Two for the Seesaw [VHS] | Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine

Two for the Seesaw [VHS] | Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine | For those who like film noir

vhs video:

Baby Einstein: Lul... Two for the Seesaw...

	Two for the Seesaw [VHS] Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine MGM (Video & DVD), 1992 average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Contains film greatness

Like Helen Morgan's "Applause", the film version of "Two For the Seesaw" gives its viewers a seldom seen look at the real theatre world of New York City in the 20th Century. This is a gritty, realistic love story on the cold, hard streets of New York that somehow is still able to show the real romance of the giant city. Not unlike the neo-realism of Fellini, Viscounti and Pausolini, "Two for the Seesaw" shows how actors and artists romatically collide with everyday people as they barely hang onto their dreams. Shirlely MacLaine lived this life before "The Pajama Game" and probably had friends like Gittel Mosca who were still striving for greatness long after MacLaine was a star. And Robert Mitchum, always surprising in roles in which he seemed to be wrongfullly cast, was never better. All this superior quality is magnified in the beauty and clarity of black and white. Don't read the following reviews. Those people have never been in love and working in the theatre in New York. I have and know how right-on this film is. It should be on DVD in widescreen. I've copied it off TCM and treasure my VHS in letterbox.

for more information click here

For those who like film noir

For every exigent situation in life that ends in happiness, another ends in tragedy... Life IS a zero sum game. Only two pictures in my life, have moved me to tears....Two for the Seesaw is the second one. The other moved me on a more superficial level, for a death of a young love is almost unthinkable. That movie was LOVE STORY, and at that time I was young and in love, when death is imponderable. This movie leaves both protagonists alive, but both of them with a hurt inside, that will never heal. It would have been easy to let MacLaine and Mitchum live happily ever after. But, that would not be real life, which is a series of unrequited loves that ultimately fail, interspersed with new loves that(look at marriage statistics and factor in all the bad marriages that stay together for children, family, societal mores,etc.) most often fail again and again. Evolution is not the best way to propagate a species, just the most efficient. Evolution works great, until you add a large frontal lobe to the brain.

for more information click here

"Two For The Seesaw": Reminds Me Of "The Hustler" (But Without The Billiards)

Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine star in "Two For The Seesaw", which is a movie that I enjoyed very much. It's refreshing to see Mitchum in a softer (and non-violent) role. (Although, Bob does manage to get in one good whack in this film. But, Shirley gets him back [twice] later in the picture.)

Mr. Mitchum was a very busy actor in the early 1960s, with "Seesaw" already representing his 8th film during the still-very-young decade of the '60s. The first seven being: "Home From The Hill" (1960), "A Terrible Beauty" (1960), "The Sundowners" (1960), "The Grass Is Greener" (1960), "The Last Time I Saw Archie" (1961), "Cape Fear" (1962), and "The Longest Day" (1962).

With just one film in between, Mitchum went from portraying hardened criminal "Max Cady" in "Cape Fear", to his role as a gentle lawyer in "Two For The Seesaw". Mitch's superb versatility was never more apparent than in those two 1962 films.

MacLaine and Mitchum are on screen for very nearly the entire 1 hour and 59 minutes here, and (IMO) treat us to some very good, on-target, realistic dialogue. And the ending was a bit of a twist, which is another big plus.

One line in the script that I particularly thought hit the mark was when Shirley berates Robert with: "Who needs to work THAT hard if things [in a relationship] are going right?!". Makes good sense. There are several clever lines like that in the film.

As I watched this film, I kept being reminded of "The Hustler" (1961), which is very similar in pace, style, and looks. The small confines of the drab apartments and the overall dark visuals are very much the same in both movies.

The black-and-white "Seesaw" premiered in movie theaters on November 21, 1962, and was one of 41 films directed by the distinguished Robert Wise (with "Seesaw" being sandwiched between two of his other highly-notable directorial efforts -- "West Side Story" in 1961 and "The Haunting" in '63).

Featuring two standout acting talents and one of the best directors in the biz calling the shots behind the cameras, "Two For The Seesaw" is certainly a motion picture worth seeing.

for more information click here

A Bad Adaption

Unfortunately for viewers, this is a bad adaption of a brilliant play. This two-character relationship drama, William Gibson's first play, works extraordinarily well on the stage, with the two characters originally performed by Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft on Broadway.
However, the drama onstage is lost onscreen; it flounders, and leaves the audience with a bad taste in their mouth.
The theatrical "trick" of a two character play is that it brings the audience close to the characters in a way that many larger plays cannot and most films do. As a film, then, the two character drama seem an artistic conceit rather than dramatic device.
Moreover, some of the better concepts of the play are lost in the film format. Despite the excellent performances of Mitchum and MacLaine, this play just doesn't translate well to film, and the adaption isn't worth much attention.
I would highly recommend seeing this on stage if you should get the opportunity, or renting the film if you're a real classic movie buff, but buying it is not a good idea.
I'm giving it three stars because I know the writing and ideas here are excellent; were it an original screenplay I'd only give it two or even one.

for more information click here

reviews: 1, page 2, 3

products you might be interested in