|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
Sidney Franklin's The Good
Earth (1937) is based on Pearl Buck's Pulitzer
prize winning novel about Chinese peasants toiling
under the hardships of famine, revolution and a
thoroughly terrifying locust plague. One of
producer Irving Thalberg's pet projects begun
before -- but released after -- his death, the
story is that of an introvert; young O-Lan
(Viennese actress Luise Rainer looking and
behaving remarkably convincingly as an Oriental).
A slave in a 'great house' she is sold in marriage
to farmer, Wang Lung (Paul Muni, a bit over the
top and out of his depth on this occasion).
O-Lan and her husband work the land and are
granted a son. But Wang's father (Charles
Grapewin) and freeloading uncle (Walter Connelly)
are superstitious. Eventually their greatest fears
are realized when a devastating famine wipes out
all of Wang's crops. Impoverished and forced to
flee from the growing ominous shadows of
revolution -- O-Lan is nearly assassinated by
revolutionary soldiers for stealing some jewels
from the now decamped 'great house.' In a sequence
that must rank among the finest Hollywood is ever
committed to film, the estate is stormed by a
rabble of starving peasants, ransacked with
terrifying speed, leaving O-Lan to be crushed
under foot. Trampled, but alive, she awakens to
watch as a firing squad shoots many of the
peasants for their actions.
But before she can be shot the army is recalled to
fight. The reprieve is bittersweet. Giving the
jewels to Wang, he mounts a campaign to regain his
land. But the plot turns sour when Wang decides to
take up with a wanton loot player, Lotus (Tilly
Losch), a woman who uses Wang for his money, then
turns to his eldest son for affection. Distraught,
Wang banishes both his son and Lotus from the
'great house' while O-Lan, who has never fully
recovered from her injuries sustained during the
looting, looks on. However, before the harvest and
exile can take place, a horrifying plague of
locust descend on the crops. This sequence is
probably one of the most viscerally engaging and
upsetting to emerge from a classic Hollywood film.
Wang's son comes up with the idea to set ablaze
part of the fields in order to create a smoke
barrier between the locust and the rest of the
crops. The plan works and Wang's faith in his son
is restored. O-Lan, grateful for the small mercies
God has shown them, lies on her deathbed, even as
Wang and the rest of the family celebrate the
marriage of his son to another, unaccredited
Chinese woman. For sheer spectacle and magnificent
performances rendered throughout, The Good Earth
is as fine a film as any Hollywood has ever or yet
to make. It should be seen by everyone.
Warner's DVD transfer on The Good Earth is perhaps
a tad below par as per the rest of their recent
DVD output, but having said that -- the image is
still quite viewable. The grayscale in many scenes
has been rendered with care. Age-related artifacts
are perhaps a bit more prevalent on this occasion
but still do not distract. Several scenes have an
excessive amount of film grain that is just a
little distracting -- though still, not terribly.
Contrast levels are perhaps darker than one would
have expected, with fine details often lost during
night scenes. The audio is mono, as it should be,
and presented at a reasonable listening level.
Extras amount to two short subjects and a trailer. |
