The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
by Robert Ellis Miller
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DVD details
Actor: Alan Arkin, Chuck McCann, Laurinda Barrett, Sondra Locke, Stacy KeachDirector: Robert Ellis Miller
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled)
Format: NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 123 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-01-08
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
DVD Review: Bright and cheery film ... about devastating loneliness
Summary: 5 Stars
The cinematography of James Wong Howe may be the real "star" of this film, creating a brightly-hued, sharply-focused view of small-town America in the 1960s that is almost like looking at kodachrome still photographs. That brightness, along with the almost cheery tone in much of the acting (Chuck McCann, Sondra Locke, etc.) seem at odds with the bleakness of the material ... until, on second thought, it seems like the perfect metaphor for how the world viewed Singer, all cheerful surface. The cinematography intentionally ignores the sadness and the darkness inside these superficially cheery lives, just as everyone ignored Singer's feelings. (Only Cicely Tyson's intense performance goes straight for the dark side in this material which, in fact, makes her seem the most out-of-place member of the cast.) On a different note: I really adored Sondra Locke here. She makes a debut with a charm similar to that of Reese Witherspoon's in Man in the Moon. Since I am also a big fan of Clint Eastwood's under-rated The Gauntlet (an homage to Don Siegel that is also the first hint of Eastwood's later mastery as a director), I have to say that Sondra Locke deserves to be more than a footnote in cinema history. She was an overlooked talent.DVD Review: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!!
Summary: 4 Stars
The film is based on Carson MCuller's best-selling novel which is an Oprah Book Club selection. John Singer (Arkin) is a deaf-mute who works in a small town jewelry store doing engraving and repairs. He also apparently has responsibility for another deaf-mute, Spiros(Chuck McCann) who continually gets into trouble with the law and is sent away to a 'facility' in another small community. Singer moves there to be close and help his friend. He rents a room from a family struggling with finances due to the father's hip injury and inability to work. He enters into the life of the teenage daughter struggling with her identity and coming of age. His disability makes him very sensitive to the needs and hurts of those around him including an African-American doctor who refuses to treat whites. While selflessly reaching out to those around him, Singer harbors a secret known only to himself. A powerful story of love and relationships and redemption and the world of silence occupied by those who cannot physically hear or speak but in reality hear and say more than most who are not handicapped. [...]DVD Review: Alan Arkin's finest performance
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderful story about the destructive power of loneliness. Alan Arkin (in a role of J. Singer) plays a deaf mute whose life revolves around his one and only friend who is also deaf mute. But his friend is simple and cannot stop himself from getting into a trouble. When situation becomes too difficult to handle his friend is moved to another town to an institution. To escape loneliness, Arkin's character moves to that city, finds another job, rents a room from impoverished southern family and hopes to start a new life. In spite of being generous with people around him, he is still considered outsider. Few people can understand him or relate to him. When his friend dies in the institution and a black doctor who our character became close with is diagnosed with cancer, set of circumstances make our protagonist even more isolated than ever before. Alone and unconsoled, he commits suicide in his small rented room. It is only after that act that people he truly cared about are there to acknowledge the enormous impact he had on their lives.DVD Review: Wow.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a terrific but sad story about a deaf-mute who works as a professional engraver, and moves to a small town to be of assistance to his only friend, another deaf-mute who also has mental retardation. The former is intelligent and significantly helpful to those around him, but remains more or less ignored as he is silent. There are numerous sub-plots, and the actors, who include Sondra Locke and Cicily Tyson, are excellent. This is drama at its best.DVD Review: A statement about loneliness, community, and openly caring for others.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great movie with messages that are timeless. Alan Arkin is wonderful as a deaf mute who cares deeply for people in pain. However, he cannot seem to communicate his own pain to others nor obtain comforting, love or a feeling of belonging for himself. I took his deaf-mute character as being a symbol for the many good people in our society who "can't quit fit-in" due to personal or social barriers that get in the way. This movie also shows the ultimate tragedy that occurs when people are "forgotten."
A young Sondra Locke is very good in her role, but does tend to "over act" a bit. The other characters do a fine job with there roles. Some younger viewers may find the style and values of the era portrayed--late 50's to early 60's--to be dated and hard to relate with. If they can look past the surface features of the movie and see the humanity I think they will be touched.
Description of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
When hearing-impaired John Singer moves to a Southern town to continue his friendship with a recently institutionalized fellow deaf mute, his compassion changes the lives of a small circle of struggling people--who discover The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.This quiet, sentimental 1968 drama based on the Carson McCullers novel is considered a classic contemporary coming-of-age film about alienation and love. Alan Arkin (The In-Laws) stars as a kind, but lonely deaf-mute who befriends a lonely teenage girl in his boarding house. Set in the deep South, the film depicts a wistful small-town life with an undercurrent of turmoil and intolerance. It features a standout performance by Arkin and the debut of Sondra Locke (Bronco Billy, Sudden Impact) as two fundamentally lonely people who find solace in themselves as they reach out to each other. --Robert Lane
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