Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302765182
Format: Color
ISBN: 6302765188
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Release Date: 1995-05-15
Running Time: 109
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1972-09-03

Customer Rating:
Summary: bless the beast and the children
Comment: I have looked all over for this movie, It is one of the best movie's I have ever seen!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A touch of consciousness
Comment: I saw this movie on television when I was in my early teens. The theme and stylisation has remained vivid in my mind since I saw it. It was probably the first movie outide of Disney that depicted man's effect on nature. The music was to me haunting, even if it was by the carpenters.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Very powerful.
Comment: Bless the Beasts and Children (Stanley Kramer, 1971)

Stanley Kramer was one of the great unheralded directors of the sixties, perhaps because while his better-known contemporaries were churning out movie after movie, Kramer's compositions were brought down off the mountain by Moses every few years or so during his most brilliant period. Still, the sheer number of classic films from his oeuvre, compared to the number of films he directed, is impressive, to say the least. Bless the Beasts and Children is far less seen, and far less heralded, than such films as On the Beach or It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This is a crime.

Based on Glendon Swarthout's excellent novel of the same name (which was assigned reading when I was in sixth grade; my, how the world has changed), Bless the Beasts and Children begins with an unforgettable opening sequence: the six protagonists of the film penned in. The pen is opened, and hunters begin shooting, killing all of them save Cotton (Barry Robins). The hunter targeting him takes off her bandana, and he discovers it's his mother pulling the trigger-- at which point he wakes from his nightmare. Remember, this is the opening scene in the movie; we have no point of reference for these images yet. It is, at this stage in the game, raw image, and raw power. It's obvious from the get-go that Kramer knows what he's doing behind a camera, even if you're not enough of a film buff to have linked his name with his three Oscar nominations for Best Director (for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, Judgment at Nuremberg, and The Defiant Ones).

The rest of the movie is balanced between providing the context in which to fit the opening scene and giving backstories on the six main characters. While most people remember the score (the Carpenter-crooned title track was nominated for both an Oscar and a Grammy), the acting deserves a great deal of credit here. The kids are excellent, every last one of them. The adults who surround them are all at least of above-average acting quality. This was a quality casting job through and through. They had a solid script to work with (it is somewhat simplified when compared with the book, though that is to be expected with adaptations; also, a faithful adaptation of the book would have garnered an R, at the very least, from the MPAA), and coupled with Kramer's direction and the remarkable cinematography of Michael Hugo (Bob Rafelson's infamous Head is probably his best-known work), the whole package is tremendous.

That any Stanley Kramer film has fallen into obscurity is a travesty. That this is one of those that has is even more so. It deserves rediscovery. ****

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie
Comment: While this film might appear as somewhat dated, it is nevertheless a great movie. The story told is moving and thought provoking. And the imagery is breathtaking in spots. Obviously, the film likely had far more affect back when it came out, as buffalo were nearly extinct at the time. The story is still relevant, however. It shows what can happen when people (whether they be kids or adults) decide to make a difference.

Personally, this movie is on my top 10 list. The book is somewhat different in parts, but the film captures the spirit of Glendon Swarthout's written words. I've been to South Dakota and have seen the wild buffalo herd (about 1,500 strong) that roams throughout Custer State Park in that state. They're magnificent animals, and I can't imagine wanting to shoot them just for sport, never mind shooting them while defenseless or being unable to flee from the hunter's gun.

If you've never seen this movie, it is highly recommended. Great plot, excellent characters. Here's to the Bedwetters... Enjoy!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Disingenuous
Comment: I enjoyed the book back in school immeasurably but the movie blew chunks. I know directors take liberties with movies in their direction. But the book's message and the movie's finale were completely different. Two completely different versions.

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