Trumbo
The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs in Communism.
Director:
Jay Roach
Cast:
Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg
Screenplay:
John McNamara
Screening Date:
Oct 31, 2015
Studio:
Groundswell Productions
Running Time:
124 minutes
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76.5% | 19.1% | 4.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Great movie! Another dark period in our history.
A wonderful film - reminds one of the pleasures of the films of the past!
What a great cast! Bravo to them all but Mr. Cranston--start writing an Oscar speech!
An important story and fabulous film. For those of us who remember those days, things are still fear driven. This is a wake up call. Excellent use of archival footage and great acting.
How lucky to never have to be put in the situation of answering such questions. No winners. Hope to never have to incriminate anyone.
Great film!
Great history lesson.
One of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and--Hallelujah, Hollywood--one with a very important and still timely message.
An editing tour de force.
Excellent! Portrays the personal struggles of the Hollywood 10. Bryan Cranston is the male Meryl Streep, embodying the character of the person portrayed to the tenth degree. The casting was terrific, especially Edward G Robinson and Kirk Douglas. I would recommend this film enthusiastically.
Brilliant! Loved the film, especially the acting. Best picture of the year.
Fabulous film! Amazing!
Great performances and great writing (yes the two are of course intricately connected) but the tone of the film was perhaps too light. It was often played for laughs when this was a terrifying time in the lives of many Americans and fear was pervasive. Mr. Roach made a most enjoyable film and if that gets people studying the Blacklist and McCarthyism again fine.
This is a story that needs to be retold... Fear was well portrayed.
Obviously this film was about a horrifying time in American history. The acting was beautiful and stirring. Tragically from this country, this paranoid, restrictive faction always manages to rise. This film is powerful and important.
My #1 movie of the year. Brilliantly written movie about a brilliant writer, Trumbo has the best sandwich scene of all time!
Where is Dalton Trumbo when we need him? Oddly enough, what this film lacks is a better screenplay. Bryan Cranston does an adequate job but pales in comparison to the actor playing Preminger, maybe it is more a reflection of the dynamism of the real life character (maybe we'll get to see "The Otto Preminger Story" one day). Great subject matter doesn't always guarantee a great movie; perhaps my level of anticipation for this film undercut my appreciation of it; I really expected more and feel there is a better way to deliver this important story. Overall, it was just a good movie and it should have been great. After all, it's a movie about the movies; so do it justice, why don't ya?
I did not live through the Blacklist years, but it is frightening to see a movie like this about a time that put people through such a horrible experience. How they survived is a miracle of endurance and standing up for your beliefs. Cranston is such a good actor!
By the way, many in my family in the 40's were card-carrying Communists. Jews traditionally support underdogs. How scary we let Congress shame us. Sound familiar? And a gossip columnist? Saw the play "Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been?", the movie "The Front", and read the book "Naming Names"...all better. What happened to Edward R Morrow?
An exceptional treatment of the shameful Un-American activities in the name of patriotism. Bryan Cranston was a tremendous Dalton Trumbo and this movie has inspired me to go back to watch every single film Trumbo wrote.
If I had anytime I'd see this movie again. From the fabulously syncopated opening credits (with jazz score) to the archival footage in the closing, this film grabbed me all the way. It's an important and well told story with beautifully nuanced performances, except, of course, for John Goodman, who was magnificently over-the-top. Cranston was great, so was Diane Lane. Loved it.
What a fine film! A story that needs to be told to the current generation! Thank you for this excellent film!
Cranston is amazing and the other actors are superb, but in some ways the star of the film is the writing. What a fine tribute to Trumbo!
If you'd like to know more about the film...
Dalton Trumbo is a writer with a prolific body of work, some of which is referenced in the film (such as 30 Minutes Over Tokyo, The Brave One, and Spartacus). His writing credits are cataloged here on imdb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874308/
Interested in a more in-depth detail of Trumbo's life? A mini-biography, hosted on Spartacus-Educational, can be found here: http://spartacus-educational.com/USAtrumbo.htm
The real man (complete with cigar holder) is interviewed by Stan Borhman in the 60s, posted here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxDUAoatnU
