MovieChat Forums > Cannery Row (1982) Discussion > Surprisingly Good

Surprisingly Good

posted 15 years ago by zurichpoet
5 replies | jump to latest

I came across it the other day at a Video Store (yes a Video Store) and the clerk had put this one next to Major League by the same director.
Totally different films. I agree the tech team that worked to bring this to the big screen is sterling.

The only problem that I have with the movie is that it’s too much.
Too much sound. Too much costume. Too much sound stage. And even the narration. Huston’s voice is rich, great, sure but the story, as most of Steinbeck, is about isolation, outcasts, all the noise, the sound, fills in the cracks, the shadows, that's where each of the characters live.

Dancing in the shadows is a part of life, enlightening, and part of the reason is that it’s not so noisy.

Nolte is great. And so is Winger.

Also in the too much theme, it’s based on two novellas, Cannery Row and Sweet Tuesday by the great Steinbeck. A movie on one would have been fine.
Overall, it’s well worth watching, but it would have been more, better, and greater with less.

[–] Zuider_Zee 11 years ago

It was but I would like to see a version that is a bit more faithful to the book.

[–] romanticinsomniac 10 years ago

I Loved It.The Performances Were Spot On,And Nick Nolte Is One Of Hollywood's Best.

[–] fanaticita 10 years ago

I'm reading Cannery Row, and am scratching my head trying to figure out how they made a movie from this novel. Great characters, but a very loose plot. I understand it's on dvd now, so I'll be anticipating seeing it one of these days although Debra Winger is not a favorite, Nick Nolte is.

[–] mjz688 8 years ago

I'm not a huge winger fan either, but I really liked her in this movie. The scene in the whorehouse when she tells off a customer who doesn't appreciate her new dress is a marvelous bit of acting.

[–] Jones70 (6195) 2 years ago

I’ll have to watch this sometime.