John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 3 wins & 3 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
The performances are absolutely flawless, and astonishing location work in the busy New York streets (including a giddy tour of Coney Island on a blind date) lends a gritty ring of truth to his intensely human odyssey.
– Tom Milne,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Throughout this subject Mr. Vidor shrewdly avoids the stereotyped conception of setting forth scenes, and in more than one case he uses his camera in an inspired fashion.
– Mordaunt Hall,
New York Times,
25 Mar 2006
rotten:
A drab actionless story of ungodly length and apparently telling nothing.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
7 Jul 2008
fresh:
The camera style owes something to Murnau, but the sense of space -- the vast environments that define and attack his protagonists -- is Vidor's own.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
26 Feb 2013
fresh:
Vidor, playing to that crowd, sternly warns against going it alone.