All The King's Men DVD

Product Description

Sean Penn gives another powerhouse performance in All the King's Men, leading a top notch cast in writer-director Steven Zaillian's underrated adaptation of the Pulitzer prize-winning 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. When you consider that the previous 1949 film version earned well-deserved Academy Awards for director Robert Rossen & actors Broderick Crawford & Mercedes Mc Cambridge, it's no surprise that Zaillian's film was expected to earn similar acclaim; but lukewarm critical reception & disappointing box-office gave it the stigma of a noble failure. & while the film (which moves Warren's story from the Depression-era '30s to the early 1950s) suffers from uneven pacing, partial miscasting, & an occasional lack of dramatic tension, it still qualifies as a first-class production that resonates with the timeless relevance of Warren's piercing political classic. Like Broderick before him, Penn is riveting as Louisiana governor Willie Stark, an upstart political dynamo (freely inspired by controversial real-life Louisiana governor Huey P. Long) whose rise to power is ultimately doomed by corruption & betrayal. Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) co-stars as political reporter Jack Burden, our first-hand witness to Stark's rise & inevitable fall. His orbit of political insiders

Includes:: a corrupt judge (Anthony Hopkins) with a dark secret to hide; a long-time friend (Mark Ruffalo) & former lover (Kate Winslet) who fall victim to Stark's influence; & political staffers (James Gandolfini, Patricia Clarkson) who remain powerless against Stark's ill-fated populist juggernaut. At Sean Penn's request, former child star Jackie Earle Haley (from the original Bad News Bears) makes a welcome return to movies as Willie Stark's quietly intense bodyguard, Sugar-Boy. Co-produced by Louisiana-born political consultant James Carville, filmed on authentic Louisiana locations & boasting all the stately, luxurious production values of a would-be Oscar contender, All the King's Men clearly benefits from Penn's fiery performance & Zaillian's earnest embrace of Warren's still-potent subject matter. & while the film's shortcomings may have prevented it from achieving unanimous acclaim, this is still a serious, well-crafted drama with much to say about the insidious potential for fascism in America, especially when well-meaning politicians lose their souls to power