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The Grapes of Wrath
1940 129 min United States of America 18+
★8.8
Drama
Director: John Ford
🎭 Based on
«The Grapes of Wrath»
byJohn Steinbeck
Trailers
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Description
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.
Budget:
$800,000
Worldwide:
$1.59M
Starring
Henry Fonda
Actor
Jane Darwell
Actor
John Carradine
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Supporting Actress
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Director
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Picture
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Actor
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Sound
Academy Awards 1941
— Best Film Editing
Key opinion
John Ford's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath is widely regarded as a classic of American cinema, praised for its poignant performances and evocative cinematography. While many critics laud it as a powerful humanist portrait of the Great Depression, some viewers familiar with Steinbeck's novel find the film's simplified narrative and altered conclusion to be a disappointing departure from the source material's thematic intensity.
| Acting | Henry Fonda delivers a sincere and dignified performance that serves as the moral anchor of the film. | |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland's exquisite black-and-white cinematography effectively captures the bleak atmosphere and rural grit of the 1930s. | |
| Emotion | The film succeeds as a compassionate family drama, emphasizing resilience and kinship in the face of systemic collapse. | |
| Acting | Jane Darwell provides a resonant, Oscar-winning portrayal of Ma Joad that embodies the strength of the family unit. | |
| Adaptation | Critics and book readers disagree on the screenplay; while some appreciate the focus on the family, others argue that compressing the novel's complex socio-political critiques and subplots results in a thin and disorienting narrative. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the film's conclusion are divided; some find it a poignant, fitting resolution, while others view it as a hollow and overly optimistic deviation from the novel’s harder-hitting message. |