Most of the new movies that come out of Hollywood are unbearable crap. This is especially true for the year 2005. So, instead of wasting my time on another piece of crap, I used the magic Intenet time machine to travel back to 1941. Yes, if there is nothing new worth of time, turn to classics. “Meet John Doe” seemed like a good choice.
Directed by: Frank Capra
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart, Rod La Rocque, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, J. Farrell MacDonald, Warren Hymer, Harry Holman, Andrew Tombes, Pierre Watkin
IMDB raintg: 7.6
My rating: 9.0 [rate 9.0]
And a good choice it was! Interesting story and an excellent production made this film truly enjoyable. I particularly liked the choice of comedy angle at a rather dramatic story and loads of touching details that many modern directors haven’t learned to use yet (like the dog putting scap paper in the trash bin).
Acting though wasn’t very spectacular. Of course, the standards are very different nowadays, but even considering that – a better job could have been done with casting. The soundtrack part was also pretty distant for me, but that again can be explained with time.
The story itself, on the other hand, is as alive today as it was back then. Maybe it is easier to get lost in the crowd of people and news today than it was before, but still, the basics stand.
Overall I really enjoyed watching this film – if you can sit through two hours of black-and-white classic, get it.