Wise Blood

To quote Samuel L. Jackson: "That's just plain, damn weird." And though I love Dourif, and was excited at the prospects the film held, they never took off like I had expected. The film is just plain, damn perplexing, and I do like it, just not that much. Yet it's still an interesting treatise on modern religious zealotry.

Brad Dourif is just too, too under-appreciated. "I'm gonna do some things I ain't never done before" has officially made it into my personal lexicon.

I'm going to assume the subplot with the retarded kid in the gorilla suit was more impactful in the novel, but I kind of see what they were getting at

"If you want to get anywhere in the religion business you gotta keep it sweet". This is probably one of the most uncomprimising, angry films about post-vietnam America. Huston depicts society as a nightmare soaked in religious zealotry, stupidity and racism. The acting isn't always top notch, but there are great turns from Ned Beatty and Harry Dean Stanton, and the undervalued Brad Dourif is perfectly cast as the manic preacher.

There are some interesting ideas in there somewhere. Behind the amateuristic look and c-level acting. Fuck "Hail the idea", this movie sucks. For a good movie that looks like it's made by retards (like boom in the picture), check out Richard Linklater's 'Slacker'.

I shouldn't compare the film to the original novel, but its impossible not to. It has great aspects to it, like Brad Dourif, but it feels exceptionally hollow. Without the internal descriptions of the characters from the novel, ineffectually done through flashbacks for the main character, the events in the film lack a reason behind them and removes the seriousness of the themes. It also has the most inappropriate music possible; the novel is very funny, but the goofy banjo music is just wrong.

Depending on your point of view, this could be interpreted as either a redemption story or an indictment of religious zealotry. Ultimately I find it to be spiritual, and irreligious though I may be, I'm hard-pressed not to appreciate such a unique and thoughtful story. Brad Dourif is perfect as the eccentric street preacher.

appaling.

Dourif gives a great performance, but it just seems like odd characters just keep popping in and out for no reason.

Hazel Motes' odyssey is a profoundly curious one, marked by his obstinate rejection of faith--but nonetheless subverted in a sublime way. The film itself suffers from some tonal inconsistency (namely that goofy soundtrack and a side character's seemingly unrelated escapades), but as a whole it leaves the viewer with much to consider.

I really really liked this one, it might be worth a higher score. Will see when I rewatch it. For now: very strange, very interesting, and yes, great performance from Dourif.

A rather fun piece of satirical social commentary. The mixed messages are secondary to the characterizations, and that's ok when they're as creatively drawn as they are here.

The book is one of my favorites, so I may be judging the film a bit harshly. Dourif is a perfect Hazel Motes, though.

Brad Dourif is always great as a fucking nutso, so this was really the perfect role for him. John Huston's versatility as a filmmaker should not be overlooked.

I love the book and this is a pretty faithful adaptation, but I think it just doesn't translate well to the screen. I couldn't get into it. Good performances from Dourif and Beatty. John Huston is kind of a cinematic beast, though.

Brad Dourif's best performance in this faithful and effective adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's fine novella about a God-ridden man who must preach even though he does not believe..

Score based on distant memory.

a must see.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't believe my PSI was 81. It was so boring and I found little point in the whole film. The one thing I actually liked was Ned Beatty's performance, but other than that this film was pretty much a waste of time. See Elmer Gantry for, in my opinion, a much more worthwhile religious satire.

I need to read the gosh darn book. Feel like some stuff might get fleshed out a bit more in the pages

Strange movie that I want to like better than I do, since it's one of the few American movies to take a good look at how religion is practiced in the U.S.

I’m goin’ where I’m goin’!

It is a parody on religion, sometimes too broad especially with the Enoch Emory character shenanigans, but at the same time it's a very religious story about a man who despite himself firmly believes in sin and redemption (despite to all his own proclamation to the contrary). The nuance of that religious search of a man looking for redemption for what he truthfully believes his the sin at his core, is lost in the broad parody the movie wants to be.

81.00

Nietzsche spoke too soon; Hazel Motes, not Christ, was the last Christian.

I read Winesburg, Ohio, in high school and loved it for the wacky characterizations. This feels like a sibling through a convoluted bloodline. Dourif is intense as a rebel with a cause, and somehow stands in as the focal character even when we have an omniscient view for a handful of scenes. The other characters, while memorable, often feel like they're stalling the story. I can certainly see why this is such a divisive film to rate.

Weird. Lots of good ideas. Probably too weird, though.

I haven't read O'Connor's work, but I have to believe it's not nearly this condescending to Southerners. Most of the major characters are ignorant kooks, the same kind of smug fake-liberal viewpoint seen in stuff like Junebug. The movie also has a lot of inappropriately goofy music. There are some unusual takes on religion here, but they're not developed very far, and the movie doesn't mine anything that interesting until the end. Other than that, it's a waste of a good Dourif performance.

a near perfect adaptation of one of my favorite novels

Em honra de Ned Beatty (1937 -2021). https://letterboxd.com/ladyspiggott/film/wise-blood/

Basado en el libro del mismo nombre, es todo un desafío tratar de asir la esencia del mismo. O'Connor es una escritora que utiliza demasiadas metáforas para combinar la literatura con la religión. A pesar de ello, considero que es una buena adaptación.

"Huston's Wise Blood is a sharp, busy canvas that, like a man with a good car, doesn't need to be justified." - Bill Weber

Most strange.

A very strange drama based on a Flannery O'Connor novel, with the psychotic-looking character actor Brad Dourif suitably typecast for the lead. One of my favorite John Hustons.

Strange, compelling look at relegion ranks as Hustons weirdest film overall. But it's damn good weird.

It's the kind of film where no one really seems to speak to one another or behave coherently; it's full of shouting, cruelty, and grotesquerie, but none of it resonates. Brad Dourif is good as the off-kilter Motes, Dan Shor is unnerving as the parasitic Enoch Emory, and John Huston develops a solid atmosphere from the parts of O'Connor's novel which aren't obscured by the scattered script, but on the whole it's all too forgettable.

Only Huston could direct a film so simultaneously hilarious and depressing.

Sprawling, unwieldy but not without being interesting. Brad Dourif excels as one of the least sympathetic main characters in all of cinema. In the end it does feel a bit like someone tried to summarize a book without quite managing to convey it's complex characters fully.

On the fence on how I feel about this one, but certainly worth watching.