Cavalcade

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Finn S Mar 23, 2019 Cavalcade might be the first film I've ever seen which is named after its segues, but that's not the only thing about it that stands out. It's a very American 30s movie, where all the Brits either speak in cut-glass English accents or like Cockney chimney sweeps. It covers a time period of just over 30 years, and does a good job conveying how individuals, groups and cultures change their attitudes over time. The bond that the parents shares with their children makes it all the more tragic when they lose their lives in one disaster or another. The makeup is fantastic, as are the set designs, but the dialogue is often uninspired and the sound quality is fairly poor, making much of it difficult to hear. Also, it has its share of painfully on the nose moments. For example, its 1912, we see a giant passenger liner with 4 chimneys crossing the Atlantic. 2 lovers are on it, and as they walk away from the railing the camera focuses on a rubber ring which says TITANIC. As if it wasnt already obvious, the film felt the need to spell it out. I think it holds up fairly well for the time, considering some of the other films produced during this period, and while it's not one I would rush to see again, I was impressed by its characters, its grand scope and its depiction of a rapidly shifting society. See more

Jan 27, 2019 The best movie ever made!

Harry G Jan 25, 2019 I could not believe the reviews I read concerning this film. It seems that if a movie is philosophical, people end up getting bored fast with it. First, the title itself has meaning, for this is the story of a procession that whether or not they had success, they participated in the wildness that was the turn of the century. I loved the feelings being expressed by the character Jane, because though she is patriotic and cares about her country, she worries and grieves over her son and husband going to war. War itself creates wastelands, power vacuums, immense death and destruction, and is often glorified for more than it is. People come back from war different people than when they left. Next the film shows how vice and immoral living changes people, such as alcohol consumption, sleazy living, atheism, sexual deviance in general, and communism and how they help to create a society that no matter its prior successes is a country that has lost a great amount of its honor. This movie reflects a lot of what we see today, and although some of the acting techniques are less refined than they are now, the message still rings as clear as it did then. Great final number and great scripting, very underrated in our time (though back then they seemed to understand its merit well enough to give it a Best Picture award.) See more

Hermione S Mar 8, 2017 Cavalcade is a film that looks at 2 British families and how the events of history affect them. It starts right at the celebration of New Year's Eve in 1899, and then shows how the next 33 years change their lives. It feels a bit like a play because a lot of the major events take place off camera and are simply talked about in the homes of the main characters. However it includes some great montages that keep us informed of the exact events that are going on. They did a relatively good job of building characters and showing growth and change despite the fact that time was passing by so quickly. As can happen with any movie of this style, there are a few stops along the way that feel forced or overly coincidental. In order to make sure we hit on all the significant events, they have to insure that those events somehow connect to these characters. I never thought it was tedious or blatant, but there were moments where I could sense someone manipulating the plot instead of allowing it to have a logical narrative flow. Cavalcade is a film of its time, and it probably had some heavy emotional impact back in 1933 when it was made because all of these events were fresh in people's minds. For me it wasn't a great film, but I did enjoy the stylistic look at history, and I thought they worked in enough character building to make it engaging. See more

Poe S Sep 26, 2012 Cavalcade is a very entertaining and funny movie for all the wrong reasons. Its acting is very stagey, the dialogue is ludicrously on-the-nose as are many of the plot points where this British family somehow witnesses all the major events from the first half of the 20th century. But it looks and sounds good, it's epic in quality and I could see how audiences of its day would absolutely adore it and some scenes are a guilty pleasure for me. For all of those reasons, I personally wouldn't call it one of the worst Oscar winners. See more

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Cavalcade

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