Un père trop célèbre

This film is about the life and times of Michael Landon, fifties teenage b-movie actor and star of successful and long-running TV series like "Bonanza", "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven". It focuses on the private life of Landon, reaching from his early "Bonanza" days in the sixties to his sad cancer death in 1991.

Directed by his son, Michael Landon jr., it is rather an autobiography about a tragic father and son relationship. As Landon left his family very early for another younger woman, it's the only thing that this movie is really about. What could have become an interesting portrait of a TV actor is just a boring and cheesy kitchen sink drama and a bit of an autotherapy of the director. You won't learn much about Landon or his works, but more about his hair styles during all those decades. And that's not enough for an interesting movie.

Some of the critics said it was like a revenge movie. The son was just saying how he felt. People still want to see Landon as little Joe, pa Ingalls and the angel on highway to heaven, and he definitely wasn't a angel. To me the son wrote a truthful story of a man who did have problems.

I'm sorry Mr OhioBonanza - it seems you are too emotionally involved with the Landon's for any impartial reasoning. Did you fail to read the title : 'The Father I Knew' / 'A Father's Son' ???????

It's a son's recount - who was clearly taken for granted and at times, forgotten by his self-indulgent, hormone-crazed father - of this man who was his parent. & for someone who wasn't there to disregard what he experienced growing up being Michael Landon Jnr - is very selfish, arrogant and mean spirited.

**************A stale piece of hogwash, 16 May 2004. This film vilifies Michael Landon, a man of extraordinary talent, guts, compassion,intelligence, and empathy for the downtrodden. I am a big Michael Landon fan...and I watched and taped the movie when it was aired years ago. It was completely biased. For example, it made Lynn Landon look like a poor betrayed wife...well, that is partially true, but nowhere did Michael, Jr. mention that Lynn was married to two men before Michael!!! Mr. Pontrelli...and then Mr. Manny Baier...She was older than Michael and more experienced...in many ways. She was said to be more concerned with her Beverly Hills status than with enjoying life with Michael. She wouldn't cook, and she apparently couldn't even be bothered to learn how to make a cup of coffee. Michael,Jr. also neglected to mention that he was heavily into drugs as an older teen, and that he was asked to leave the college he attended. Cindy was made out to be a teenybopper type; I have met Cindy, and she was warm and sensible..and she truly loved Michael. Such a superficial treatment by Landon, Jr., with bad acting, poor casting, hackneyed direction, and poor-me writing...makes this "daddydearest" a real loser. Avoid it; spend the time watching repeats of "Bonanza"..."Little House" and "Highway to Heaven".... Betsy

So, the film lacks all of the hype of recent Tv movies. But makes up for it in good performances. I was truly impressed with John Schneider's performance. At first, I didn't even know it was him. He melts into the character of Michael Landon with ease. The film revolves around Michael Landon Jr.'s memories of his father and his life growing up as the son of a famous actor. His father is portrayed as the wholesome figure we all knew from his shows, but grows into a cheating husband and throws his families away, again and again. It was refreshing to see a different aspect of Michael Landon's life.

A homage from a son to a deceased father. It is always regretable to knock a tribute movie but due to a bad script the acting is flat and on occasions well over the top. (No children welcome their father in such a manner unless he has been away for a couple of hundred years.) Incidents like Landon Sr. bending a cheeky guy's finger for swearing in front of his children appear contrived and incidental to the story. As a whole the movie sprawls over too long a time period. I feel Landon Jr. should have focussed more tightly on key incidents and looked deeper into his own emotions, maybe then, the viewer could have more sympathy with his (Landon Jr's), predicament. The editing lacks sharpness and slows a boring movie down to a snail's pace. Even for daytime TV this movie has very little to engage the interest.