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.
36 Reviews
southern turgid drama
blanche-218 April 2013
"The Sound and the Fury" from 1959 is based on the novel by William Faulkner, and from what I understand, it's pretty loosely based.
I can't speak for the book, but the film is certainly derivative, reminiscent in some of its themes of "A Streetcar Named Desire," and even "Gone with the Wind," as it deals with the idea of the old, gentile south versus the new south.
Yul Brynner is Jason Compson, head of the Compson family, and guardian of Quentin (Joanne Woodward), whose mother Caddy (Margaret Leighton) took off years earlier. As a result, Quentin is a troubled young woman, looking for love in all the wrong places and trying to break from her family. The rest of the family is your typical southern dysfunctional - Ben, the slow brother who doesn't talk, and Howard (John Beal), the alcoholic brother. I had a little trouble putting the family together - Ben, Howard, and Caddy are all siblings, and Quentin is Caddy's daughter; I guess Jason is a half-brother or stepbrother, evidently from Russia. Anyway, Jason is the brains of the outfit, determined to drag the family kicking and screaming into the 20th century and providing for them.
Caddy returns to the house with Jason's permission, and Quentin, who has needed a mother and waited her entire life for her mother to return, finds she's not much use. Caddy as played by prominent Broadway actress Leighton is Blanche Dubois, dragging herself home to Belle Reve. She is either a nymphomaniac or just promiscuous; my money's on the former.
The story seems to have been reduced to stereotypes and follows along with several films made at that time, including "The Long Hot Summer" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Except for his accent, Yul Brynner gives a solid performance - mysterious, magnetic, and a dominant presence, and Woodward is excellent as Quentin, a young woman trying to find herself. Ethel Waters gives a wonderful performance as the housekeeper, Dilsy, who has seen all the children grow up and is smarter than all of them.
Just okay.
I can't speak for the book, but the film is certainly derivative, reminiscent in some of its themes of "A Streetcar Named Desire," and even "Gone with the Wind," as it deals with the idea of the old, gentile south versus the new south.
Yul Brynner is Jason Compson, head of the Compson family, and guardian of Quentin (Joanne Woodward), whose mother Caddy (Margaret Leighton) took off years earlier. As a result, Quentin is a troubled young woman, looking for love in all the wrong places and trying to break from her family. The rest of the family is your typical southern dysfunctional - Ben, the slow brother who doesn't talk, and Howard (John Beal), the alcoholic brother. I had a little trouble putting the family together - Ben, Howard, and Caddy are all siblings, and Quentin is Caddy's daughter; I guess Jason is a half-brother or stepbrother, evidently from Russia. Anyway, Jason is the brains of the outfit, determined to drag the family kicking and screaming into the 20th century and providing for them.
Caddy returns to the house with Jason's permission, and Quentin, who has needed a mother and waited her entire life for her mother to return, finds she's not much use. Caddy as played by prominent Broadway actress Leighton is Blanche Dubois, dragging herself home to Belle Reve. She is either a nymphomaniac or just promiscuous; my money's on the former.
The story seems to have been reduced to stereotypes and follows along with several films made at that time, including "The Long Hot Summer" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Except for his accent, Yul Brynner gives a solid performance - mysterious, magnetic, and a dominant presence, and Woodward is excellent as Quentin, a young woman trying to find herself. Ethel Waters gives a wonderful performance as the housekeeper, Dilsy, who has seen all the children grow up and is smarter than all of them.
Just okay.
Interesting Southern Gothic, complete with its clichés
thermal544 April 2007
Why is it that all stories regarding the South have to have at least one character who is mentally challenged? Oh well, at least Jack Warden was convincing.
Predictably dreary directing by Martin Ritt (Hud; Hombre).
Brynner was definitely out of place as the lead, but Georgia native Woodward was right on target.
British actress Margaret Leigton was terrific. She's another reminder that even in the 50's, some of Hollywood's best were skinny, chain-smoking women from across the pond. Some things never change, I guess.
The print I saw on INHD was in excellent shape. I wonder why this hasn't been released on DVD.
Predictably dreary directing by Martin Ritt (Hud; Hombre).
Brynner was definitely out of place as the lead, but Georgia native Woodward was right on target.
British actress Margaret Leigton was terrific. She's another reminder that even in the 50's, some of Hollywood's best were skinny, chain-smoking women from across the pond. Some things never change, I guess.
The print I saw on INHD was in excellent shape. I wonder why this hasn't been released on DVD.
Strange blend of Faulkner and Hollywood is fitfully interesting.
Poseidon-316 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
One more in a long lineage of classic novels that have been very loosely adapted to the big screen, this colorful, but muddled, film suffers from a lack of focus and from miscasting. Woodward (pushing thirty, but portraying a teenager) plays the disenchanted, restless daughter of a woman who left her the day she was born, leaving her in the hands of a houseful of unhappy, emotionally-damaged relatives. Her uncle Beal is a broken-down alcoholic while her uncle Warden is a mentally deficient man-child. Her step-uncle Brynner runs the house with an iron fist, demanding acquiescence from all of them as his self-important and condescending mother Rosay brays on continuously. Attempting to keep the inhabitants in check is the devoted housekeeper Waters who has lived to see a once-great house decay into shambles as its owners have devolved from prominent citizens of the town into virtual flotsam. An already tense situation is escalated when Woodward takes up with carnival worker Whitman and her long-lost mother Leighton returns after a lengthy sojourn as a kept woman and a prostitute. What is one of the 20th century's most acclaimed literary works becomes a pot-boiling soap opera which has little or no point to it and threatens to break under the weight of some really poor casting decisions. Brynner is highly uncomfortable in this milieu, not aided by a head of artificial hair. He plays his role as if he's still The King of Siam, Bounine or Rameses and, despite his obvious grasp of authority, seems out of place most of the time. Woodward was just simply too old by this time to carry off her part, especially considering that "Peyton Place", a previous Jerry Wald production, had managed to find talented actors who were much closer to their characters' ages. She'd already been playing wives and mothers in other projects! Nonetheless, she does manage to turn in some decent acting throughout. Rosay is way, way over the top, screeching and bellowing every line in an unintelligible growl. At one point she threatens to stay in her room until she dies, as if the audience isn't already cheering for it to happen, and quick! Whitman is rather hunk-a-licious in a role that requires very little beyond that. Beal and Warden aren't displayed to any great effect though they don't embarrass themselves. Waters looks a bit silly in the opening sequence, but thankfully settles in to deliver a nicely grounded performance. There's also a decent cameo by Dekker as Brynner's co-worker/boss. The real draw here is a blowsy, damaged-flower turn by Leighton who brings a sense of tragedy and loss to her role while also staying interesting and captivating. Stepping in as a replacement for Lana Turner (!), she and Woodward bear enough of a resemblance to be believable as mother and daughter despite their differences in nationality. Leighton could just as well be portraying Blanche DuBois here and one can see that she'd have done well in that role also. Almost sure to disappoint fans of the novel, it's a film with a fascinating array of people, but without a strong enough script to support them. It takes quite a while to figure out who is who and who was married to who, and a bit too much is left up in the air. The implied happy ending seems queasy at best, considering the family circumstances of the couple. Still, it's always nice to see stars in action under the old studio system and witness the highly polished productions they churned out and fans of Leighton shouldn't miss this.
This needs to be even trashier than it is.
MOscarbradley11 May 2018
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".
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".
All Star Cast, but Plot a Little Bit Slow
Modemom0075 December 2006
I came across this movie one afternoon on the FOX channel. There seemed to be well known and respected actors and actresses in it, so I decided to watch it. I was a bit disappointed in the development of the plot. There were times when I was confused as the movie went from one scene to another; from one character to another. I was left scurrying to figure out who was who and what their part was in the overall plot. I also felt that the movie moved a bit slow. A few times I actually became a little bit bored. Yul Brenner played his deep dark part to a "T". Joanne Woodward's character was a little bit ditsy for me, and I was surprised to find on this website that she was 29 years old when she made this movie. Kind of old to be playing a "school girl" who had to go to summer school. That part was not believable to me at all. She did look much younger than her 29 years but not that much. I wished that they had developed Quentin's (Joanne Woodward) relationship with her mother a bit earlier, since the character she played in the movie was affected by the absence of her mother while she was growing up. The ending was good, and I am glad that Quentin learned a very important life lesson about men and love at an early age. A lot of woman do not learn that lesson until it is too, too late. I was also glad to see in the last moments of the movie that Jason (Yul Brenner) was more softhearted than I had thought when he gave Quentin what was due her.
GOOD HOLLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT!
whatsupomar1 May 2019
I just saw S&F for the first time on the Fox channel and I was impressed. Jerry Ward´s production values are superb as usual, while Martin Ritt´s direction has some ups and down. Seems to me he was struggling to keep the script alive. I´m not going to comment on the lack of connection with the William Faulkner novel since most reviewers have covered the delicate issue. However I believe the film provides ample Hollywood-like entertainment to make it worth watching. All the actors give good performance as expected, but I really enjoyed Margaret Leighton as Caddy and Ethel Waters as Dilsey, both superb. Yul Brynner has enough magnetism to hold his own, but Joanne Woodward is totally miscast as the rebellious Quentin. It´s really intriguing that all the reviewers on this page failed to mention that Miss Woodward was 30 years old when she played the Quentin character who is supposed to be 17. Although Woodward tries hard to act like a teenager, the photography doesn´t help her. In some scenes she looks 40! In spite of this and all the other flaws, I recommend S&F as a good example of the films Hollywood was dishing out at the end of its "golden era".
Faulkner meets Tennessee Williams
miss_lady_ice-853-60870013 May 2012
This is "based on" William Faulkner's classic novel, The Sound and The Fury. If you were wondering how they managed to get the nifty incomprehensible narrative onto the big screen...they didn't, instead opting for all the clichés of the Steamy South.
Of the two Quentins in the novel, the filmmakers decided to do away with male Quentin and instead focus on Caddy's illegitimate daughter. This did not upset me as much as it does some fans of the novel- all Quentin really does is lust after his sister. The scene in which the incestuous desire is most apparent is transposed to the big scene, except it's girl Quentin (Joanne Woodward) being forced to say her sleazy travelling circus artist's name by her "uncle" Jason (Yul Brynner).
In this film, the novel is re-done as Quentin's coming-of-age. Jason is now adopted rather than being her blood uncle so the writers can have their cake and eat it. Quentin is Jason's only hope to save his adopted family's good name: his adopted sister Caddy (Margaret Leighton)is an ageing nympho; one brother is an alcoholic; and the other one, Benjy, is a mentally-retarded mute. The parents were no good either.
It's almost a parody of Southern Literature: nymphos, lushes, incest, lust, and it's quite entertaining on this level. However, the casting choices were poor. Joanne Woodward has a lovely Southern accent but she was pushing thirty when she played seventeen-year-old Quentin, making her look more like an idiotic woman rather than a schoolgirl (although this family are a bunch of misfits). Yul Brynner does not exactly come to mind when you think of a Southern brute but he is suitably brutish and sensual. Jason in the book was hardly sensual but the film-makers need their romance.
Margaret Leighton isn't that bad as Caddy. It's not clear why her brothers would be so infatuated with her but she fills the role of decadent mother quite well.
Whoever is playing the travelling circus man is risible, as is the person who wrote the dialogue. We get a bunch of clichés, pseudo-meaningful lines and illogical flirtation. It all looks like somebody filmed a dud Tennessee Williams play.
If you're looking to punish a student too lazy to read the novel, please show them this film. Unless you desperately need your fix of steamy Southern melodrama, I would return to Tennessee Williams. Poor William Faulkner must have got a bit of a shock when he saw this.
Of the two Quentins in the novel, the filmmakers decided to do away with male Quentin and instead focus on Caddy's illegitimate daughter. This did not upset me as much as it does some fans of the novel- all Quentin really does is lust after his sister. The scene in which the incestuous desire is most apparent is transposed to the big scene, except it's girl Quentin (Joanne Woodward) being forced to say her sleazy travelling circus artist's name by her "uncle" Jason (Yul Brynner).
In this film, the novel is re-done as Quentin's coming-of-age. Jason is now adopted rather than being her blood uncle so the writers can have their cake and eat it. Quentin is Jason's only hope to save his adopted family's good name: his adopted sister Caddy (Margaret Leighton)is an ageing nympho; one brother is an alcoholic; and the other one, Benjy, is a mentally-retarded mute. The parents were no good either.
It's almost a parody of Southern Literature: nymphos, lushes, incest, lust, and it's quite entertaining on this level. However, the casting choices were poor. Joanne Woodward has a lovely Southern accent but she was pushing thirty when she played seventeen-year-old Quentin, making her look more like an idiotic woman rather than a schoolgirl (although this family are a bunch of misfits). Yul Brynner does not exactly come to mind when you think of a Southern brute but he is suitably brutish and sensual. Jason in the book was hardly sensual but the film-makers need their romance.
Margaret Leighton isn't that bad as Caddy. It's not clear why her brothers would be so infatuated with her but she fills the role of decadent mother quite well.
Whoever is playing the travelling circus man is risible, as is the person who wrote the dialogue. We get a bunch of clichés, pseudo-meaningful lines and illogical flirtation. It all looks like somebody filmed a dud Tennessee Williams play.
If you're looking to punish a student too lazy to read the novel, please show them this film. Unless you desperately need your fix of steamy Southern melodrama, I would return to Tennessee Williams. Poor William Faulkner must have got a bit of a shock when he saw this.
Southern classic
sam6627 August 2001
My all-time favorite Southern movie! Highly underrated! I saw this film one summer afternoon as a teenager and spent the next several years searching for it in the local TV guide to no avail--nor was it available on video (still isn't!). Despite the PBS host who referred to it as "more sound than fury," I was knocked for a loop by the whole atmosphere created in this movie, which is very loosely based on the William Faulkner novel and the Compson characters in general. A couple years ago the True Stories movie channel (?) played it and I grabbed it on tape! My only complaint is that it is a Cinemascope feature and should be played in letterbox format to display the fine '50s-style clear-as-crystal cinematography to its maximum advantage. This is a movie that clocks you over the head with the soundtrack immediately, and the music defines the settings and characters throughout. Bear in mind that this is NOT a slavish interpretation of the mind-ripping book (not even close) nor could it be given its original release date! However, some of the characters are well-represented and even a few lines spoken word-for-word, and the production does an excellent job of capturing the heated Southern intensity of the original story. Joanne Woodward plays young Quentin Compson and the movie revolves around her teenage compulsion to connect with her mother (tall Margaret Leighton wonderfully cast as the wornout, dragged-down Caddy returning home after seventeen years' absence) and escape her cold, sarcastic, pitiless uncle, the "keeper," to a life she imagines will be flavored with love and freedom. Yul Brynner, cast as Jason Compson (not the book version--that guy was nearly insane), is perfect in the role of Quentin's enemy uncle. He captures the character's seething anger, always on the verge of rising to the surface and exploding. At the same time he is a person with a powerful sense of responsibility, and it is truly enjoyable to watch him struggle to keep his highly dysfunctional family in some semblance of order. A few familiar faces from the book include Dilsey (Ethel Waters in a superior performance), strong, softhearted and stressed by the Compson downfall, and little Luster, always put to taking care of huge half-witted Benjy (Jack Warden, who works to capture a very intense and disturbed personality behind a blank expression). Quentin's other uncle, Howard, keeps his father's drinking tradition alive as well as the eternal unhealthy fascination of the Compson boys for sister Caddy; Jason's Cajun mother just stays in bed most of the day, longsuffering and tiresome to all. I love the way this movie features vignettes of the individual lives these people lead, and the way they intersect without ever fully connecting. Anger, passion, frailty, loyalty--all against this wonderful backdrop of decrepit mansions and closeminded small-town malice. I refuse to complain about the way it strays from the novel because as a movie it stands on its own, a separate work, and tremendously enjoyable. Recommended!
The Sound and the Fury
CinemaSerf4 January 2024
Well the principal casting here is quite bizarre. It's really Yul Brynner who struggles to convince as the Russian-born, adopted, head of the "Compson" family - a supposed southern states gentleman having to come to terms with the fairly profound changes in the local hierarchy and in their own personal, dwindling, fortunes. Despite the fact that most of the rest of this family have long given up and taken to the bottle or just cannot cope with the realities, he is still determined to restore things to a semblance of their former glory. To that end he shares a vision with his niece "Quentin" (Joanne Woodward). She was abandoned by her mother - his flighty sister "Caddy" (Margaret Leighton) - at birth and so has developed an embittered but determined independent steak - and that comes with flaws and numerous errors of judgement! "Compson" is resolved to keep her from both predators and from herself - and a clash of personalities is soon looming! The story here is really quite derivative and the characterisations lightweight, delivering a story that has all the ingredients of a smouldering tale of the American south, but rather forgets to light the fire. Leighton delivers quite strongly here, I thought, as does an on-form Woodward - but in isolation they can't really rescue this from it's over-scripted doldrums. Great title but it disappoints, sorry.
One of the worst adaptations EVER
Bob-56216 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I'm watching "S&F" on Turner tonight (8/16/11), & I don't recognize anything from the classic novel. I had seen the ending a long time ago, with Yul (Jason) & Quentin(!!!??) (Joanne) sauntering down a southern road, musing optimistically--& I thought the same then. I vaguely recall reading something that Martin Ritt wanted to help out Faulkner ($$) by adapting his early masterpiece, & I guess this was the result: absolute garbage. Even with zilch familiarity with the novel, the film "adaptation" is just a baffling mishmash; with __any__ familiarity with the novel, the film is an abomination. Thanks to Turner & anybody else who would snooze their audience to sleep, I guess we can say with a sigh of such adaptations, like Dilsey, "they endured."
Woodward is cute...Brynner is magnificent!
wansze_theresa30 December 2008
I've been longing to see this Southern Classic since last year. Thanks to YouTube. Actually, I prefer watching the movie version than the original Faulkner novel, which is too confusing and complex. After reading through some of the previous comments, I thought this movie was really as bad as they said.In fact, however, different people have different views.
The movie plot is mostly taken from the Jason Compson part, and I was glad that it centers on Miss Quentin rather than her mother, Caddy(I never find her character that attractive from the book)Joanne Woodward was already 28 when she played Miss Quentin, but she was quite convincing as a 16-year-old girl with her short blonde hair and tiny body, mischievous, optimistic and tough at the same time. Maybe you might think that picking handsome, charismatic Yul Brynner as a southern patriarch is kind of weird, but friends, they changed the original Jason character into Cajun French, and having that thick European accent is normal and compelling enough. I must say that Brynner is no doubt a very good actor, especially when he reveals his expressions with his beautiful, intensive brown eyes. The ice-cream eating scene between Brynner and Woodward is really tender when he gazes at her, asking "Can't You?" right after she smilingly says she could not imagine Jason would be in love with someone. Moreover, the kissing part between Jason and Quentin is one of the most underrated passionate romance scene I have ever seen on screen. It is both romantic and hilarious as we watch Quentin hugs Jason back because she is finally infatuated with her tyrannical yet gorgeous non-blood related guardian.
Supporting actresses Ethel Waters and Margaret Leighton also gives fabulous and brilliant performances. I find Leighton as classy as ever in the Caddy role. For Faulkner Fans, you may find this movie absurd. On the other hand, you may see this Martin Ritt Film as interesting and enthralling as possible.
The movie plot is mostly taken from the Jason Compson part, and I was glad that it centers on Miss Quentin rather than her mother, Caddy(I never find her character that attractive from the book)Joanne Woodward was already 28 when she played Miss Quentin, but she was quite convincing as a 16-year-old girl with her short blonde hair and tiny body, mischievous, optimistic and tough at the same time. Maybe you might think that picking handsome, charismatic Yul Brynner as a southern patriarch is kind of weird, but friends, they changed the original Jason character into Cajun French, and having that thick European accent is normal and compelling enough. I must say that Brynner is no doubt a very good actor, especially when he reveals his expressions with his beautiful, intensive brown eyes. The ice-cream eating scene between Brynner and Woodward is really tender when he gazes at her, asking "Can't You?" right after she smilingly says she could not imagine Jason would be in love with someone. Moreover, the kissing part between Jason and Quentin is one of the most underrated passionate romance scene I have ever seen on screen. It is both romantic and hilarious as we watch Quentin hugs Jason back because she is finally infatuated with her tyrannical yet gorgeous non-blood related guardian.
Supporting actresses Ethel Waters and Margaret Leighton also gives fabulous and brilliant performances. I find Leighton as classy as ever in the Caddy role. For Faulkner Fans, you may find this movie absurd. On the other hand, you may see this Martin Ritt Film as interesting and enthralling as possible.
So bad it's good
junemo1 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I haven't read the book, but there are so many things inherently wrong with the story that by the end you'll probably be thinking, what the heck was that? First and foremost, incest is bad. Jason and Quentin may not be blood related, but he's still her step uncle, for goodness sakes! Then you have the blood uncle lusting after his sister Caddy, who is played by an actress who is channeling Blanche DuBois. I read somewhere that the parts of a Jason and Caddy were offered to Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh. If so I can see why they turned this movie down. Lurid and a bit slow, it's only saving grace is watching the exchanges between Jason, played by Yul Brynner, and Quentin, played by Joanne Woodward. Despite both being miscast, they play their roles convincingly. Of the two, I think Joanne overacted a bit, trying to balance the bratty Quentin with the woman she was trying to become. Maybe Natalie Wood or Hope Lange would have been better, age-wise. As for Yul, he plays a version of his typical character-large, in charge, and sexy as hell. The kiss between them is worth viewing alone, followed by his vow to lock her up at night. Wow. The other characters surrounding are okay, but Ethel Waters is the moral matriarch of the household. Without her and Jason, the Compton's would have ceased to exist long ago. Which may not have been a bad thing.
Did they even read the book?
FainneRoisin27 June 2006
The cast was hopelessly out of character from the novel. The characters that were supposed to be sympathetic (Benjy and Caddy) weren't at all. Benjy seemed more like a mute than a severely retarded man. Caddy was overblown and narcissistic, not tragic and beautiful. And who in the world decided on Yul Brynner as Jason? His acting was completely wooden. (and I know it was an attempt to be cold and distant, but he kept the same facial expression the entire movie) Not only that, but what was the point of having him and Caroline not "really" part of the family? Their accents were off-putting, not only that, but Caroline's character in the novel was whining, pitiful, and annoying, not demanding and rude like in the movie. Quentin was supposed to be a slut, a really "bad girl", but she didn't come off like that in the movie. "Howard" was a really unneeded character. He was the combination of Uncle Maury and Quentin (the boy) from the book, but really had no purpose to the movie. And were they trying to make the movie set in 1928 like it was supposed to be? Because it sure looked a lot like 1959 in most parts. I think the best performance was given by Ethel Waters as Dilsey. Oh, and when did Reverend Shegog show up? I see him listed in the characters, but they cut out the whole scene inside the church (probably one of the most moving scenes from the novel) If you're familiar with the novel, "loosely based" is an understatement.
Those Dissolute Compsons
bkoganbing16 August 2011
Watching this adaption of William Faulkner's The Sound And The Fury I can only wonder he must have thought of this abortion of his work. This film seems to have been influenced by Harold Robbins more than Faulkner.
For one thing the novel is a far better subject for a mini-series as it takes place over a couple of generations and is written from several points of view, not the straight linear narrative we get here. Secondly the novel was updated to present day meaning 1959 Mississippi. The civil rights era was on in Mississippi in 1959 and the attitudes expressed here would have been lost in 1959. The novel came out in the late Twenties and some of the action went back a generation earlier.
These Compsons are one dissolute bunch and the only one of the family holding them together is Yul Brynner as Jason because heaven forfend he realizes they're not rich any more and that big mansion has gas and electric bills that need paying. He actually works for a living. The hope of the family may be Joanne Woodward as Quentin who is the illegitimate daughter of the most dissolute of all the Compsons Margaret Leighton.
Leighton has been living away from the family and the genteel Mississippi folks she's been brought up with because of her disgrace with Woodward's birth. But she comes back and that sets off a whole chain of events that causes everyone to reevaluate how things are going for the Compsons.
Ethel Waters did her last role in The Sound And The Fury as the family maid. Her family even in the servile position that blacks had in Mississippi in those days is still stronger than the Compsons even Yul Brynner. Too bad no musical number got worked into the script for her.
The cast is a superbly talented one and they do their best with a hard to recognize Faulkner work, but the film as a whole comes up way short.
For one thing the novel is a far better subject for a mini-series as it takes place over a couple of generations and is written from several points of view, not the straight linear narrative we get here. Secondly the novel was updated to present day meaning 1959 Mississippi. The civil rights era was on in Mississippi in 1959 and the attitudes expressed here would have been lost in 1959. The novel came out in the late Twenties and some of the action went back a generation earlier.
These Compsons are one dissolute bunch and the only one of the family holding them together is Yul Brynner as Jason because heaven forfend he realizes they're not rich any more and that big mansion has gas and electric bills that need paying. He actually works for a living. The hope of the family may be Joanne Woodward as Quentin who is the illegitimate daughter of the most dissolute of all the Compsons Margaret Leighton.
Leighton has been living away from the family and the genteel Mississippi folks she's been brought up with because of her disgrace with Woodward's birth. But she comes back and that sets off a whole chain of events that causes everyone to reevaluate how things are going for the Compsons.
Ethel Waters did her last role in The Sound And The Fury as the family maid. Her family even in the servile position that blacks had in Mississippi in those days is still stronger than the Compsons even Yul Brynner. Too bad no musical number got worked into the script for her.
The cast is a superbly talented one and they do their best with a hard to recognize Faulkner work, but the film as a whole comes up way short.
Surprisingly excellent!
zetes1 February 2003
Warning: Spoilers
A surprisingly excellent adaptation of my very favorite novel, William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. A lot of things are changed - and I mean A LOT - but I would much rather see something new than a slavish adaptation of a great novel. Besides, Faulkner's novel would probably be impossible to adapt as written. The book shifts back and forth in time without warning. It can do that. Literature exists in the mind, while a film exists before the eye.
Like Ritt's other Faulkner adaptation, 1958's wonderful The Long Hot Summer, based on The Hamlet, the mood is changed from dusty, Southern tragedy to hot-blooded melodrama. I would have been upset to hear that said about The Sound and the Fury, but it works out nearly perfectly. The narrative is made linear, and many of the distant past events in the novel are either removed or adapted into the latest time period of the book. The girl Quentin Compson (Joanne Woodward) is a wild teenager, and her uncle Jason Compson (Yul Brenner), who is taking care of her because her mother, Caddy, ran away after she gave birth, is cruelly taking care of her. Jason is a little different in the film. Instead of being one of the Compson children, he is a stepson. Caroline Compson was the second wife of the other Compson children's father. She and Jason are now Cajun, which is kind of weird, but it works. The male Quentin is more or less cut out, except for a brief mention. In this version, true to its melodrama, Quentin shot himself instead of jumping into a river. His was always my favorite section of the novel, and I'm actually glad they set it aside. It's not very cinematic. Benji is still here, but his section of the novel is completely cut out. First person narratives are difficult to do in films, so I don't blame the screenwriter. Benji quietly watches his family fall apart and he seethes in silence as he watches his niece follow in her mother's tragic footsteps. There's also a new Compson child, Howard. He is probably the biggest mistake that was made in this adaptation. He's kind of a compilation of Uncle Murray and the first Quentin. He has become an alcoholic because of his obsession with his sister's sexuality. The problem is that he is only barely incorporated into the film. I was always wondering who the heck he was until they explained him more completely later on in the movie. I guess he doesn't harm the overall product that much.
SPOILERS
One big change in character in the film is the second Quentin. She wasn't very sympathetic in the novel. Sure, we could feel sorry for her, but she's a rebel and she's heading for disaster, or, more correctly, non-existence. She vanishes at the end of the novel and is never heard from again. Here, though, Quentin is a more important character. She's the center of the film, and while she's bad in some ways, she's got potential. Jason is very mean to her, but it's not the jealousy and revenge that it was in the novel. He does care for his adoptive daughter, but he really doesn't know how to behave around women or children. His purpose is to prop up the decaying Compson family. There's also an edge of sexual attraction in the film. Caddy, in the film, comes back home to live. She reveals that when Jason first arrived in the Compson household, he had a crush on her. This crush has also fallen on Quentin. Did this exist in the novel? I never thought it did, but the film has made me reconsider some things about the book. We know the first Quentin is sexually obsessed with his sister. Benji is also obsessed, although I never thought it was a sexual thing. Is Jason also obsessed in the novel? I don't know, but I'll be looking for it the next time I pick it up.
The ending has some problems. So did The Long Hot Summer. Both endings are happy, or at least partly so. I had said that Quentin originally ran away. In the film, she almost does, but Jason convinces her not to, that she has potential. It works well. However, the night before Quentin runs away in the film, Benji strangles her when he catches her being bad. For this, he is sent to the insane asylum. This doesn't happen in the novel. He does attack a high school girl when she walks past the gate because he thinks she's Caddy. For this he is neutered. And Jason does send him to the asylum, but not in The Sound and the Fury. Its just that the sadness of Benji's commitment still hangs over the film when it ends, but you wouldn't quite know it if you just saw the ending. 9/10
Like Ritt's other Faulkner adaptation, 1958's wonderful The Long Hot Summer, based on The Hamlet, the mood is changed from dusty, Southern tragedy to hot-blooded melodrama. I would have been upset to hear that said about The Sound and the Fury, but it works out nearly perfectly. The narrative is made linear, and many of the distant past events in the novel are either removed or adapted into the latest time period of the book. The girl Quentin Compson (Joanne Woodward) is a wild teenager, and her uncle Jason Compson (Yul Brenner), who is taking care of her because her mother, Caddy, ran away after she gave birth, is cruelly taking care of her. Jason is a little different in the film. Instead of being one of the Compson children, he is a stepson. Caroline Compson was the second wife of the other Compson children's father. She and Jason are now Cajun, which is kind of weird, but it works. The male Quentin is more or less cut out, except for a brief mention. In this version, true to its melodrama, Quentin shot himself instead of jumping into a river. His was always my favorite section of the novel, and I'm actually glad they set it aside. It's not very cinematic. Benji is still here, but his section of the novel is completely cut out. First person narratives are difficult to do in films, so I don't blame the screenwriter. Benji quietly watches his family fall apart and he seethes in silence as he watches his niece follow in her mother's tragic footsteps. There's also a new Compson child, Howard. He is probably the biggest mistake that was made in this adaptation. He's kind of a compilation of Uncle Murray and the first Quentin. He has become an alcoholic because of his obsession with his sister's sexuality. The problem is that he is only barely incorporated into the film. I was always wondering who the heck he was until they explained him more completely later on in the movie. I guess he doesn't harm the overall product that much.
SPOILERS
One big change in character in the film is the second Quentin. She wasn't very sympathetic in the novel. Sure, we could feel sorry for her, but she's a rebel and she's heading for disaster, or, more correctly, non-existence. She vanishes at the end of the novel and is never heard from again. Here, though, Quentin is a more important character. She's the center of the film, and while she's bad in some ways, she's got potential. Jason is very mean to her, but it's not the jealousy and revenge that it was in the novel. He does care for his adoptive daughter, but he really doesn't know how to behave around women or children. His purpose is to prop up the decaying Compson family. There's also an edge of sexual attraction in the film. Caddy, in the film, comes back home to live. She reveals that when Jason first arrived in the Compson household, he had a crush on her. This crush has also fallen on Quentin. Did this exist in the novel? I never thought it did, but the film has made me reconsider some things about the book. We know the first Quentin is sexually obsessed with his sister. Benji is also obsessed, although I never thought it was a sexual thing. Is Jason also obsessed in the novel? I don't know, but I'll be looking for it the next time I pick it up.
The ending has some problems. So did The Long Hot Summer. Both endings are happy, or at least partly so. I had said that Quentin originally ran away. In the film, she almost does, but Jason convinces her not to, that she has potential. It works well. However, the night before Quentin runs away in the film, Benji strangles her when he catches her being bad. For this, he is sent to the insane asylum. This doesn't happen in the novel. He does attack a high school girl when she walks past the gate because he thinks she's Caddy. For this he is neutered. And Jason does send him to the asylum, but not in The Sound and the Fury. Its just that the sadness of Benji's commitment still hangs over the film when it ends, but you wouldn't quite know it if you just saw the ending. 9/10
The Long, Hot Summer
tieman648 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Martin Ritt adapted William Faulkner's "The Hamlet" in 1958 (the film was released as "The Long, Hot Summer"). He followed this up with another Faulkner adaptation, "The Sound and The Fury", released one year later. It's a trite and plodding melodrama.
To the ire of Faulkner fans, Ritt's adaptation condenses the vast time spans of Faulkner's novel down to but a few days. Gone too are most of the novel's characters and subplots. Ritt does make one interesting change, though, choosing to tell his tale through the eyes of a teenage girl who was but a minor character in Faulkner's original novel. This lends the film an interesting perspective; the antithesis of Ritt's earlier Faulkner adaptation.
The film's plot, like the plays of Tennessee Williams, is mostly overcooked melodrama, filled with antebellum landscapes, totems of the Deep South, wealthy land owners, backwater Mississippi characters and many familial dysfunctions. It co-stars Yul Brynner as Jason Compson, a once wealthy man who is forced to sell his land, shop and work for a new owner. Compson's desire to cling to the past – his previous wealth, and the heydays of antebellum life – exhibits itself as a manic desire to prevent his step-niece (Joanna Woodward) running away from the family. He thus interferes in her life as a means of preserving his own past. The film boasts a jazz score by Alex North.
5/10 – For Ritt completists only.
To the ire of Faulkner fans, Ritt's adaptation condenses the vast time spans of Faulkner's novel down to but a few days. Gone too are most of the novel's characters and subplots. Ritt does make one interesting change, though, choosing to tell his tale through the eyes of a teenage girl who was but a minor character in Faulkner's original novel. This lends the film an interesting perspective; the antithesis of Ritt's earlier Faulkner adaptation.
The film's plot, like the plays of Tennessee Williams, is mostly overcooked melodrama, filled with antebellum landscapes, totems of the Deep South, wealthy land owners, backwater Mississippi characters and many familial dysfunctions. It co-stars Yul Brynner as Jason Compson, a once wealthy man who is forced to sell his land, shop and work for a new owner. Compson's desire to cling to the past – his previous wealth, and the heydays of antebellum life – exhibits itself as a manic desire to prevent his step-niece (Joanna Woodward) running away from the family. He thus interferes in her life as a means of preserving his own past. The film boasts a jazz score by Alex North.
5/10 – For Ritt completists only.
Men don't like to hear tales of woe from the lips of women...
oparthenon15 September 2019
...says great British actress Margaret Leighton, struggling with the role of Caddy Compson in Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury, and the viewer agrees: in fact this tale of woe is one no one wants to hear from anyone's lips, least of all those of the misfits in this miscast, desultory film which wanders from Sherwood Anderson-town through Tennessee Williams-boro with a stop-over in William Inge-ville and with stations at Cliche-town and Artificial Angst-polis also briefly visited. A film to be avoided at all cost, with absolutely nothing to recommend it: structurally flawed, with a breezy voice-over from Joanne Woodward, who makes her orphaned state sound like Home Alone treacle, this version of TSATF is wide-angle camera-shot in glaring day-glo Technicolor so that all nuance of place and setting are lost, and features a cast of freaky Southern US stereotypes lurching blindly through two-and-a-half hours of Underpaid Characters Searching for an Author.
Sorry, but this film for me at least was painful to watch. Even the period cars are miscast (the costuming is 1950's but the cars suggest an earlier time). Script is everything in a film, and this TSATF has a very bad one, with lines like the one quoted above (from about 42 minutes into the film) sub-consciously carving out the very flaws the film suffers from.
One star is too much.
Sorry, but this film for me at least was painful to watch. Even the period cars are miscast (the costuming is 1950's but the cars suggest an earlier time). Script is everything in a film, and this TSATF has a very bad one, with lines like the one quoted above (from about 42 minutes into the film) sub-consciously carving out the very flaws the film suffers from.
One star is too much.
Great Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward Movie!
cla20006 July 2005
Yul Brynner is at his best! His commanding presence is spellbinding. His acting, superb as the appointed Guardian of Joanne Woodward who gives a great performance as his rebellious and attractive ward. The cast is believable, full of unusual characters that are typical of Tenessee Williams' survivors of the grandeur of the Old South, now long gone. The tension that builds between the Guardian (Yul Brynner) and his ward (Joanne Woodward) is entertaining and exciting to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and recommend it highly to anyone who would enjoy taking a look into the present day remnants of the Old South. Four stars!!!
Yul Bryner as Jason Compson?
LBoyd4 March 1999
As a fan of William Faulkner in general, and of the NOVEL The Sound and the Fury in particular, I couldn't quite stomach this film for more than a few minutes at a time.
Jason Compson is one of the best characters in literature, and to watch Yul Bryner butcher him on film was not amusing.
Jason Compson is one of the best characters in literature, and to watch Yul Bryner butcher him on film was not amusing.
Sound and Fury-Where is it Here? *1/2
edwagreen24 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Rather benign or shall I say trashy version of the William Faulkner novel.
Margaret Leighton comes across as the inevitable mix of Blanche DuBois and Scarlett O'Hara. An alcoholic southerner, Leighton is a woman caught up in the dysfunctional pattern of the Compson Family. Returning home after many years to find the family in complete disarray, Leighton, a wayward woman, is beset by problems.
The head of this clan is none other than Yul Brynner, who is authoritarian as the stepbrother to Leighton. He runs the family with a firm hand and gives orders out at the beginning as if he is talking to Moses in Egypt.
Stuart Whitman thinks he is the drifter in the tradition of William Holden in "Picnic," but is ready to sell out for the all-mighty buck.
Ethel Waters in the family maid. She thinks she is sly in the tradition of Mammie in "Gone With the Wind,"
As Leighton's frustrated and oppressed daughter, Joanne Woodward's character really never develops, as is the case with Leighton.
Jack Warden, as the mute, never utters a word here in the tradition of Boo in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Margaret Leighton comes across as the inevitable mix of Blanche DuBois and Scarlett O'Hara. An alcoholic southerner, Leighton is a woman caught up in the dysfunctional pattern of the Compson Family. Returning home after many years to find the family in complete disarray, Leighton, a wayward woman, is beset by problems.
The head of this clan is none other than Yul Brynner, who is authoritarian as the stepbrother to Leighton. He runs the family with a firm hand and gives orders out at the beginning as if he is talking to Moses in Egypt.
Stuart Whitman thinks he is the drifter in the tradition of William Holden in "Picnic," but is ready to sell out for the all-mighty buck.
Ethel Waters in the family maid. She thinks she is sly in the tradition of Mammie in "Gone With the Wind,"
As Leighton's frustrated and oppressed daughter, Joanne Woodward's character really never develops, as is the case with Leighton.
Jack Warden, as the mute, never utters a word here in the tradition of Boo in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
A so-called ' serious ' film
jromanbaker23 August 2022
It was not only 20th Century Fox that took serious books and literally pulped them down. Plays suffered as well. Martin Ritt, the two Mann's, Daniel and Delbert also entertained up and dumbed down good author's works. To name a few films from these three alone; ' The Rose Tattoo, " " Desire Under The Elms " and the worst of all " The Sound and the Fury. " Other directors did their worst as well, such as Richard Brooks and Vincente Minnelli. It seems that the USA and to a lesser extent the UK could not take too much reality in the mid to late 1950's. So why in my opinion is the Faulkner adaptation so bad ? The inevitable helplessness of adapting half of the book to the screen is one problem, as the book itself, great as it is does not lend itself to lazy visual and over cautious handling. Quentin ( the male one ) is dismissed in a short speech and the second Quentin ( female ) takes centre stage in this version. Joanne Woodward plays in the usual way which you either like or do not, and I usually do not, and Margaret Leighton usually so good falls apart as Caddy, Quentin's worn out mother. She does not deliver the bland cliched dialogue well, and fumbles with an off and on ' Southern ' accent. She also looks a fright as if she had been dragged off a third rate production of ' A Streetcar Named Desire ' and she is in the main not only badly miscast but an embarrassment to watch. I am not usually harsh about Margaret Leighton; just the opposite. Jason ( who is not exactly the Jason in the novel ) acts well and looks as if he believes in the situations he is in, and it is a plus that he is sexually very attractive, and Yul Brynner was just right in the role. The film is easy on the eye and Cinemascope is used well, but all of that cannot prevent a boring dullness hanging over the melodrama which should have been drama. I will not give away spoilers but the family Faulkner created with its incestuous feel is washed away with over clean water and lasting just on two hours it is a tedious ordeal.
Strong and Stirring
StormBorn2 August 2001
One of those rare cases where the movie actually is better than the book. Brynner's flamboyant and arrogant persona brings fire to his portrayal of Jason, and Woodward's child-woman with a backbone and a will of her own is a worthy foil for him. This is one of my favorite movies.
Bizarro
archelogic5 May 2006
I have long wanted to see this film, knowing that it would be weird. I would think that viewers who have read the novel -- arguably, with Absalom, Absalom, Huck Finn, and Moby Dick, one of the four greatest American novels written -- would be, at the least, perplexed at the handling of this story, which could have, in the hands of a French New Wave director, been made into something that resembled the book. I had thought that Yul Brenner would be cast as Benjy. It gets all the more bizarre. Fascinating look at great literature meets hungry Hollywood. Of course, I may not be fair in that I thought Kubrik's take on The Shining was excellent, while King fans were outraged. Two Stars for its being made.
Please bring this movie to home video!!
HODGESWEDDING6 June 2005
I would love to see this movie again and have been searching for a copy of it for a very long time. I believe when I saw it on TV I was about 15 years old. I'm 33 now so that means I have spent the last 18 years thinking about this movie, wanting to see it again and searching for it. That should tell you how wonderful this movie really is!! Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward are exceptional, as always. I tried reading the novel, but became frustrated with the text. I'm going to try rereading it this summer since Oprah announced it as one of her book club picks. But in the meantime, won't someone bring it to home video?!! Thanks!!
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