Cradle Will Rock Director: Tim Robbins Cast: Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack
DVD - Wide Screen / Dolby 5.1 / Stereo Learn more
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- DVD Release Date: 05/16/2000
- Original Release: 1999
- Rating:
- Sales Rank: 15,399
FOR PARENTS
- Common Sense Rates this for Ages: More
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Features
Production featurette; Theatrical trailer; 5.0 Surround; Widescreen [2.35:1] enhanced for 16x9 televisions
Full Product DetailsScene Index
Chapter Selection
0. Chapter Selection
1. Opening Credits/Hard Times [8:35]
2. On Line At The W.P.A. [4:01]
3. Life In The Theatre [4:37]
4. A Civil Conversation On Art [3:14]
5. Now Who's The Dummy? [6:43]
6. An Artist In Conflict [1:10]
7. Rivera And Rockefeller [2:10]
8. A Gal Who Needs A Break [3:00]
9. The Wind Begins To Blow [5:24]
10. The Cradle Will Rock [5:21]
11. Plays, Politics And A Slow Dance [2:38]
12. Lunch At 21 [4:15]
13. Rehearsing For The Committee [:50]
14. Holding On To Secrets [5:36]
15. Family Values [7:27]
16. The Look Of A Prostitute [2:36]
17. Cuts Hit The F.T.P. [1:56]
18. Production Problems [1:56]
19. Inappropriate Art [7:45]
20. The Feds Move In [:42]
21. Another Opening, Another Show Trial [12:21]
22. The Unions Draw The Line [6:32]
23. When Philosophies Collide [1:47]
24. The Show Must Go On [2:32]
25. Breaking Up The Act [5:40]
26. And The People Shall Be Heard [16:59]
27. Finale [2:11]
28. End Credits [6:06]
Editorial Reviews
The sometimes rocky relationship between art and politics in America in the 1930s -- as well as the gulf between the wealthy and the struggling -- sets the stage for Tim Robbins' ambitious comedy-drama Cradle Will Rock. Pulling together a variety of threads from actual events, Robbins examines the lives and ambitions of a variety of creative mavericks and figures of power. Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes) are working with Marc Bliztstein (Hank Azaria) to stage the latter's leftist musical "The Cradle Will Rock" for the WPA-funded Federal Theater Project. After Congress cuts funding for the embattled Federal Theater over the perceived leftist slant of their presentations, the project is canceled on the day of its premier. Welles and his cast respond by marching 21 blocks from the theater where the show was to open to another venue where, in deference to Actors Equity regulations, they perform the entire show from the audience. A member of Welles' cast, Aldo Silvano (John Turturro), is a dedicated actor from Italy who is trying to resolve his attitudes about his family, who loyally support Mussolini, to Silvano's disgust. Meanwhile, El Duce's former mistress, Margherita Sarfatti (Susan Sarandon), is consorting with industrial tycoon Gray Mathers (Philip Baker Hall) -- whose wife, Contesse LaGrange (Vanessa Redgrave) is a friend and supporter of Welles' project. Elsewhere, Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) has hired expatriot Mexican artist Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to create a mural for his projected Rockefeller Center, but the two are soon locking horns over their different views on art, politics and the work at hand. And a ventriloquist fallen on hard times, Tommy Crickshaw (Bill Murray), finds himself trying to teach both comedy and speaking without lip movements to a pair of would-be performers at a WPA-backed vaudeville house. William Randolph Hearst (John Carpenter), Marion Davies (Gretchen Mol), Frida Kahlo (Corina Katt), and Olive Stanton (Emily Watson) are also woven into the tapestry of this historical epic, which premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Why We Rated This Appropriate for Ages 15 and UP
What to watch out for
- Drugs:
Social drinking
- Language:
Yes
- Sex:
Nude models, topless woman, sexual references
- Violence:
None Tense scenes, some scuffling
- Messages
- Consumerism:
Not an issue.
What Parents Need to Know
About Cradle Will Rock
Parents need to know that this movie has strong language, nudity, including an artist's nude models, and sexual references, including references to homosexuality.
Families Can Talk About
Families can talk about how Welles went on to annoy one of the most powerful men in the country, William Randolph Hearst, with his next project, Citizen Kane, number one on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies. Teens might want to read more about Nelson Rockefeller and check out Diego Rivera's surviving murals at http://www.diegorivera.com. For more on the Federal theater project, read Hallie Flanagan: A Life in the American Theatre, by Joanne Bentley or Flanagan's own book, Arena: The Story of the Federal Theatre.
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© 2010 All Media Guide, LLC