Robert E. Sherwood LIFE Oct 7, 2021

King Vidor has made a gallant attempt to achieve a masterpiece in The Crowd, and even though it doesn't quite come off, the effort is sufficient in itself to earn a vast amount of credit. For directors with Mr. Vidor's courage are rare in Hollywood.

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Richard Brody The New Yorker Dec 15, 2014

Vidor, playing to that crowd, sternly warns against going it alone.

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Allen Eyles Radio Times Aug 12, 2014

In this powerful silent drama from director King Vidor, James Murray gives a superlative performance as an idealistic young man trapped in a dead-end job whose ambitions are dogged by tragedy.

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Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy May 9, 2014 10/10

A truly great work of art: a one-of-a-kind blend of domestic drama and a depiction of urban geometry.

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Alonso Duralde Linoleum Knife Sep 11, 2013

The Crowd is a masterpiece - moving, funny, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful. It's a must for anyone interested in the roots of moviemaking, and it's a good choice to show to someone who thinks they wouldn't like silent films.

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Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Feb 26, 2013

The camera style owes something to Murnau, but the sense of space -- the vast environments that define and attack his protagonists -- is Vidor's own.

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jun 10, 2011 A-

King Vidor made a visually striking, influential feature about ordinary people and their anonymous, impersonal lives in the Big City

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Gabe Leibowitz Film and Felt Jul 5, 2010 73/100

Occasionally pushes its patriotism motif too far, but is extremely successful in all other ways, particularly in its strong portrayal of a full circle self-realization, love story, and sweeping portrait of America.

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Variety Staff Variety Jul 7, 2008

A drab actionless story of ungodly length and apparently telling nothing.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews May 22, 2007 A+

Casts a dark shadow over the American Dream.

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Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine Feb 25, 2007 4/4

Plot in The Crowd is structured as the progression of a life, with all the undulations of ups and downs driven by the director's faith in human emotion.

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Mordaunt Hall New York Times Mar 25, 2006

Throughout this subject Mr. Vidor shrewdly avoids the stereotyped conception of setting forth scenes, and in more than one case he uses his camera in an inspired fashion.

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Tom Milne Time Out Feb 9, 2006

The performances are absolutely flawless, and astonishing location work in the busy New York streets (including a giddy tour of Coney Island on a blind date) lends a gritty ring of truth to his intensely human odyssey.

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Walter Chaw Film Freak Central Apr 19, 2005 4/4

A stalwart repository for many of the themes and images of German Expressionism.

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Jay Antani Los Angeles Alternative Jan 28, 2005 5/5

my favorite silent film: poetically told with dazzling direction

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Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies Jul 11, 2004 4/5

Vidor's picture of the city is still impressive after all these years.

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Thomas Delapa Boulder Weekly Feb 27, 2004

Remarkably meshing 1920s screen Expressionism with location shooting, Vidor created a bittersweet parable on 20th century urban America...

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Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Aug 22, 2003 5/5

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Film4 Staff Film4 Jun 17, 2003

This is King Vidor's silent masterpiece, in which he turns a cynical eye towards the embodiment of the American Dream.

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Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) Sep 3, 2002 5/5

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