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starring: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly, Tilly Losch, Charley Grapewindirected by: Victor Fleming, Sidney Franklin, Gustav Machatý
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301969406
Format: Black & White, Original recording reissued, NTSC
ISBN: 6301969405
Label: MGM (Warner)
Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Warner)
Release Date: December 21, 1994
Running Time: 138 minutes
Sales Rank: 5121
Studio: MGM (Warner)
Theatrical Release Date: August 06, 1937
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
MGM's status as the 'class' studio was fully engaged when production chief Irving Thalberg took on this expensive, serious adaptation of Pearl Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. A smooth entertainment with a stiff portion of this-is-good-for-you seriousness, The Good Earth epitomizes Thalberg's idea of Art, which was also the prevailing idea of the period he dominated in Hollywood. The story follows Wang Lung (Paul Muni), a humble farmer, who makes an arranged marriage to a slave, O-Lan (Luise Rainer). The couple's great struggle is to procure--and then, against withering odds, keep--a piece of land, ownership of which makes the difference between self-determination and near-slavery. The film's physical production is truly eye-filling, with location shooting in China providing exterior shots and backdrops (and blending seamlessly with the footage shot in the U.S.). No wonder the great cinematographer Karl Freund won an Oscar for the photography, which includes an awesomely staged locust plague.
Also copping an Oscar was Luise Rainer for best actress--her second consecutive award, after The Great Ziegfeld. Rainer's underplayed portrait of self-effacing stoicism is a contrast to Muni's broader performance, although in some odd way he's exactly right for his role. Caucasian actors play the main characters (Walter Connolly is the family's bothersome, and tiresome, know-it-all uncle), with Asian actors--including Keye Luke--filling out the supporting parts. The blend of sobriety and hokum is vintage Thalberg, and this is the one MGM movie with an onscreen dedication to the young dynamo; he died during production, age 37. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Classic , epic movie-making worthy of MGM. Yet I find it
slightly offensive. It's not entirely fair to hold a movie made in 1937 to our standards, but MGM could have showed some courage had they employed Chinese actors for Chinese parts. It's the same type of subtle racism of the day when native Americans in movies were played by whites. It is disrespectful at least. That said the photgraphy is awesome. There's just something about a locust plague in black & white. An excellant but definite fictional Hollywood movie. The life of a peasant farmer Wang ... Read More
Rating: - Good, indeed! ... but is this trip necessary?
Viewers with an affinity for Irving Thalberg's blockbusters should enjoy this prolonged sojourn in Thalberg's China. It boasts masterful cinematography by Karl Freund, the best of Paul Muni's "big" roles of the later 30s, and an earnest script that countered the sinophobic productions of the same studio. It established common, agrarian ground between Americans and East Asians. All very praiseworthy in the America of 1937, and still commendable today. However, works of art transcend their date of ... Read More
Rating:  - Classic film from the 40's
A great, epic film from the novel by Pearl Buck. Wonderful acting by Louise Rainer, who won a best actress Oscar for her performance. Paul Muni as simple Chinese farmer also gives a great performance. And listen for the exceptional score by MGM's star composer, Herbert Stothart. One highlight is an amazing, full scale locust invasion, shot with great skill by cinematographer Karl Freund, who also got an Oscar for his work in this film.
Rating:  - fun but fiction
don't watch it if you want to watch a movie faithful to the book, but if you like old movies, it's a classic
Rating: - The Good Earth
If you're looking for some kind of analysis on the plot and that kind of stuff, you're in the wrong place. Let's begin...
It's weird to watch a black & white movie with all the HDTV and special effects going on right now but sometimes it can be relaxing in a way too. I had just finished reading the book and loved it so much I had to have the movie as well. I was not disappointed. It is a great movie and I'm glad I purchased it.
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