MovieChat Forums > Stazione Termini (1954) Discussion > Damn David O'Selznick

Damn David O'Selznick

posted 14 years ago by Forlorn_Rage
2 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie, despite hearing mostly lukewarm reviews about it. I surprised by how good it was, I loved it!

It was beautiful seeing Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift together.

I've seen De Sica's other works, he does splendid work. It was complicated enough that De Sica didn't know english and couldn't communicate effectively with the case, but had O'Selznick not interfered so much, who knows how great the film might have been. It might've rivaled Brief Encounter (even surpassed it!)

Normally, I refrain from mouthing off about celebrities, but stuff like Hollywood bigwigs abusing their authority pisses me off! Along with Mayor calling Judy a "monster" and "hunchback" or Alfred Hitchcock turning other directors away from Tippi Hedren (virtually ruining her potential career)

O'Selznick should've stuck with GWTW and left this film alone!

[–] SeanJoyce 11 years ago

Which version did you see?

I think that De Sica's original cut, Terminal Station, is problematic, but quite good. I'm so happy that Criterion salvaged it. Frankly, I won't even watch Selznick's bowdlerized cut, even for the sake of comparison.

...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street. ~ an irate Tarantino

[–] Forlorn_Rage 9 years ago

I saw the "edited" version. It was better than I thought it would be. While not a great movie, I could definitely see the potential of it being better than what O Selznick eventually turned in.

Seriously, this was the guy that produced Rebecca,so it's not like he was a stranger to "dark" and brooding love stories. And with Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, and Vittorio De Sica on board, why couldn't he have left the movie as was?

Funny, I saw the title of the thread and thought "wow, I definitely sympathize with this person," then saw my username under the title. xD