Una tragedia americana

Theodore Dreiser's mammoth novel "an American tragedy" was adapted twice for the screen :first version was made by Joseph Von Sternberg in 1931,and is best remembered for Sylvia Sidney's portrayal of Roberta.This movie, rarely aired ,is today outstripped by Georges Stevens' " a place in the sun" -the producers did not want to hear of the original title which would have scared the audience away from the theaters-: masterfully directed ,with three aces :Montgomery Clift ,Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters ,plus excellent support by Anne Revere as mom ,in an underwritten part.

The Italian effort is a miniseries,probably the best way to tackle this masterpiece of the American literature:seven episodes in all ,which is not too much for a 850 pages work .

By and large ,this is good MTV work: the book was sometimes sweetened ,but never cheapened ;most of the events were kept ;even though Clyde' s final redemption through religion is not really communist Dreiser's view ,its center subject is properly treated: the mirage of the American dream,the failure of ambition,the gap between the wealthy bourgeois and the proletarians ,a plea for a square deal for the underprivileged and disgust for death penalty .

For further details,look at each episode separately on this site.