Starring: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Robert Douglas Directed By: King Vidor Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Feature: Based on the novel by philosopher Ayn Rand, this is the story of architect Howard Roark. An idealist, Roark believes he can balance his values with the needs of society. His mentor disagrees - encouraging him to compromise his integrity rather than suffer for his artistic goals.Running Time: 112 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 012569571624 UPC: 01 Format: Closed-captioned, Black & White, Dubbed, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 07, 2006 Running Time: 114 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: July 02, 1949
Features:
Based on the novel by philosopher Ayn Rand, this is the story of architect Howard Roark. An idealist, Roark believes he can balance his values with the needs of society. His mentor disagrees - encouraging him to compromise his integrity rather than suffer for his artistic goals.Running Time: 112 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 012569571624 UPC: 01
Product Description: An architect unwilling to change his design takes matters into his own hands after learning the plans for one of his buildings has been changed. Genre: Feature Film-Drama Rating: NR Release Date: 7-NOV-2006 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com: Exhibiting a darker edge to his hero persona, the strapping Gary Cooper has the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff as architect Harold Roark, a "fool visionary" who refuses to conform his artistic ideas to popular taste. His inflexibility makes enemies out of a tabloid architecture critic and a tycoon (Raymond Massey), who proclaims, "All men can be bought... there are no men of integrity." Keating (Kent Smith), a former classmate, urges Roark to take "the middle of the road so it's sure to please everybody." But Roark will not compromise, and when one of his building designs is radically altered without his consent, he resorts to drastic measures. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand from her towering and controversial bestseller, The Fountainhead is about as subtle as that phallic drill Roark wields so impressively, which catches the frenzied eye of the formidable Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal in her film debut). She recognizes Roark's nobility, but fears he has no chance "in a world where beauty, genius and greatness have no chance." Rand did little to dilute her polemics for the screen, resulting in melodramatic scenes that border on high camp, such as Roark and Francon's rather sexually charged discussion about limestone. Rand practiced what she preached. According to a bonus featurette about the making of the film, she refused to trim Roark's then-unprecedented six-minute courtroom speech in which he defends his actions. Even for those who don't adhere to her philosophy, The Fountainhead does offer something rarely seen on screens these days, a man of unshakable principles. And Hollywood could sure note Rand's object lesson about the perils of mediocrity and catering to "the mob." For Cooper fans, The Fountainhead is an essential addition to your DVD library. --Donald Liebenson
Skips a lot of important parts of the book. Hard to follow. ^ After reading this great book, I was excited to see the movie. Unfortunately, the movie was disappointing. You will certainly know you are watching a very old movie. Also, many parts of the book were left out. And it was hard to follow. Just read the book. Forget the movie!
The Fountainhead CD ^ This is an important and very influential film based on the book with an excellent cast and acting with the exception of the female lead, Patricia Neal. Gary Cooper and Raymond Massey are perfect and since the screenwriter was also the author, Ayn Rand, it held very close to the book. As a CD from Amazon, it arrived quickly and was fine.
Horrible Adaptation of a Great Book ^ While I am an enormous fan of Ayn Rand's original novel, this movie is awful. It should have been good. The director (King Vidor) was one of the great directors of early-twentieth century cinema. The cast included such talents as Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, (a young) Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey (who gave, by far, the film's best performance), and others. The original author was intimately involved in the process of the film's creation. The source material was fantastic. So what went wrong? Three things, in my opinion:
1) The Acting and the Script: While there are good actors in this film, and I love Rand's stylistic dialogue, the two simply didn't mesh here. Cooper was quite simply a very bad choice for the lead character, and his delivery of Roark's dialogue is all-wrong (note the lack of conviction in his voice during the famed trial speech near the end of the film). Neal is a very good choice for Dominique Francon, but her character isn't given sufficient time to be established, and rather than conveying the passionate pessimism of the novel's character, she comes off merely as crazed and impulsive. Robert Douglas is completely miscast as Ellsworth Toohey. Kent Smith might have made for a good Keating, but his character is also never given room to breathe. Raymond Massey was great as Wynand, however, and he is one of the few bright points in this production.
2) Relative Brevity: The Fountainhead was an enormous book, and I mean this in more than just girth. As one of the great "novels of ideas" of the last century, the book deserved a production large enough to do justice to its complex ideas and dramatic intensity. This, however, is impossible, due to the short length of the film. Significant portions of necessary plot are cut out, giving this film a jerky and undramatic feel. The worst of the cuts is what amounts to the first 100 pages of the novel. A short and entirely unsatisfactory montage covers the long period of time between the beginning of the novel, where Howard Roark is expelled from a university, to the death of a major character. All of this information is given to the bewildered viewer in about two minutes, after which the film carries on adapting scenes from the book which, divorced from their dramatic context, become either disappointing or confusing, depending on whether you have read the novel or not.
3) The Involvement of Ayn Rand in the Production: I know I listed this as a potential plus earlier in the review, and it probably would have been, had the author been anyone other than Ayn Rand. This woman, while brilliant and creative, was also something of a control-freak, and, evidently, stubborn to a fault. She pretty much forced the inclusion of material in the film that was inappropriate for the format of the production (a film is not a novel, and what works well in one won't necessarily work well in another). It is telling that the best film adaptation of any of her books (We the Living) was produced in Italy without her knowledge or consent.
Overall, this is a completely disappointing movie that had the potential for greatness. Give it a pass and read the novel.
great classic ^ the script was written by ayn rand so you dont get a nasty surprise watching it after you've read the book..
nice one
(i wouldnt recommend watching the movie though PRIOR to reading the book..)
Wonderful Movie from a Wonderful Book. ^ Wonderful Movie made from a Wonderful Book. So appropriate for NOW! Great to see Gary Cooper again! Been a might long time!
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