RResende
The concept is simple: make the film as a publicity to a man who was himself to a great extent a publicity stunt.In order to achieve it, a number of devices are employed:-often we get shots which we immediately or a bit later identify as pieces of publicity/newsreel footage within the film. It actually begins with a newsreel;-the acting from Bridges is admittedly artificial, what you would expect from a salesman of some sort. He is impressive in this role, as he plays always over the thin line after which the whole thing would just become cartoonish. Jeff Bridges proved here that he can consistently work comedy without become a joke. This is his first dude.-the whole story line is not supposed to be read as serious, not even lightly: it's ostensibly sketchy, and it includes bits like the corrupt senator comedic sequences (with the Bridges-Bridges real life wink) or the burning floor car presentation, as well as the whole circus mounted around it (another stunt). The Howard Hughes bit is the ultimate fake, the same short-cut that Welles had used, a kind of an American cinema staple for fakery.-The phoney trial and subsequent triumph with a parade of Tucker's cars being driven and filled by everybody is the ultimate stunt. At certain moments, and this final sequence is one such, the film is choreographed as a classical musical, without the music.The skeleton is wrapped around Coppola's usual lush and seduction through the set and the environment. With Coppola you always have at least a sense of place and mood that really makes the thing matter. Every open shot has a lot more happening than what's supposed to be the main action. This sense of liveliness is an affirmation of the power of deep shots and depth of field, not in the spatial architectural sense of Welles, but almost as if in a painting.The Coppola/Storaro collaboration is one of the strongest in the history. Storaro manipulates color like very few have, one true painter. But this film doesn't matter, it's meaningless, bloodless and forgettable when compared to the best this couple has done. Only Bridges is worth remembering here. Unlike many, i do find valuable things in Coppola's films post-Apocalipse. But not here.
AaronCapenBanner
Francis Ford Coppola directed this entertaining biography of Preston Tucker ,(played with enthusiasm by Jeff Bridges), an ambitious inventor who, after WWII ends, devises a new kind of automobile with innovative features like seat belts(!). With help from his family, and his friend Abe(played nicely by Martin Landau) he gets the funding to build 50 cars after he leases a disused government factory. Things go wrong when the "Big 3" automakers get wind of this, and decide that they don't want the competition, get their lobbyists out to destroy him, led by a sinister senator(played by Jeff's father Lloyd Bridges). Tucker is finally brought to trial for fraud, and must plead his case personally, despite the government turning on him...Stylish and entertaining film features fine performances by all, and a poignant yet inspiring story of one determined man's efforts to improve the automobile industry, yet being stymied the whole way. Memorable speech by Tucker at the end will seem quite prescient in later years.
LeonLouisRicci
A truly rich and rewarding Movie. This Story of a Man who naively tried to compete with the Big Three Automobile Corporations is Filmmaking at its most poignant. Although much of it plays like a Fairy Tale, although the unhappy ending is obvious, most of it is based on Facts and is pretty much the way the Saga unfolded in Real Life.It is a beautiful looking Film and is superbly crafted with a Love for the period. The Cast is strong throughout and things move at Highway Speed. This is the kind of Entertainment that rarely emerges from Hollywood (exemplified by the poor Box-Office). Ironically Folks malign the Dream Factory for the Trash it produces and then stay away from something as inspirational, touching, and relevant as Tucker.A must see Movie for all ages. It is a joy to behold with its life lessons, optimism in spite of adversity, and overall good feeling that is in every frame of this little seen, underrated, ignored, informative, and Fantastic Film. As good as Movie Making gets.
Brian Wright
This movie I kick myself for having missed when it came out 20 years ago, and it was only last week on HBO that I actually got the Tucker experience with both barrels. The two main ideas for me of this all-American Horatio Alger "rags-to-riches" story are: 1) Innovation in conflict with the stale old dead way of doing things (out of collective ignorance and blind obedience to authority)call it the Pleasantville barrierand 2) Man against the state, particularly the US state and its insidious methods of coercion working in harmony with cartel business interestscall it the Kleptocon barrier. Without question, the ebullient, imaginative, brilliant, individualistic, hard working Preston Thomas Tucker is more deserving of the quintessential "American Hero" designation than anyone Ayn Rand ever imaginedfrom the iconoclastic/artistic (humorless) Howard Roark to the ethereal/scientific (humorless) John Galt. Or anyone else ever imagined for that matter. Preston Tucker had it all: a joie de vivre that made everyone around him want to sing for joy, a similarly eccentric loving family with hearts as big as Texas, the imagination of a precocious child, and the hard driving intelligence of a man who wills himself to be the best....For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com.Brian Wright Copyright 2009
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