EAST OF EDEN

year: 1981
cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jane Seymour, Sam Bottoms
rating: ***1/2

Although flawed, this is a sometimes delicious soap operetic version of the novel, covering almost everything in the book in three parts. Timothy Bottoms plays Adam Trask, Warren Oates his father: they both do a wonderful job as both are wonderful actors. Oates gives the movie a great jump-start, and Timothy Bottoms takes the reigns nicely. Bruce Boxlitner as Charles Trask... well, let's just say he wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. He can pull-off the sexy-lonely-stud aspect in the bedroom scenes, but doesn't seem mean enough, scary enough, or tough enough for the other scenes involving the sibling rivalry. But the story is classic and this adaptation sticks to it nicely. And it was a nice treat seeing Timothy Carey in a cameo: playing a screaming tent-preacher. Carey, one of the greatest cult actors of all time, played a bodyguard in the original film who beats up James Dean, star of the 1955 film that, centering on the last quarter of the novel, pales in comparison.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Featured Post

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE

  Mckenna Grace in GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE Year: 2024 Rates: ** Jason Reitman's GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE set up a rural family to bec...