Ragtime Movie Review 1981

The lives and passions of a middle class family weave into the scandals and events of 1906 America. A small, unthinking act represents all the racist attacks on one man, who refuses to back down this time. Wonderful period detail. From the E.L. Doctorow novel, but not nearly as complex. Features Cagney's last film performance.

Distribution

Facets Multimedia, Inc., 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, Phone: (773)281-9075, Toll-free: 800-331-6197, Fax: (773)929-5437, Email: sales@facets.org, URL: http://www.facets.org

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 156 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Period Piece: 1900s, Historical Drama, Books to Film: E.L. Doctorow, New York, New York, Screen Teams: Cagney & O'Brien, Jazz & Blues, Historical Romance

Screenplay

Michael Weller

Cast

Howard E. Rollins, Kenneth McMillan, Brad Dourif, Mary Steenburgen, James Olson, Elizabeth McGovern, Pat O'Brien, James Cagney, Debbie Allen, Jeff Daniels, Moses Gunn, Donald O'Connor, Mandy Patinkin, Norman Mailer, Jeffrey DeMunn, Robert Joy, Fran Drescher, Frankie Faison, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Jeter, John Ratzenberger

Cinematography

Miroslav Ondricek

Director

Milos Forman

Music

Randy Newman

Producer

Dino De Laurentiis, Paramount Pictures