Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Audience Reviews

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Han P Mar 14, 2019 One of my very favorites.

Hagrid S Jan 27, 2019 âMr. Smith Goes to Washingtonâ?, released in 1939 follows a man who is appointed to the senate, despite having no experience. The film didnâ(TM)t necessarily make me feel anything. In watching it, I didnâ(TM)t feel any draw to the characters or the storyline. It did, however, make me think how it would be to have someone come into office without any experience doing so â" which is something that we have experienced in our own politics. The film certainly differs from films of that era in that it isnâ(TM)t a noir, romance, or thriller. It is very unique being so politically focused. I wish that they would have made the story more compelling to watch. As it stands, for me there wasnâ(TM)t anything that made me intrigued to see how the story unfolds. In this professional work, I did enjoy aspects of the writing. I particularly liked the montage where Mr. Smith goes around to people that are reading the negative article about him and he punches them in the face. Itâ(TM)s such an interesting set-up for the character and gives him depth and stakes. I also enjoyed the comical âpunchâ? sound effect that was present in films of that era. In terms of directing, one of my favorite shots was when Saunders is talking to her boss and is standing over his desk telling him her idea of preventing Mr. Smith from doing his job. This exemplifies their power struggle â" choosing to show her standing over him. Something that I really appreciated about the editing was the transitions they used. There were often dissolves and screen wipes when moving into the next scene or to show the passing of time. An example of this is when the senator has his first meeting, the screen wipe shows a transition through the passing of time throughout the meeting. As Jefferson Smith, James Stewart proved to have enjoyable moments to watch â" particularly when Senator Smith first sits at his desk. In this moment, he is unsure as to how he should sit and very obviously readjusts his arms on his desk and was very comical in doing so. Regarding the cinematography, one shot that I found to be interesting was when Mr. Smith meets Susan Payne â" the shot stays on Mr. Smith fumbling with his hat and then immediately goes into him knocking over a lamp. This choice to focus on his fumbling shows his nervousness of being around Susan. Mr. Smith is cool as a cucumber, but his direction shifts when Susan walks in. I really enjoyed the sound design in the film â" particularly in the scene where Mr. Smith proposes his first bill. You could hear people laughing throughout and laughter would come from different parts of the room. It faded in and out really well and felt organic to the situation. The production value was certainly of great quality for the time. Sound design in those days wasnâ(TM)t usually of great quality, but this film had great sound design. See more

Albus P Dec 5, 2018 The sort of vibrant, thoughtful film that I could (and that I want to) write about at length, praising Capra's steady direction and Stewart's subtle performance and Arthur's tremendous range; yet there is so much here to praise, I want to just focus on one thingâ"the film's poor response when it was released. Recently, I had a student ask if a politician like Beto O'Rourke could be considered contrarian because he presented himself as an honest politician, when we all know that politicians are intrinsically dishonest. The reaction that M.SGtW garnered when it first was released betrays how times have changed and what makes that student's question so fascinating to me: In 1939, the idea that US Senators were so abysmally, irredeemably corrupt was so shocking as to draw condemnation across the country, with real senators walking out and production companies refusing funding. Not that anyone really disagreed, of course, but merely breaking protocols of civility seemed an anti-American threat to our institutions and standing in the world. There is no better time to criticize politicians then when criticizing politiciansâ"the very heart of the democratic spirit upon which this country was foundedâ"is called unpatriotic by those in power. How especially telling, then, to compare this film, which has since its release enjoyed a century of parodies and nods and more image savvy politicians claiming as their own rallying cry, with another movie with a similar history: HIGH NOON, at first decried as unpatriotic, then celebrated as an archetype of American politics. See more

Ron S Nov 9, 2018 Loved this movie from start to finish. Makes you want to get into politics to change things.

Theodore S Oct 23, 2018 I had to watch this for AP Government but still thought it was an amazing movie.

Abraham W Feb 6, 2018 THIS MOVIE SUCKS MY FICKING DICK LIKE A NIGGER AND EATS XTRA SHIT

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

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