Touches You

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Good movie but grossly overrated

best movie i've ever seen.

Take two of the finest actors of modern times; put them in a screenplay with one of the finest scripts ever written; produce it through a cable channel that is renown for generating excellent movies, what you get has to be great. Fantastic. Superb! It stunk. I order a hamburger with more feeling than the actors showed mechanically reading their lines. I don't care where you stand on the core issue of this story, and I don't care if the story followed the real trial. That's irrelevant. The story is the story, and it's a great one. It's great, that is, when Spencer Tracy, Fredrick March, and Gene Kelly perform it. It compares like coal to diamonds with Lemmon, Scott, and Bridges in the all too dim spotlight. If you really want to feel the impact of this play, see the original. This is one case where filmdom didn't evolve a better product.

I don't know why there are so many bad comments about this remake, you can't really expect these actors to better the original 1960 version. George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon did an excellant job in their respective roles. I think Lane Smith (who is usually an excellant actor) did a poor job though as Rev. Brown. I think Scott went out with a bang! He will always be remembered as a great actor.

This production of Inherit the Wind is a fine attempt but just doesn't have the punch that the original 1960 one did. I would on the other hand rate this one over the 1988 version. Jack Lemmon gave a somewhat flat performance as did George C. Scott sadly in his last role. It's not completely bad but if you really want to watch this story then the 1960 Stanley Kramer production with Spencer Tracy and Fredrick March is the way to go. You'll notice the difference. One additional note: If Jason Robards portrayal of Henry Drummond from the 88 version would have been in this one now that would have made a difference.

This is a sad attempt to relive the glory of the 1960 version. The acting is a mere shadow of the original performances, although the assistant prosecutor's performance is a real gem in the repainted knock-off of a beautiful film. Lemmon does a reasonably good job as Drummond, but he pales in comparison to the theatrical genius of Spencer Tracy. He speaks the lines and makes the effort, but the spark just isn't there. Scott has neither the power nor the persona of Fredric March. The sad face of Rachel Brown is a piece of blatant acting, not natural-seeming disturbance. Her father, the bible-beating spewer of hellfire and damnation, has neither the simple charm and faith of the 1960 Reverend Brown nor the character that is so easy to believe and to hate. Beau Bridges retains the bite of the original Hornbeck, but he mangles the original lines of Lawrence and Lee. The final courtroom scenes just don't have the tension and power of the original version. They tried, but it just didn't happen. It's a mistake to remake a masterpiece.