“How can you teach History and have such a short memory? ” – Gretchen
Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (Cable in the 80’s and 1 Mar 2017)
Brief Synopsis – When a film company comes to his small town to film his bestselling novel, a history professor tries to get them to make a more accurate adaptation.
My Take on it – I have always been a fan of Alan Alda and re all enjoying this film even as a teen.
Having not seen it in nearly 30 years made me wonder what I would think of it now and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
Alda was the perfect person to write, direct and act in this film because of his vast knowledge of all three tasks.
He was able to show the good and bad of making a film from a unique perspective that allows us to appreciate the ups and downs of these jobs while making a film.
The script itself is quite witty and is able to both sing praise and tear down the way films are made at the same time.
In addition to Alda, the cast is superb here with Michael Caine, Michelle Pfieffer, Bob Hoskins and Saul Rubinek doing great work.
The side story with Lilian Gish as Alda’s mother is funny yet sweet at the same time.
It really gives us much to think about when regarding an adaptation to film; what is more important, the quality, the accuracy or the ability to fill the seats?
This remains a question still unanswered after more than a century of film making and will continue to be pondered for many years to come.
Bottom Line – Alda is great here because as a veteran actor/screenwriter and director he is able to capture all three aspects so well. The script is quite witty and clever and is able to both praise and complain about the way things are done in Hollywood at the same time. Great cast that in some instances are a bit over the top but still do it well. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The name of the movie the film crew were making was “Sweet Liberty”. As such, this film represents an instance where the title of a movie-within-a-movie is also the title of the movie. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
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MovieRob 
As a history teacher, I love this film!
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Lets see how u deal when they adapt ur novels 😉
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