show was to send secret messages through code words to the American army. After paying his duty to the American army, Campbell moved back to the states to begin a "new life." As time progressed, life became just another hobby for Howard, until he encountered more life altering incidences. Soon he found himself in Israel surrendering.
Mother Night had a good story line. The movie had interesting twists and turns to keep the viewer "on edge." Some parts of the movie were humorous, while others were used to lighten the mood of the previous scene.
The idea or concept of switching from black and white to color had a great affect in the movie. The two color schemes were clever ways to keep the audience's attention, and made the movie more interesting. The historical aspect mixed with humor and the different color schemes made the movie enjoyable.
The movie did have a few flaws. The movie did not need the sex scene. I understand the point of a nation of two that they were trying to make, but love is not always expressed through sex. I appreciate the fact that Howard and Helga were married and that the movie did not show two unmarried people together. I believe the movie could have been just a good without the sex. I also found the depiction of minorities slightly offensive. There was the "token black man" who was only a dumb limousine driver, and I felt that he was the ignorant humor of the movie. Some of the other characters were mindless as well, but not totally ignorant to everything around them.
The movie Mother Knight had an out of the ordinary plot for my taste, yet it was able to get my attention and hold it. Some parts, I did not think were necessary to make the movie good, but for the most part it was an enjoyable movie. I probably will not recommend this movie to many people, because of the fact that there is a sec scene and I do not think that the movie is geared toward my age group. In order to appreciate the movie, I thing one needs to like historical fiction and war time movies and know a little about them. I was able to enjoy Mother Night, but I think it will be enjoyed and appreciated more by generations with people older than myself.
Rating:
Summary: Mother Night A War Depiction
Review: Mother Night: A War Depiction The movie Mother Night was a well-done piece of work. The depiction of the prejudices in Germany and America during the time of World War II was accurate.
The movie was a thought provoking film, in that everyone had an important role to play and everything was pulled together smoothly for later reference. Kurt Vonnegut did a fairly good job with this plot of this movie.
The movie opens in black and white, with an older gentleman being put into prison and Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" playing. He is thrown into the prison cell in Haifa, Israel in 1961 and given a typewriter to prepare his memoirs. As the movie progresses, we find out the name of the prisoner, Howard W. Campbell Jr., and that he is an American. As he begins his memoirs he has flashbacks to earlier years, and he begins to narrate his life. Howard Campbell Jr. is an American who moved to Berlin, Germany with his parents. Once his parents moved backed to America, Howard remained in Germany to become a playwright, and he married a German actress, Helga. Howard becomes a successful playwright and very prominent. One day his life changes when Howard's "Blue Fairy godmother" gives Howard the option of becoming an American spy in Germany, and from then on Howard's life is never the same. Howard does a radio show every Sunday afternoon and calls himself the "last free American." The show seemed as if it was propaganda against Jews and any other races that were not German or Caucasian, but the real purpose of the radio show was to send secret messages through code words to the American army. After paying his duty to the American army, Campbell moved back to the states to begin a "new life." As time progressed, life became just another hobby for Howard, until he encountered more life altering incidences. Soon he found himself in Israel surrendering.
Mother Night had a good story line. The movie had interesting twists and turns to keep the viewer "on edge." Some parts of the movie were humorous, while others were used to lighten the mood of the previous scene.
The idea or concept of switching from black and white to color had a great affect in the movie. The two color schemes were clever ways to keep the audience's attention, and made the movie more interesting. The historical aspect mixed with humor and the different color schemes made the movie enjoyable.
The movie did have a few flaws. The movie did not need the sex scene. I understand the point of a nation of two that they were trying to make, but love is not always expressed through sex. I appreciate the fact that Howard and Helga were married and that the movie did not show two unmarried people together. I believe the movie could have been just a good without the sex. I also found the depiction of minorities slightly offensive. There was the "token black man" who was only a dumb limousine driver, and I felt that he was the ignorant humor of the movie. Some of the other characters were mindless as well, but not totally ignorant to everything around them.
The movie Mother Knight had an out of the ordinary plot for my taste, yet it was able to get my attention and hold it. Some parts, I did not think were necessary to make the movie good, but for the most part it was an enjoyable movie. I probably will not recommend this movie to many people, because of the fact that there is a sec scene and I do not think that the movie is geared toward my age group. In order to appreciate the movie, I thing one needs to like historical fiction and war time movies and know a little about them. I was able to enjoy Mother Night, but I think it will be enjoyed and appreciated more by generations with people older than myself.
Rating:
Summary: The best book adaptation.
Review: So far there have been three movies made from Kurt Vonnegut works. "Slaughtehouse Five", "Mother Night", and "Harrison Burgeron." "Harrison Burgeron" was really an amalgam of numerous Vonnegut themes and ideas, but based on the very short story of the same name. "Slaughterhouse Five" required that you read the book to get a full appreciation of the story in the film. "Mother Night" followed the book by the same title with precision, clarity and intensity. Wonderfully cast and acted, this is a dark tale of cause and effect on people's lives. To paraphrase the moral of the book "be careful what you pretend to be." Nolte is perfect as the lead with surprising and excellent roles by Arkin, Sheryl Lee, and John Goodman. If you are a Vonnegut fan you will not be disappointed with this interpretation of his book.
Rating:
Summary: Sterling piece of cinema
Review: There is something to be said for Kurt Vonnegut's work. His novels are indescribable masterpieces that can seemingly only exist in the mind and never on screen. But, what if he helped direct the movie?
Vonnegut's role in the making of "Mother Night" was surely instrumental in its success as a piece of cinematic brilliance. Nolte and Company certainly put on exceptional performances and they cannot be overlooked, either. However, the story is where the meat of the matter lies and it is laid out beautifully in front of us.
What is more important is, having read the book, it is 99% line for line translated to the screen. I am tempted to say that if you watch the movie, you will have read the book, it's that close. Still, I highly recommend both book and movie, though the latter is what I am writing on today.
It makes one pine for Kurt to work with more Hollywood directors in making his works shine in a different medium. This is one of his few pieces, though, that is easily leant to cinema. Thank goodness it was done right. A must see!
Rating: 
Summary: Clearly fiction, and too clever. But still interesting.
Review: This 1996 film, starring Nick Nolte, is based on a 1961 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Knowing the author's work, we can expect a few satirical scenes and this is what is both the strength and the weakness of the adaptation by John Gordon. The opening segment is in black and white and is set in an Israeli prison in the 1960s. Nolte has just been arrested for war crimes. He is put in a cell and told to write his memoirs. He is given a manual typewriter and a ream of paper. He begins to type. Now we switch to color and we see Nolte's story. He's an American living in Germany in the 1930s. He's a successful playwright and is married to a famous German actress who he loves dearly. When John Goodman, an American agent asks him to spy for the Americans, Nolte accepts the challenge. It's a very unique challenge too. Nolte is to write anti-Semitic [news articles] and broadcast them over public radio, in English, to be heard around the world. However, every time he coughs or pauses or clears his throat, it's really a coded message to the Americans. The Germans love him and he holds a high status. At the end of the war, there is nothing but devastation for him. At this point John Goodman returns and tells him the Americans will never acknowledge his work but they will bring him to America to get lost in the crowd. He now moves to Greenwich Village, and this is where the story goes a little out of control. Alan Arkin is cast as his neighbor. And his role is a mystery. There's also a neo-Nazi organization, which is so comical that I had to laugh out loud. And a silly story whereby a beautiful woman who might or might not be his former wife, comes into his life. The story was interesting and moved quickly. But it was clearly just fiction, and sometimes taken to such extremes as to be silly. Nolte is one of the finest actors around and his acting is terrific. The role calls for him to not be really patriotic towards either of the regimes. He chose to do what he did because of a personal adventure. And therefore is not a sympathetic character. It's a film designed to be clever rather than one that pulls at your heartstrings in spite of the interesting theme. And it's done well. The DVD has an interview with Nolte and Vonnegut during the filming. It didn't add much to my appreciation of the film, but its nice to see the work in progress. "Mother Night" is clearly a showcase for Vonnegut's talent and a good role for Nolte. I do recommend it but don't expect to be moved or enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: Clearly fiction, and too clever. But still interesting.
Review: This 1996 film, starring Nick Nolte, is based on a 1961 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Knowing the author's work, we can expect a few satirical scenes and this is what is both the strength and the weakness of the adaptation by John Gordon. The opening segment is in black and white and is set in an Israeli prison in the 1960s. Nolte has just been arrested for war crimes. He is put in a cell and told to write his memoirs. He is given a manual typewriter and a ream of paper. He begins to type. Now we switch to color and we see Nolte's story. He's an American living in Germany in the 1930s. He's a successful playwright and is married to a famous German actress who he loves dearly. When John Goodman, an American agent asks him to spy for the Americans, Nolte accepts the challenge. It's a very unique challenge too. Nolte is to write anti-Semitic [news articles] and broadcast them over public radio, in English, to be heard around the world. However, every time he coughs or pauses or clears his throat, it's really a coded message to the Americans. The Germans love him and he holds a high status. At the end of the war, there is nothing but devastation for him. At this point John Goodman returns and tells him the Americans will never acknowledge his work but they will bring him to America to get lost in the crowd. He now moves to Greenwich Village, and this is where the story goes a little out of control. Alan Arkin is cast as his neighbor. And his role is a mystery. There's also a neo-Nazi organization, which is so comical that I had to laugh out loud. And a silly story whereby a beautiful woman who might or might not be his former wife, comes into his life. The story was interesting and moved quickly. But it was clearly just fiction, and sometimes taken to such extremes as to be silly. Nolte is one of the finest actors around and his acting is terrific. The role calls for him to not be really patriotic towards either of the regimes. He chose to do what he did because of a personal adventure. And therefore is not a sympathetic character. It's a film designed to be clever rather than one that pulls at your heartstrings in spite of the interesting theme. And it's done well. The DVD has an interview with Nolte and Vonnegut during the filming. It didn't add much to my appreciation of the film, but its nice to see the work in progress. "Mother Night" is clearly a showcase for Vonnegut's talent and a good role for Nolte. I do recommend it but don't expect to be moved or enlightened.
|
