Abençoai as Feras e as Crianças

The recent passing of another of the 'great' directors prompted me to look back at Stanley Kramer's career. And that lead me to reflect upon my teenage experience of sitting in one of Melbourne's grand old picture houses one Saturday afternoon and viewing this movie for the first of what has now been many times.

Perhaps it was my age at the time, or my love of the outdoors, or my regular weekend hikes, or my love of animals... whatever it was, that 2 hours looking at the enormous screen was one I can recall with vivid clarity even 30 years on.

I remember how awesome the cinematography was it captured the beauty of the environment in those scenes where the misfit teenagers headed out across the plains to rescue the bison.

The music also evoked the essence of the outdoors for me. For many years after whenever I came up over a hill in the forest the Carpenters' music seemed to play in my head. It is just a shame that someone let the theme be [mis] appropriated to other less noble ends.

I have shown this movie to many teenage groups in the years since it opened. Although time has certainly moved on and much, especially the dress and manners has changed I have rarely found any teenager who has not been able to identify with the movie and the themes it seeks to explore.

Stanley Kramer made some wonderful, no some great movies. And while this may not rank as his greatest, for me it was and 'is' great as it allows this writer to revisit his teen years and relive a truly memorable period of his life.

My name is Robert Kramer. All I want to say is that I am very proud of this film. I loved working on it and even now I can't believe that I worked with Stanley Kramer. He has worked with most of the biggest stars that ever lived. Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland. I'm not as talented as those actors but I am grateful he gave me the chance to be in his film and I guess I did ok. He told me that I did, so I guess it must be so. Bless the Beasts is available on ITunes in HD, and looks great. Also my reading the comments on here about what people thought about the film, I appreciate the kind complimentary ones and the ones who didn't like it. Stanley Kramer was a great Producer, Director. I was lucky to be able to work with him. Also, I am not at all related to Stanley Kramer. It was just an average regular guy, me, who got the job. Also, to find a great copy of the film in HD, go to ITunes, you can buy it or rent it. It looks great. Won't be ever in Dolby Vision but it still looks great.

Yes...a masterwork. I don't throw that term around carelessly. But it is so much more than what meets the eye.

I saw this at 15, alone, one Saturday afternoon in a dark movie theater and my life was transformed. This is a coming-of-age movie that more people should watch at that turning point of their lives.

I know it gave me the feeling for the first time, that I wasn't alone feeling geeky, weird, and a stranger to the world. We can probably all relate to at least one of the archetypes Kramer used to tell this story. And that's a good thing, because it made me feel for the first time, that I was OK..that I did belong...that we all had something to contribute.

But it's not just about teen angst, it's about finding a place, a reason and a purpose to live for and finding the strength to follow through in the face of all adversity.

Much praise should be extended to the acting which was natural and never seemed forced....and of course, the music.

The Botkin/de Vorzon score (which went on to famous and infamous heights as 'Nadia's theme' and then the theme to 'The Young and The Restless'). The score highlighted with the Carpenters and Billy Mumy's song in the forest.

Highly Recommended.

Many of the comments written about this film do not even recognize the multitude of symbolic layers this movie encompasses. Of course it is clear that the killing of the buffalo and the killing of the human spirit of children is an apparent theme throughout the movie. One is symbolic of the other. We empathize with those who are shunned from society but who triumph against all odds to make a difference in this world. As the title song suggests "they have no choice, they have no voice". I find it especially interesting that this movie came out in 1971. Our country was enmeshed in a political upheaval from our involvement in the Viet Nam war. Well, children were sent to fight and kill whether they liked it or not. They had no choice, they had no voice. I was 5 years old when my brother, Alan, was sent to fight at Viet Nam. He would be there for a year and a half and return a completely different person. I believe Alan's spirit died in Viet Nam along with all the other "children". My other brother, however, would be, "Cotton", the starring role in the movie, "Bless the Beasts and Children". I was 7 when I saw the screening preview for the actors and others who worked on this film. I was so proud of Barry. The end made my mother and I cry every time. I knew it was just a movie (my mother assuring me "it's just ketchup, Elizabeth, not real blood")...but maybe, for me, it was a way to prepare. It was what was to become a reality for me. Only 15 years later, I would watch my brother die. The irony was that what surrounded his death was also that he was an "outcast", "different from others", "a societal reject" - similar to the character he played and the theme of Bless the Beasts. In 1986 Barry died from complications from the AIDS virus. It was pretty early on when people were diagnosed with this, so me and my mother told everyone it was cancer - fearful of their reaction at that time. But the true ending of the movie wasn't just that someone died. It is that he did what he believed in despite all odds. Even at seven I could see the triumph as the buffalo were set free. He did it! He accomplished his goal! And you know what? In my brother's life that ended too soon...he, too, accomplished his goal. He was an amazing actor and an amazing person who touched the lives of everyone who knew him.

I saw this movie in our school auditorium, as a high school classroom requirement back in the 1980's. I remember the girls crying, while a few of my male classmates sat quietly; perhaps being able to quickly identify themselves to one or more of the characters. The movie may not have interpreted the true spirit of the book, but I do think Stanley Kramer did as best a job he could in evoking both the struggles of male adolescence and the cultural patterns of the American family in the 1970's. There were many sobering messages despite the redundant metaphors throughout the film. Now, I am more interested in the "Where Are They Now" aspect of the film when I recently came across this title. I've found very little information on any of the main characters, with the exception of Bill Mummy. Also was saddened to hear about the death of Barry Robins (Cotton) back in 1986.