Thursday, December 16, 2010

The World, The Flesh And The Devil


THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL,
a stunning 1959 film by director Ranald MacDougall
He showed us stunning imagery of the abandoned metropolis in this post-apocalyptic allegory. Harry Belafonte (in his screen debut!) plays Ralph Burton, who may be the last man on earth after a mysterious nuclear catastrophe.Then a woman (Inger Stevens) appears and the two form a cautious friendship that's threatened when a third survivor (Mel Ferrer) arrives. There are no external monsters to battle in this urban apocalypse landscape. Instead, the monsters -- fear, intolerance, jealousy -- lurk within the human heart. Loaded with stunning and unforgettable vistas of an unpopulated New York
I saw this years ago and it burned in my mind and I have just read that it was rereleased in a new remastered edition from The Warner Archive Collection.

1 comment:

squatlo said...

Being a fan of old films, I'm surprised this one has eluded me all these years. I will definitely look it up when next I'm on a site that has such things!
Very cool...