Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Michael_Elliott Walk with Life and Death, A (1969) ** (out of 4)When people discuss the great or awful films in the career of John Huston, this effort here rarely gets mentioned and that's probably because even the most die-hard Huston fan either hasn't sat through it or simply can't make it through. Apparently Huston selected to do this as something small and personal and one does have to respect him for trying a poetic movie like this but in the end the thing just didn't work for me. A man (Assaf Dayan) "hears" the "calls" of the sea and decides to leave Paris and walk to it. Along the way he encounters various forms of violence and a blooming relationship with a young woman (Anjelica Huston) who soon joins him on his journey. This film wasn't popular when it was first released and it seems very few people have bothered checking it out since then even though we've got a legendary director and his famous daughter in her first role. From the reviews I've read there appear to be a few fans of the film and it's poetic vision but for me the thing was a pretty big misfire. One of the biggest problems is Anjelica who is simply way out of her range in this type of part. This would have been a challenging role for anyone let alone someone making their first acting appearance. At times she seems all over the place while at other times she seems as if she doesn't know where to turn. Dayan doesn't fair much better but at least he seems at ease going through everything on this journey. The film moves at a rather slow pace, which I didn't really mind as Huston was trying to build some atmosphere out of it. The dialogue, cinematography and even the music score are all used to be dream-like but it just never really came together for me. This isn't an awful movie or an embarrassing one but it just felt too empty for me.

tonstant viewer This film bends over backwards to look like old paintings and tapestries, and succeeds better than some others with ten times the budget.Dayan is not a strong actor, and baby Angelica is even worse, but the film is worth watching if you're in a poetic frame of mind.The story wanders and is lumpy in shape, yet I'm glad to have seen this movie and finished it with strong, lingering emotion.A doodle from a great artist can be more interesting than a strained masterwork from a lesser talent. Worthwhile for those who still have nerve endings.

madrigal6 This is possibly Huston's purest film, by no means the most complex, but one in which he is least self-conscious and most able to let the creative process run free. It's the equivalent of Ingmar Bergman's "Virgin Spring", just as "Chinatown" might compare to "Cries and Whispers".Huston's daughter, Angelica, contrary to some reviews above, fits extremely well, is not harsh-looking and unattractive, and is a superb casting. The difference between her looks as a teenager and as a woman are striking, but to call the casting "nepotism" is political correctness gone mad. Huston shouldn't ever be expected to conform to the codes of 21st century Mother Grundies. Assaf Dayan may, paradoxically, have been helped by struggling a little in a language that was not his native tongue in conveying the sheer youth and hothouse growth of the character he's portraying. Contrast his performance as the psychotherapist in "Betipul", the Israeli TV series unceremoniously and unsubtly copied by HBO's "In Treatment". Age changes men as well as women, and in similar ways, even if Hollywood critics disagree.Huston's movie is based on a curious but superb short novel, by a very underrated writer. Hans Konigsberger reminds me in some ways of Milan Kundera. He has the same flat intellectualised style contrasting starkly with the passion of the issues he's addressing. The novel takes about an hour to read and is well worth the effort.Does someone know where I could buy a copy of the movie?

LilyDaleLady This is a fairly dry, low budget medieval picture by John Huston and starring his daughter Angelica...LOOOONG before she emerged as one of our great actresses. She's very awkward here, and the role is awkwardly written and the whole thing simply doesn't work.I have read some things Angelica herself wrote about this film -- that her father was often not active in her life, and that he wanted to do this film to sort of make things up to her, i.e., allow her to star in something he was doing. Also, that it was made to some degree to piggy-back on the popularity of Zeffirelli's '68 "Romeo and Juliet", which created a brief interest in romance films in medieval settings. That makes perfect sense, but the film "A Walk with Love and Death" doesn't work on any of those levels, unfortunately.A rather sad waste of some amazing talent. Knowing what Angelica has become, you have to wonder what she could have done acting-wise under different circumstances. Also, it's particularly unkind to cast a young woman of her looks -- interesting, but harsh and definitely not "pretty" -- in this sort of role, where her lack of prettiness seems at odds with the character. You can't help but feel sorry for her here! You can file this one under "every dad thinks his daughter is beautiful", right next to Sophie Coppola's debut in "Godfather 3". (And nothing against either amazingly talented lady, but this further proves that nepotism not only is a bad idea, but IT DOESN'T WORK.)