The Lottery

"The Lottery" is a short film based on the short story by Shirley Jackson. It was made for Encyclopedia Britannica and was intended for classroom use....most likely in English/Literature classes.

Aside from a bit of dramatic license by adding some local color and some occasional odd camerawork (such as showing feet and some odd framing), the story is a very direct retelling of the story. And, like the story, it is brief and offers nothing at the end other than a nice neighborhood stoning.

The short film is just fine, though considering how short the story is you might just want to read it instead. Regardless, it's a chilling and interesting story.

While the production quality of this short film is lacking, especially by today's standards, the impact lingers. I first saw this film in American Liturature class my Junior year of high school. I have never forgotten it. Thirty-eight years later, I am still wanting to know, "Why?"

Viewing it today, in 2015, I think of the personalities and reactions of the townspeople; as a member of one evangelical church and an employee of another, I relate these people to members of the church, and the impact their beliefs and decisions have on the rest of the congregation. As an individual, I question why I have hung on dearly to some traditions, and how selfish it can be to do so. Which doesn't mean that all tradition is bad - we just need to carefully examine why we do what we do.

Watch this film without critiquing the cinematography or getting caught up in the outdated fashion. Just get lost in the story - it's amazing how easy it is to do in just 17 minutes.

I saw this from a 16mm print about 30 years ago, and still think about it today. This short kind of has the flavor of a "Tales from the Darkside" episode to it, but seems more realistic. I agree with the previous reviewer that commented on the made-for-TV two hour version that came out in the 90's. What were they thinking? Did the folks who made that movie ever see this short? It just didn't have the horror that was present in this classic short. I can still see that woman, crying in terror, saying "it isn't fair, it isn't fair. Heavy duty stuff.

There should most definitely be a DVD of this around somewhere.

Highly recommended!!!

I never read the short story, so watching this short film was a true shocker for me. Like many other people, I saw this in my English class a long time ago and since then, I still haven't seen it. But I still remember that time, it really stays with you. I remember everyone in my class with their jaws dropping, we couldn't believe it, it was awesome. The surprising thing about it is that you think the movie is silly at the beginning, the characters are annoying, and its just something the teacher is making us watch to waste time. But once these characters do something unexpected, its when you feel you need to thank your teacher. If you ever get to see this, then you are lucky. Or read the short story by Shirley Jackson, its probably better.

"The Lottery" (1969) is a short film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story of the same name. The film does a very good job portraying the short story, depicting a town's controversial lottery. The acting was fine for the 1960's, but the cinematography was sub-par. The camerawork seemed hastily done on a Saturday night, since the camera shakes a lot, detracting from the actual story. The movie also seems to also drag on for far too long. The story could have been the same, but in 10-15 minutes rather than the 18 minutes the film is depicted in. This could be seen as a positive though, since the films awkward length adds to the feeling of tension that the characters are feeling. The acting was not one of the highlights of the film, however, since Tessie Hutchinson, the one who is chosen in the lottery in both stories, is not very well acted, and is not who I expected to see representing her after reading the story. Old Man Warner, the grumpy old man of the actual story, however, was acted perfectly, in my opinion. The film has a certain charm to it, which I really enjoy. The feeling that you are there is very strong, but I would say that the "feeling" of being there is a bit too strong. Overall, while the movie is objectively a bad film, I would say it is not a bad adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story. It does have it's flaws, but overall, one could surely do worse.