Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

A lot of fun.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Another of those great old biopics they did so well back in Hollywood's heyday. This one's from Warner Bros. and is directed by Michael Curtiz. It stars Burt Lancaster as Jim Thorpe, a Native American athlete who excelled in many sports in the first half of the Twentieth Century. He even won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics, only to have them taken away from him on a technicality. As is the case with most biopics, then and now, liberties are taken with the facts of Thorpe's life for the purpose of telling the story in a more condensed and dramatic way. This is always a point of contention for many. As I've said in the reviews for numerous biopics before, it really doesn't bother me. I find that biographical pictures today are just as 'wrong' as then and for worse reasons. The main difference seems to be back then they glossed things up and tried to focus on the positive parts of a notable person's life story, whereas today the negatives are focused on and, in many cases, rumors and innuendo are passed off as fact. However you feel about the authenticity of these kinds of movies, it's hard to deny they were often very well-done dramas with great acting and top production values. Here we have a fine performance from Lancaster, as well as Charles Bickford as Thorpe's coach, Pop Warner. A solid supporting cast is another plus. The sports scenes are all fun and manage to incorporate old footage with the new nicely. Overall, it's not my favorite classic Hollywood biopic, or even in my top ten, but it's an entertaining one about an important figure in American sports. Definitely worth a look if you don't have a bug up your rear about the historical accuracy of biographical movies.

The better flicks have visual images that stick forever in your brain. This one has three:1- the scene where Burt is fighting with his wife with the cigarette fumes flaming out of his nostrils2-the crane shot when Burt is alone in the L.A. Colosseum.3-the crane shot settling in on Burt after he kicks the football to the boys in the hoodalso, at some point in our lives, don't we all have Charles Bickford narrating some individual triumph of ours??? I have nothing against Morgan Freeman, who is an excellent narrator, but I wish that Charley had lived long enough to do "March of the Penguins"

Jim Thorpe was an incredible athlete and this movie shows this much,it is pretty accurate in the description of his athletic achievements. Where it fails miserably is in the telling of his personal life,for some strange reason it makes up a tragic story of Thorpe's life,concentrating on the fictitious death of his supposedly only son when a young boy, and the tragic consequences that follow,turning him into a sad,miserable and lonely middle-aged man. The truth is ,that Thorpe had 8 children,a son and 3daughters from his first wife and 4 sons from his second wife.His son from the first marriage died at age 2, but Thorpe had other children and the loss of his son did not destroy him. Furthermore ,after he divorced his first wife he didn't end up alone and miserable as the movie shows but remarried twice. Whatever problems he may have had later in his life,they were caused by other reasons and one wishes this movie tried to explain the true story of Thorpe and not make up one instead. Burt Lancaster is OK in the role,physically he seems perfect for the part,but the script doesn't help him understand this man by making up most of his personal life.

Entertaining telling of the Jim Thorpe story, but mostly pure Hollywood (as was common at the time). Despite stating that Thorpe was a consultant, it contains many inaccuracies and glosses over a lot. It's a good introduction to the greatest natural athlete of the 20th Century, but needs an up to date, more factual account of the Carlisle experience, the issue of professionalism in amateur sports of the era and Jim's role in it, and Jim's life after Carlisle. Until that time, enjoy the story with all its limitations, then go read a current biography like "The Real All Americans" by Sally Jenkins to get a picture of Jim, his achievements and life at Carlisle Indian school.