DVDs:

	State of the Union Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn average customer review:based on 26 reviews
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highly recommended

The Capra flavor is here, in the paeans to liberty and the American Way, and in the crackling pacing of dialogue scenes. Capra's affection for supporting players is also evident, with standout stuff from Menjou, Van Johnson (as a cynical aide), Lewis Stone, and Raymond Walburn. But the film's roots as a hit play (by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) are a little too evident, and the film as a whole doesn't feel as bracingly Capraesque as the director's 1930s work. Having said that, the political satire is as relevant today as it was in 1948, although the rapid-fire topical references might be puzzling to non-campaign buffs. Note for bloopers collectors: Hepburn's name is spelled "Katherine" in the opening credits. --Robert Horton

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WHERE IS GRANT MATTHEWS TODAY WHEN WE NEED HIM??

The story begins with Kay Thorndike (Lansbury) rushing to the side of her dying father, Sam Thorndike, newspaper publisher baron. He challenges her to remain ruthless and get back at the Republican Party which he feels betrayed his chance to be president. Kay decides the best way to get to the White House is by backing (with all her personal assets and the newspapers she controls) her good friend and wealthy aviation manufacturer Grant Matthews (Tracy). Rumors have linked Matthews and Thorndike romantically because he is unofficially separated from his wife Mary Mathews (Hepburn). A public image of a happy marriage is important to a successful campaign and Thorndike and company set about to get the marriage back on track, at least for the public. Matthews knows that Mary is no pushover and will not be manipulated for the sake of his campaign. Yet Mary believes in him and knows that at the core his ability to be honest and his business skills are what the country needs, especially someone outside the influence of the Washington insiders. She decides to wholeheartedly back Grant's run for the nomination all the while fighting back the rumors of his unfaithfulness and the influence of the ruthless Thorndike. This begins the tug of war between Mary and Thorndike as to how the campaign should be run - total honesty and openness or politically shrewd playing all sides. It would be hard not to have an entertaining film, especially about such a hot topic, with the stars involved and under the direction of Frank Capra. A lesser known gem of Tracy and Hepburn, this is a great time to pull it out and watch. Maybe there is still a Grant Matthews lurking out there that we could nominate. For aviation buffs, there is a great scene where a couple of Grant's test pilots pull up alongside the campaign plane and challenge him to a little game of 'chicken' in the air. The picture quality is excellent. WWW.LUSREVIEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM.

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State of the Union

Frank Capra, unparalleled purveyor of populist Americana, sets his sights on the smarmy, corrupt practices that get people elected to high office. Though some will focus on little dated touches, the film's underlying message still manages to sound prophetic. Tracy delivers a perfectly balanced portrayal of a principled man momentarily blinded by the seduction of raw power. While Kate always seems at her best opposite her real-life partner, it's Angela who steals the film as the seductive, ruthless, ice-cold Kay-certainly a long way from "Murder, She Wrote"! A wise-cracking Van Johnson and old veteran Adolphe Menjou round out a top-flight cast playing slick, cynical operators in Grant's camp. In all, a still relevant tale, imbued with intelligence and heart.

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surprisingly relevent

I watched this recently in the midst of the 2008 campaign and I was struck by the parallels with today's race 60 years later. Politics have obviously changed enormously since '48, but yet not that much. I noticed a striking similarity between Spencer Tracy's character and Barack Obama. They are both relative political newcomers whose campaigns are ostensibly based on a new approach that transcends conventional petty politics and appeals directly to the voters. But political realities and the ambition to get the job get the better of them. They compromise their campaigns and make choices based on political expediency. They choose positions to target whatever demographic they need to chase and eventually become just like the regular politicians they are supposed to be an alternative to. It would be nice if we could have a true nonpolitical idealist elected directly by the people, but I don't think it could ever happen! That's basically the message of this movie, but yet it ends on an optimistic note.

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State of the Union DVD

Not my favorite Capra movie OR Tracy and Hepburn movie, but well worth watching because of the wonderful pairing of actors and director! Tracy and Hepburn are a magical pair no matter what movie they are in, and Frank Capra always has a happy ending even for difficult situations. This movie almost seems like a role reversal to Tracy and Hepburn's movie "Woman of the Year". Angela Lansbury did a wonderful job in the movie also.


Tracy and Hepburn Wade Through Capra-Corn as Lansbury Sharpens Her Talons

This somewhat forgotten 1948 dramedy is not the undiscovered gem of the Tracy-Hepburn pairings, but the 2006 DVD provides an opportunity to take a look at the political corruption running rampant in Washington at the time, clearly as prescient now as it was relevant then. The subject is well suited to filmmaking legend Frank Capra, who made the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington a decade earlier and echoes a similar theme of an honest man surrounded by those who tear at his ethics. Adapted by Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly from a play by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay, the plot centers on Grant Matthews, a pulled-from-his-bootstraps industrialist who has not lost touch with the common folks, a quality seized upon by Machiavellian newspaper publisher Kay Thorndyke, who uses her considerable media power to shape him into a viable candidate for the presidency.

Thorndyke also happens to be Matthews' lover, even though he is still married to stoic, disillusioned Mary, his estranged wife who has remained in the marriage not only for the sake of their two children but also in the dimming hope that he will come back to her. Initially, Matthews balks at the idea of becoming President, but he recognizes an ambition to improve the country. At the same time, Thorndyke and her cohort, proto-Karl Rove political advisor Jim Conover convince him to make compromising speeches to win the votes of powerful lobbies. If you know Capra films, you know how it will all turn out. The main problem I had with the film is the pacing and the relative inconsistency in tone. Much of the time, it feels truncated with little transition between scenes, and farcical moments are mixed with more serious ones in ways that make the film feel emotionally askew at times.

The performances can't be faulted. Spencer Tracy is well cast as the plainspoken Matthews, while Katharine Hepburn lends her much-needed verve and snap to the cautiously hopeful Mary. All of 22 but looking far more commanding and mature, Angela Lansbury almost steals the picture as Kay, even though her character is so venal and humorless that it is hard not to hiss when she's onscreen, especially with her dragon-lady cigarette holder. It's easy to see the future Mrs. Iselin in John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate. Adolphe Menjou plays Conover in his typical blowhard manner, while Van Johnson is unctuous in a likeable sort of way as reporter Spike McManus. Capra lays out his familiar flag-waving cornpone thickly here, sometimes quite effectively, but the attempts at slapstick humor are pretty laborious. This remains an interesting curio in his canon. The DVD provides a fairly clean print but has absolutely no extras, not even chapter stops.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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