The Lottery

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Watch this film without critiquing the cinematography or getting caught up in the outdated fashion.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.

Shirley Jackson's notorious horror classic "The Lottery" is among the most famous and iconic works in all of 20th century American literature, and this brief adaptation nails the story's disturbing and tense mood. The cinematic platform adds quite a bit to the story's overall horror, and this version takes full advantage of this. It is not gory in any way, and instead it provokes horror from an unsettling and gritty atmosphere in the vein of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre". The soundtrack and design remain uneasy, the characters are mundane yet there is obviously something off about them, and every shot does not at all looked planned out, instead it feels as if it were filmed by some random spectator capturing the action. The atmosphere is that of a cinema verite style documentary film thanks to the unorganized structure of shots, uneasy camera-work, gritty cinematography, and highly natural, realistic setting.

I saw this film in 7th or 8th grade Social Studies class some 25 years ago, and it still has the same impact when I even think about it. There was dead silence in the classroom when this film was over and probably 30 students saying to themselves, "Are they all insane?!" Quite possibly the characters were. But we learned something that day. Going along with the bunch may save your hide, but we reap what we sow. excellent film. A must see for all teenagers! The remake was too grandiose...short and sweet is all that is needed! Even the kids that were not particularly interested in the film when it started we mesmerized by the time we all realized what was going on. The image of that person handing "it" to the lady's child was just too much for any of us to comprehend. I won't spoil the "surprise" ending by mentioning what "it" was or anything, but suffice it to say that this film will stay with me forever. It ranks right up there with James Clavell's "The Children's Story." Put these two stories in every curriculum, is what I say.

"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.

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!!!