Truly Dreadful Film

The Age of Commercialism

Excellent, a Must See

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I am so moved by both this film and book that it makes me rethink the meaning of life. Tyrone Powell plays a rather reserved Jake Barnes. He does indeed Lady Brent to the point in which he has accepted her wayward life-style. Errol Flynn and Eddie Albert also add flavor and humor to a rather sad way of life.The film leaves out key scenes in the book.The poor love sick Robert addresses the issue of people who simply trying to hang-on regardless of the pain and suffering as does all the cast for one reason or another in life. Drinks does not lead to joy.Jake and Lady Ashley have a love that will go beyond the sexual desires of a wanton soul. Only Hemingway can take a masculine approach to Bullfighting and Love. We must always fight a good fight and always be ready to fight. Jake stated that he would indeed return next season for the fighting of the bulls.

After the Great War (aka World War I), a "lost generation of young people" gathers in Paris, where they find happiness elusive. The focus is mainly on newspaperman Tyrone Power (as Jake Barnes), who may be impotent due to a war injury, and sexually insatiable Ava Gardner (as Brett Ashley). She also attracts Mr. Power's athletic friend Mel Ferrer (as Robert Cohn). The two men receive stiff competition from perpetually tipsy Errol Flynn (as Michael "Mike" Campbell), who is Ms. Garner's fiancé. When we meet her, Garner is trying to quit drinking. She falls off the wagon quickly...After Power's fun-loving pal Eddie Albert (as Bill Gorton) arrives, everyone meets for "the running of the bulls" in Spain. There, Gardner is aroused by young bullfighter Robert Evans (as Pedro Romero)...Reportedly unconvincing during the rushes, Mr. Evans was supposed to be fired, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck famously said, "The kid stays in the picture!" Evans does look silly, but at least he's the right age. Others in the cast are clearly too old for Ernest Hemingway's youthful characters. Only Mr. Flynn manages to essay a characterization worth noting; he placed fourth in the annual "Best Supporting Actor" poll conducted by the "Film Daily". Director Henry King and photographer Leo Tover put the drinkers in a nice-looking CinemaScope landscape that does not help the story.**** The Sun Also Rises (8/23/57) Henry King ~ Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn, Mel Ferrer

There's no other way to describe this other than a major disappointment. On paper it was a great opportunity to finally do right by Hemingway - something that still eludes filmmakers - his first real novel (he had published The Torrents Of Spring, a parody, earlier), an immediate best seller chock full of interesting characters and set against a backdrop of Paris and Pamplona (all Hemingway's novels were set outside the USA, Italy twice, Spain twice, Havana, Paris, the Gulf Stream)all one had to do was acquire the rights, commission a screenplay and assemble the right cast. Aye, there's the rub; where Hemingway's characters were lost youths who had been fighting a war less than a decade before the events described in the novel Fox in their wisdom assembled an over-the-hill gang all, with the exception of Mel Ferrer, possessing fine acting chops but badly in need of a touch of jeunnesse. As drop-dead gorgeous actresses go Ava Gardner turned out consistently fine performances and does so here but only Errol Flynn rings completely true as Mike Campbell and even he is clearly too old for the part. Robert Evans demonstrates why he soon gave up acting - though surely it was vice versa - and is so bad he makes Mel Ferrer look good. Altogether a sad treatment of a landmark, albeit now dated, novel.

GWlightwizard gave a beautiful review and I agree completely with him. This film and the book are very close. As for the criticisms that the actors are too old for their roles - consider this - the characters they portray are actually in their 30s (not their 20s as some have stated). For instance, Ava Gardner was 35, her character in the book was 34. It's very good casting by putting in actors that are a bit older. The characters do seem a bit weary and older and are merely showing the effects of their lifestyle. Theirs is a post-WWI, world-weary, hard drinking life full of disillusionments and briefly fleeting joys. Read the book in conjunction with seeing this movie. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the parallels. It's also historically quite accurate for the period, plus a bit auto-biographical. Ernest Hemingway was and is one of the best. It shows in this movie and is great.