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The Quiet American (1958)

Posted By: Someonelse
The Quiet American (1958)

The Quiet American (1958)
A Film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 4:3 (720x480) | 02:01:49 | 6,13 Gb
Audio: English, Spanish - AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps (each track) | English, French, Spanish
Genre: Romance, Thriller | USA

A love triangle brews amidst a growing political tempest in this "brilliantly intellectual" (Los Angeles Times) film in which nothing is quite as it seems. Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Graham Greene, Academy Award-winning writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's screenplay "delivers dialogue that not only sparkles but bites deep with the irony of truth" (Citizen-News). In 1952, Saigon is caught between the corrupt colonial powers and the Communist uprising. An idealistic young American (Audie Murphy) champions a shadowy Third Force, but cynical British journalist Thomas Fowler (Michael Redgrave) is concerned only with the American's interest in his mistress. When jealousy forces Fowler to take sides at last, the personal and political consequences are devastating.

IMDB

The Quiet American (1958)

Although Graham Greene purists will object to the liberties Joseph L. Mankiewicz took in bringing The Quiet American to the screen, most viewers will find the end result an accomplished, involving, and intriguing, if occasionally talky, experience. The cynicism and the American indictment of Greene's original have been muted, and even those unfamiliar with the novel will likely be able to tell that something is not quite right; but this flaw is more than offset by Mankiewicz's atmospheric, often taut, direction and by the powerful, devastating effect produced by the actions of the two main characters. Viewers are likely to be divided on Audie Murphy's performance, which clearly lacks depth and texture; however, Murphy as a person, if not as an actor, exudes the naïveté and guilelessness that are at the heart of the character, and this helps to atone for much of his lack of acting technique. Michael Redgrave, of course, has technique for days, and he employs it to the full here, delivering a stunning performance that will have the audience on his side (even perhaps when they shouldn't be). Redgrave wraps his soul around the Greene/Mankiewicz dialogue, making a great deal out of even the simplest moments, and the strength of his work carries the film. There's also some gorgeous, very stylish black-and-white photography from Robert Krasker and some evocative location lensing that add to the film's effectiveness.
Craig Butler, Rovi
The Quiet American (1958)

When an American working for an aid organization in Vietnam is murdered, Vigot, a French police inspector, must investigate the case. The story, told through flashbacks, concerns an American who arrives in Indochina (Vietnam) under the auspices of an economic aid organization to support the "third force" in the struggle against the French Colonists and the Communists. There he meets Fowler, a world-weary British journalist, and falls in love with Fowler's mistress Phuong. In retaliation, Fowler accuses the American of using economic aid as a cover for a scheme to sell arms to anti-Communist forces, making the American a target for the Communists. Eventually, Fowler learns of the American's innocence through Inspector Vigot.

The Quiet American (1958)

The Quiet American (1958) was among the first films to deal with the problem of the American presence in Vietnam (or Indochina, as it was commonly known at that time). The original book by Graham Greene was overtly critical of "Uncle Sam's" presence in Vietnam and caused an uproar in the U.S. when it was published in 1956. However, this provocative aspect of the story was softened by writer/director/producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz for the adaptation. Among other things, the American was changed from a government official to a private citizen. Casting real-life war hero Audie Murphy as the American also helped make the character more immediately sympathetic to American audiences. Incidentally, Laurence Olivier, who was originally to play Fowler, dropped out when he learned that Murphy was cast as the American instead of Montgomery Clift; Michael Redgrave took Olivier's place. According to Robert Lantz, before making the film Mankiewicz said, "I will tell the whole story anti-Communist and pro-American." However, Mankiewicz later denied saying this, claiming that he made the changes in the script to show how "emotions can very often dictate political beliefs."

The Quiet American (1958)

The novels of British-born writer Graham Greene (1904-1991) are an unusual combination of globetrotting intrigue, psychological character studies and serious meditations on moral and theological issues. Educated in Oxford, he flirted with Communism briefly before converting to Catholicism in 1926. During the 1930s, he worked for the Secret Intelligence Service and traveled to countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Indochina, Cuba, Haiti and Mexico, thus discovering settings for his travel writings and novels. Greene's works have been widely adapted to film, often with screenplays written by Greene himself: The Power and the Glory, which became John Ford's The Fugitive (1947); The Fallen Idol (1948); The Third Man (1949); The End of the Affair (1955) and Our Man in Havana (1960). The most notable Greene adaptation of recent years is Neil Jordan's reworking of The End of the Affair (1999).

The Quiet American (1958)

The film was shot partly on the soundstages of the Cinecitta Studio in Rome, partly in Vietnam. Location shooting in Vietnam was not without complications. Cinematographer Robert Krasker had to avoid shooting at noon because the intense overhead tropical sun created lighting problems. The crew also encountered difficulties obtaining permission to shoot inside a Buddhist temple due to the phase of the moon. According to one source, the film's Vietnam production unit became the unwitting participant in a political demonstration. While filming in the city of Tay Ninh, they witnessed what they believed to be a religious procession by the Cao-Dai sect with about 40,000 participants. However, they later learned that it was a protest by the sect calling for the return of its leader. The police, who assumed that the event had been staged specially for the film, allowed it to proceed without interference.

The Quiet American (1958)

While a number of critics pointed out the film's blunted political message at the time of its release, it was nonetheless praised for its acting, especially Michael Redgrave's brilliant performance as Fowler, and its vivid use of locations. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "Scenes shot in Saigon have a vivid documentary quality and, indeed, the whole film has an aroma of genuine friction in the seething Orient."
The Quiet American (1958)

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