Daniel Ocean

A breathtakingly beautiful film that is crafted and/or constructed perfectly. The acting is sensational, the direction is flawless, the writing is brilliant, and the cinematography, wow, the cinematography is amazing and perhaps the best of any film. This film lands you in a world that is both glorious and disturbing, the character of Charles Foster Kane is one that is so well drawn out and so brilliantly played (by, who else, but Orson Welles himself) that we are able to make a connection to this guy and become totally enthralled in his world and his doings no matter how corrupt the things he did were. It is never boring, it is, from the very first frame to the very last frame, one of the most intriguing films ever made and, possibly most importantly, it hasn't aged! It feels as if it were just made today but with a black and white camera instead of a color camera. If it weren't for the fact that I am forever a devoted fan of `The Godfather' and `Casablanca`, I would say that this is greatest film of ever made. I am the kind of film buff that honestly believes that there are some films out there where every word of praise is an absolute understatement, this, my friends, is one of those films, so this review is now complete.

Final Grade: * * * * * (out of 5, meaning 'masterpiece')

A wonderful and often funny look at the life in a chain gang. Worth checking out if you could find it anywhere. It was well acted, nicely directed, and pretty interesting in its humorous look at Chain Gang farm under inspection.

A wise man once told that it isn't "what" it's "how" when it comes to film. Meaning that how well a film is directed, acted, written, executed, photographed, etc. etc. etc. is much more important then what a film is about or the message it is giving us. What I'm getting at here is that when this film was first released it wasn't well received by the public due to the subject matter of it, which is a shame because it really is a good, excellent, and engrossing look at a man who has nothing left, but then gains it all back again, and ends losing it all again. It's obvious that people in the 1930's did not understand that it's not "what" it's "how". Anyway, "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" is a good film because of how extremely well it is acted, and how wonderfully it's executed, directed, and written. Paul Muni is exceptionally well in an Oscar nominated performance, as is the rest of the cast. Another thing that makes this one something to remember is how much a connection the viewer is able too make to the character of James Allen/Allen James, you find yourself rooting for this man, feeling this mans pain, and feeling sorry for this man. A film that is definitely worth a look. By the way, the scenes where James is trying too get the chains off of his feet are especially disturbing and somewhat cringe worthy (in a good way).