The Snows of KilimanjaroRating:
Release Date: 09 March, 2000 Retail Price: $7.98 OUR Price: $7.98 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Complete Cast (6 total) |
The Snows of Kilimanjaro Reviews
Good Cinematography: Somewhat Reflective Storyline
I find it hard to believe that I liked this movie more than a lot of the other reviewers since usually I'm pretty hard to please. I found the cinematography to be a strong point because of the location shots. There's something captivating about the old style location scenes in Africa, France, and Spain.
Hemmingway was ripped by some of the other reviewers for bad writing, however I think he achieves some of his goal of having the audience reflect on the struggle between personal ambition and fulfillment and the sacrifice of loving someone else. One flaw is that the husband and wife can't agree on the cause of his accident. That just isn't pausible. There's also a miscommunication between the couple over Harry Street's ambition and his wife's desire for a child. It results in a tragedy which neither one approved of deep inside.
It's easy to spot Ernest Hemmingway's autobiographical writing. The whole script is essentially about him. The locations, personal conflict over career as opposed to relationships, alcoholism, and fame are all drawn right out of his life.
reminiscing with Harry
Using Ernest Hemingway's story of a writer in Africa, as well some of his other fictional themes blended in, this is a wordy but occasionally poetic tale of a man with a severe leg wound, reminiscing about his travels and the women in his life, as he lies close to death at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, with his latest love by his side.
As the ambitious, hard-drinking, hard-living writer (some will say elements of the story are like Hemingway's life), Gregory Peck puts in a good performance, though of all his great films, this one would be near the bottom, perhaps because the part of Harry Street is never particularly likable or heroic, but is of a rather self-centered man with a talent for words but little insight into life, and essentially a boring man, despite his many adventures.
The women in his life are all beauties and played by Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner (excellent as "Cynthia") and Hildegard Knef, and Leo G. Carroll plays "Uncle Bill".
Directed by Henry King with a score by Bernard Hermann, perhaps the best thing in the film is the cinematography by Leon Shamroy, especially the bullfight scene, which is superbly filmed (animal rights people will not like this film because of that scene, as well as the typical Hemingway safari sections).
The film takes place in Africa, as well as France and Spain, where Harry Street joins the Civil War, and finally back to Africa for the purpose of "working the fat off his soul".
The film received two Oscar nominations: Best Color Cinematography (losing to Archie Stout's work for "The Quiet Man") and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration ("Moulin Rouge").
Suggested for serious Peck fans only, total playing time is 117 minutes.
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