The Sound and the Fury

This movie is only loosely inspired by the William Faulkner novel. The character of Jason has undergone a complete rewrite and here he is the angry yet well-intentioned, and somewhat misguided, head of the Compsons, desperately trying to pull the family up by their bootstraps.

As a movie, The Sound & The Fury stands on its own quite well. Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward turn in powerful performances. As the strict guardian to young Quentin, Brynner plays the role with equal parts of anger and determination, with a touch of sizzle thrown in. Woodward, as the young Quentin, is both desperate and vulnerable, but tough. You can't deny the underlying chemistry between these two characters. Their scenes together crackles in the summer heat. Interestingly, Woodward was already expecting her first child while filming this movie. Brynner's southernized Russian accent is an entertaining distraction. This is a must see but leave your expectations of an adaptation at the door. Hopefully they'll release a DVD soon!

Leonard Maltin describes this film as a "strange adaptation" of the rather dense and difficult William Faulkner novel of the same name. Perhaps the lesson here is that the book is indeed unfilmable. The movie takes numerous liberties with the novel and generally omits large portions of it. I can't help but feel that Yul Brynner, with his peculiar accent, was miscast as Jason Compson. In the book, Jason is the youngest sibling of Caddy and Benjie; here he is described as an adopted son, and not "blood" kin. We also have a completely made up sibling named Howard, who does not exist in the book. The novel takes place in the late 1920's with many flashbacks, here the present day is the mid 1950's. Despite its shortcomings, including a rather overbearing and jazzy music score which doesn't really fit, The Sound and The Fury does have its merits, starting with the always watchable Joanne Woodward as young Quentin Compson, presumably around 18 years of age and still in high school. The photography was fine and the ambiance, both inside and out, of the deteriorating Compson mansion was spot on. The small town atmosphere of Jefferson, MS was captured nicely. I would recommend this film to Faulkner buffs and Joanne Woodward fans. Just don't expect too much.

A great source novel, a fine director, a terrific cast and two very good writers so what could possibly have gone wrong? Something obviously did for at best Martin Ritt's film of William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" never rises above camp which is fine by me just so long as you don't expect anything more than a trashy piece of Southern Gothic.

This was a Jerry Wald production and was aimed at an adult audience or maybe just an adult American audience who took these shenanigans for granted, (its Deep South setting has always been a source of fascination). It's a family saga, (naturally), and set on some kind of plantation, (naturally), though perhaps the most interesting aspect is that the black servants are much more forward thinking than their white employers.

A miscast Yul Brynner, (with wig), is the head of the household; Joanne Woodward, (too old for the part she is playing), is the rebelious young girl whose mother, (Margaret Leighton), abandoned her as a baby but who has now returned to the fold; Ethel Waters is the 'Mammy' character, Jack Warden is the 'idiot' uncle, Francoise Rosay is Brynner's mother and Stuart Whitman, the carny with an eye on Woodward. With such a disparate cast you could say they are a very strange family. On the plus side it certainly looks good; Charles G Clarke shot it in Cinemascope and it is certainly lush. It might have been better if it had been even trashier; as it is it's somewhat po-faced. If you must have Faulkner go with "The Tarnished Angels" or even "The Long Hot Summer".

I would also like to find out why over the years this movie has not been available for purchase on DVD or even VHS. I saw it on TV many years ago and really enjoyed it especially with a cast that included Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward. Anyone out there have any clues? I realize this film did not really reflect the book by William Faulkner but I think it stood up on its own as a simpler version that most people could enjoy. Hopefully at some point it will be available again. Yul Brynner plays his character with some force and pomposity but is very appealing nevertheless. Joanne Woodward is a sweet gamin of a tom boy who acts the part to perfection. It has been along time since I have seen this film but it made enough of an impression that I still surf the internet in the hopes that I will find it available to buy and play at home.

OK...this is one of the WORST adaptations of all time. For those who say "it's BETTER than the original novel"...are you MAD!!! Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" is one the the greatest American novels ever written (just because it can't be read by someone with a 5th grade education doesn't mean it isn't any good). The only thing this film has in common with the novel is the title and the names of the characters. Overall...it it dreadful, and fans of the novel are encouraged to stay away from it.

Oh...and who's brilliant idea was it to cast Yul Brenner as Jason. UGH!