Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Magnificent Ambersons – The DVD



I collect Pulitzer Prize winning books, mostly those that won the fiction category. My theory is that if the book is good enough to win the prize it is worth reading. The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington won in 1919. I purchased the book, but have not read it yet. While searching for it, I ran across this DVD that came out in 2002. It is a remake of the 1942 film directed by Orson Welles which was nominated for four Oscars. The 2002 remake is said to have followed Welles' original screenplay, much of which was cut out of the 1942 version. I also found there was an earlier movie that came out in 1925.

The Magnificent Ambersons is an excellent story about George Amberson, a rich brat who falls in love with Lucy Morgan, the daughter of Eugene Morgan, George's mother's former lover who returns to town after a twenty-year absence. Due to economic changes and poor investments, George is forced to move from rich brat to a man struggling to survive.

Because the story is set in the early 1900s, there are interesting subplots relating to automobiles and suburban growth.

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