Our Town (1977) Reviews

• An excellent "Our Town"

  susanj502000-08-06

  This is a really fine version of "Our Town." It is much better than the 1940 version which both changed the plot and set the play in a real set. Perhaps what is most charming about this version was the set which had outlines of the houses in which the actions took place. I especially liked Hal Holbrook as the stage manager and the late John Houseman as the professor. Our town is a fine piece of literature and this is probably the best version made for screen.

• Finest version ever. A film that may change you forever.

  tsalagicelt2004-07-08

  This film made me think better, and made me come to terms with life in a way that few movies ever have or could. To put it simply, it changed me forever, for the better. It has that kind of power. The cast is stellar from top to bottom. The directing is genius. I can't recommend this more highly. If you think that Robby Benson couldn't act, or that his type of acting style could never be suited for a film that mattered, see this one. He and Glynnis O'Connor are *made* for these parts. They had such chemistry in this film that it is truly a shame that they didn't go on to become a regular acting duo (this was their third, and last movie together). I always cry during the last part. Why in heaven hasn't someone put this out on DVD yet? The owners don't seem to know what a gem they have here.

• what a treat

  dtucker862001-10-21

  I remember falling in love with Thorton Wilder's wonderful play when I was in high school and I still love it today. This is probably that best play ever written and this adaptation really does it justice. Hal Holbrook is wonderful as the stage manager. He was a great Mark Twain and I don't think I have ever seen an actor who can bring to his roles the everyman and folksy quality that he does. Because this play is really pantomime and done without props, it is really a challenge for the actors and all of them do really well. Robby Benson has often been ridiculed and I feel this is unfair because he does a great job as George (if you overlook the funny way he says "fahmer") Our Town deserves to be called an icon of our culture and I wish everyone could see this superb version. Thorton Wilder would have been very proud.

• Personal contact

  NeverLift2010-04-12

  I was lucky enough to see this in its first broadcast, and have never forgotten it, especially Act III. I agree in retrospect with the criticism of Hal Holbrook being too "folksy", only because I am currently involved in a stage production in which the Stage Manager's narration is more detached -- not cold, but not as personally involved. There are many plays that will move me to tears, or to anger, but the emotional response is usually FOR the characters portrayed. That is, it is a detached response, with little or no sense of personal participation in the milieu that is creating the response. In "Our Town", the paucity of set decoration and the inclusion of us, the audience, in the action through our being addressed directly by the Stage Manager, makes this a personal experience. In the presentation of which I'm a part just now, I'm merely an extra -- one of the dead in Act III without lines, Farmer McCarthy. I found there is just one difficult aspect of that role: Enforcing on myself the rule that dead people don't cry. Takes discipline.

• This is the "definitive" version . . .

  fgeorge762001-03-07

  Many people know the story of "Our Town", a play written by Thorton Wilder. This is a video cassette of the May 1977 NBC Tv special of "Our Town" with Hal Holbrook, Ned Beatty, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robby Benson, Sada Thompson, Sada Thompson, Glynsis O'Connor, and other Tv and stage personalities from the mid 1970s. This version was created after two failed attempts at putting "Our Town" on the Tv/Movie screens. In 1940, Hollywood produced the movie "Our Town" which I called the "Wizard of Oz" version for reasons that can be explained if you read that review. In 1954, Frank Sinatra, Eva Marie Saint, and Paul Newman did a "musical" version of Acts I and II. Throton Wilder was so disgusted with both, he started working with tv producers to create a definitive version of his play in the early 1970s. Wilder passed away in late 1975, but in the months prior to his death, he and producers tried to work out the dream. Although Wilder died, his dream was answered in 1977. The casting was almost perfect. Ned Beatty is a great character actor, and he really fits the part. Hal Holbrooke creates the perfect Stage Manager, and using a empty tv studio actually gives the impression of seeing reality. We are told it is a play, but the studio gives the impression that it is a recap of a time traveler/historian that the Stage Manager was. The following is a spoiler comparison of 1977 and 1989's Our Town (Spoiler) My favorite Act is Act III because of Emily discovering how short and significant life could have been. I thought Glynsis O'Connor did this best. When Emily accepts death, she is very tranquil about it. The 1989 version with Penelope Ann Miller was good too, but her Emily feels trapped forever, while O'Connor's Emily was content with what she had and realized it was over. Another thing about the two Emilys was in Act I of both 1940 and 1977, both Scott's and O'Connor's Emily is playful with George and shy, while Penelope Ann Miller's Emily is hitting on George from the very beginning. Again a great play, if you can see many versions of this play -- see them. But try to see the 1977 version first and then keep your mind open if you like.