RadCap Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 In many of her essays, Ayn Rand analyzed different works of art. Did she ever analyze the film version of The Fountainhead? I seem to recall she made mention of the line which was cut from the film. And she has spoken of the comments made by Cooper after filming. But did she ever substantially address King Vidor's directing of her script - meaning more than a sentence or two in passing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielshrugged Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 I don't know how much help these are, but here you go: Ayn Rand wrote the following in a 1948 letter: "My experience with the movie has been perhaps even more miraculous than with the book. I wrote the screenplay myself, preserving my theme and philosophy intact. For the first time in Hollywood history, the script was shot verbatim, word for word as written. I had no legal control over the production, yet the picture was made as faithfully as if I controlled it. This in Hollywood—where they ruin and distort every story they buy, particularly every serious story, and where they are scared of the faintest suggestion of a controversial subject. The first picture ever shot here verbatim will be—not some weak, compromising, middle-of-the-road script—but the most uncompromising, most extreme and "dangerous" screenplay they ever had. I think this is an illustration of the power of an honest idea to reach people and to accomplish things which no amount of force or collective pressure could accomplish. The studio heads may still lose their courage and ruin the picture in the cutting, but it does not appear likely now. If the picture is released as is, it will be the atom bomb of the movie industry. Then, I think, somebody should tell the public the story and the meaning behind it—and I wish it were you." She wrote this in a 1949 letter: "The picture runs for an hour and 56 minutes, and the audience sat on the edge of their seats every minute of it—including Roark's speech. The speech will go through as I wrote it. When I suggested that I could make certain cuts in it, if they wanted me to, Warner would not allow me to cut a single line. The studio is in an uproar, and Henry Blanke is simply stunned, just as I am. It was a real triumph." And this in another 1949 letter: "I am glad that you liked the movie of The Fountainhead. I can see your point in feeling that Gary Cooper's performance should have been stronger. Personally, I feel satisfied with his performance because, even though the real Roark of the book should have been stronger, there is no actor in Hollywood who could have come closer to being the right type for it than Gary Cooper. I would rather see the part underplayed than overdone by some phony-looking ham." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadCap Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Unfortunately, they do not help. They speak of the story and the actors, but not the directing. Thanks for looking though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutoJC Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 One puzzling aspect of the movie is why it starts with Roark in the quarry. I guess the person most able to answer that is Rand herself, though There was a lot of good dramatic content inthe book, prior to that start, that might have increased the movie's playing time to two hours but would have been worthwhile. The typical moviegoer would have liked to know why such a magnanimous figure like Roark wound up in a rock quarry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielshrugged Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 The movie doesn't start with the quarry...it starts with Roark and the Dean at Stanton, if I remember correctly (and goes through a sequence of brief scenes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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