Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

In these straightened times, the story of a whole town going broke chimes. This is a very gritty worthy film in a similar vein to Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson exposing the underbelly of The American Dream, and reflecting the disillusionment of the American People, five years before the end of the Vietnam War...Think of two lumberjacks and a logjam in a river and (in the UK at least) the Berocca advertisement when they dance a jig on a rolling log probably springs to mind.Let's travel the full spectrum from jollity to tragedy.Hank and Joe Ben Stamper are trying to free a logjam, and Joe Ben falls foul of a log that turns trapping him under the water. Hank tries to save his younger brother by taking breaths and passing them mouth-to- mouth under water. Now given that these are Yosemite Sam types, rootin' tootin' Oregonites, this desperate act of brotherly love strikes the trapped Joe Ben as hilarious... and he begins, to laugh, gulps water... and his brother is forced to watch him drown helpless... and we're forced to watch Hank watch Joe Ben die.The brutal intimacy of this scene set against the scale of the American landscape also forces us to share Hank's sense of helplessness and loss.There are films that we only watch once; not because they're not worthy of watching again... simply because they have moments that scar our sensibilities...

This film was directed by Paul Newman and he's also one of the stars of "Sometimes a Great Notion". It sure helped him that he had such good support from the likes of Henry Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Richard Jaeckel and Lee Remick.The film is about a very bull-headed family whose logging business is on the edge of bankruptcy. The family patriarch (Fonda) refuses to budge with the unions and it's hard to fulfill his contracts with so few workers. So, it's up to his family to bust their butts to get the job done. All during which the entire town has grown to hate them--they're out of work and resent the family. Eventually, tragedy strikes and in the end the family is destroyed---and yet, the sons seem unwilling to admit defeat.All in all, this is a very depressing film. Yes, the acting is nice, but the film is a big downer--and I am pretty sure the average viewer will be rather depressed by the film. Not a feel-good film, that's for sure. Also, the family isn't particularly likable. As a result, the final product, as one other reviewer put it, is rather lackluster. Not a bad film but not an especially memorable one either.By the way, this film is NOT for the squeamish. The film features one of the more harrowing scenes I've ever seen in a movie and if you see this one, you'll know what I mean.

The death scene involving the characters of Mr. Newman and Mr. Jaeckel was as moving and emotional as i have seen in 70 years of watching films. Others have stated that this film fails to live up to the novel by Ken Kesey. On its own merit this reviewer takes under consideration the fine ensemble acting and the rich photography to make this film memorable. Lee Remick, because of her talent, always turns in a believable performance. This movie is being featured on some movie channels this weekend, so i strongly recommend it to viewers. Its important to note the direction of Paul Newman. This is one his earliest directorial efforts.

I also vividly remember this movie, and would love to see it again. The scene with Richard Jaekel and the logging accident is unbelievable. There are many other memorable scenes. I wonder why it is not on DVD? I searched Netflix, and it isn't there. I guess I will just have to wait for it to come around on cable! Or do they only show movies that have made it to DVD on cable? With so many great actors, an excellent story (Ken Kesey) and memorable performances, there's no reason for this to languish in obscurity. I would like to hear some other opinions. It's the kind of movie (at least for me) that you remember forever, so I'm hoping some others remember it as well and can give their opinions.