Amazon.com: Based on the book by Marshall Frady, this epic bio by John Frankenheimer stars Gary Sinise as one of the century's best candidates for true Aristotelian tragic status. The Aristotelian tragic protagonist is not an entirely bad man, but he has a fatal flaw. Wallace's flaw was not (originally) racism. It was lust for power and status, a lust so all-consuming that it turned Wallace into a fellow traveler with racists, and made of him one of the most destructive and most hated American politicians of his time. Sinise, who seems doomed to be underrated for his acting talents, captures memorably both the corruption and the belated search for redemption. Frankenheimer shows off all his skill with a story line, working through a series of flashbacks from the 1972 assassination attempt and weaving together real and constructed black-and-white footage. The pace does stumble; in the end, the movie is half an hour too long. But you get sucked in by the period feel, the accents as thick as grits, and the many excellent supporting performances. Especially notable are Mare Winningham as Wallace's long-suffering first wife, Clarence Williams as his servant Archie (a somewhat questionable fictionalization by Frankenheimer), and Joe Don Baker as his mentor and predecessor in the governor's mansion, Big Jim Folsom. Frankenheimer, Sinise, and Winningham all won Emmys for their work, and the film won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. --Richard Farr
Great movie! I may have to edit the opening scene some for my high school audience, but they will certainly be watching this movie. It was wonderfully made. I loved the mix of original pictures and movies intertwined with the story plot. I would highly recommend this for any Alabama history buff or for Gary Sinise fan. My mom even sat and watched this with me.
Great film, great acting. Exellent film, inspired and eye opening to those who have never seen how far the lack of understanding will take you or how much of a life can be spent doing harm to those you do not even know. I'm sure you will enjoy this film and the message it delivers. Well done.
Sinise's Third Best Only To Truman and Forrest Gump!!! Gary Sinise steals the show in George Wallace, the TNT documentary made about the three-time governor of Alabama and four-time presidential candidate. I honestly think Angelina Jolie, not Mare Winningham, should of gotten the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie. Winningham is a fine actress and portrayed her character well, but I thought she was rather drab. When Jolie takes over as the second Mrs. Wallace, she delivers her role with much more conviction and flare. Of course though, Sinise is the best actor in the cast and is most deserving of the award he got for Best Actor. Sinise's best role in my opinion, as you can likely guess from my review title, is his role in Truman, followed in a close second by his Lieutenant Dan portrayal in Forrest Gump, but this movie was a just as close third. I read one review of this movie which said the reviewer would have liked to see more about Wallace's 1968 campaign for President. I personally would have liked to see more about his '64 and '76 presidential bids because they have more historical signficance, being that his '64 run took place during the most controversial time in his career, the Civil Rights Movement, and it was his first presidential campaign. And I would have liked to see more of his 1976 run because he did best as a candidate. And, as history itself and the movie both dictate, people seem to forget that when Wallace became a segregationist, he was very much reluctantly drawn into it by the Ku Klux Klan, rather than he was always one as most everyone who knows of him thinks. I think this point to his character should have been better addressed. Besides these small flaws, the movie was great overall. I also found something in common between this movie and Forrest Gump. In both, Sinise plays characters who are marred by physical trauma, and both characters have some very negative things to say about their conditions. As I said earlier, this movie is great overall and well worth watching especially if you are a history/political buff. Get it!!!
George Wallace: from liberal to racist to redemption The fighting little judge from Alabama was known as the most liberal judge in Alabama and probably in the South. But one gubernational defeat makes him turn to racism in order to capture the governorship.
Gary Sinise turns in an incredible performance as the governor, he has become one of my favorite actors ever since his equally brilliant performance in "Truman".
I like the way that this movie doesn't judge Wallace as good or bad, it leaves that to the viewer. In one scene you can see Wallace commenting on the beating of Civil Rights activists at the Edmund Pettus Bridge saying "This is a victory for US! We turned them back" and you actually think that Sinise as Wallace believes what he's saying.
The movie presents some historical footage here and there, you can see president Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King's famous "how long?" speech.
It does have a number of flaws though, I'd have liked to see more about election 1968, the way Nixon tried to prevent Wallace from becoming governor in 1970 by sponsoring Wallace's opponent, the infamous General Curtis Lemay pressconference. And the fictional character Archie isn't quite pulled off by the director, it strikes me as an anomaly in the movie.
Also it shows Wallace meeting Cornelia, his future second wife at governor Folsom's inaugural in 1955, this would have made Cornelia about 23 years old in 1972 when in fact she was 31. The reason for that is that George and Lurleen met Cornelia at Folsom's FIRST inaugural in 1947 and not 1955
The most moving scene is where Wallace is wheeled into the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (Dr. King's former church) where he, in front of a stunned black congegation apologizes for his role in black suffering. The authenticity of this scene I found questionable until I read about it in Stephan Lesher's book "George Wallace American populist".
But in the end George Wallace the movie is a masterpiece capturing the sentiments of the 50's, 60's and 70's. The late governor's children are said to have been content with the portrayal.
George Wallace EXCELLENT! SPLENDID PERFORMANCE BY MARK VALLEY AS BOBBY KENNEDY.
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