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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Truly Dreadful Film

Too much of everything

Good concept, poorly executed.

I read a trivia question the other day, asking what was the most dangerous job in the world, or something to that effect. It was a multiple choice question, and I instantly picked the correct answer, because I'd seen the movie Sometimes a Great Notion.This Paul Newman movie is about a bunch of men known as loggers. They chop down enormous, mighty trees for a living. Environmentalists, feel free to skip this movie. The movie alternates between extremely long, boring scenes of tree chopping, and a family quarrel. Paul Newman and Henry Fonda disagree on how to run the family business, and Lee Remick is bored being left home alone all the time, and Michael Sarrazin, the wayward brother, comes home to really make a mess of things! All in all, it's an advertisement to not be a logger. Chopping down trees is extremely dangerous, and it'll make your unhappy wife take notice of your brother.It's a little boring, in a 1970s way, but it's not the worst movie in the world. I just hope they didn't chop down a bunch of real trees during the making of the movie, but the scenes looked so lifelike, I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Adapted from the 1964 Ken Kesey novel by John Gay ('Soldier Blue'), 'Sometimes a Great Notion' follows the struggles of the Stampers, a family of fiercely independent loggers on Oregon's central coast who are fighting to remain working in the midst of a local strike against a large timber corporation. Henry Fonda plays Henry Stamper, the ferocious family patriarch; Paul Newman (who also directed the film after Richard A. Colla left the project) is Henry, Jr. ("Hank"), the irascible eldest son; Richard Jaeckel is Joe Ben, the stolid second son; Michael Sarrazin is Leland, the prodigal third son; Lee Remick is (miscast as) Hank's neglected wife, Viv. As 'New York Times' film critic Vincent Canby wittily pointed out in a contemporary review, 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is "an example of a genre of action film that flourished in the 1930's in movies about tuna fisherman, bush pilots, high-wire repairmen and just about any physical pursuit you can think of with the possible exception of toll-taking, which (except on some thruways) lacks the necessary amount of danger." 'Variety' characterized the film as "a sort of contemporary 'western' in the timber territory." Indeed, 'Sometimes a Great Notion' might best be thought of as an extended episode of Bonanza with chainsaws; the emphasis is on old fashion family solidarity, rugged Americanism, and hyper-masculine prowess in a wilderness setting. Implicitly anti-union and anti-feminist, book and film express a reactionary, anachronistic ideology that augurs the retrogressive Age of Reagan still eight years away when it was released. Despite its unsavory politics, 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is an entertaining film with some highly memorable set pieces, e.g., Newman's Hank Stamper dismantling a union official's desk with a chainsaw; Jaeckel's Joe Ben pinned under a log and slowly drowning in a rising river, with Hank powerless to help; and the final, resounding image: Fonda's severed arm—middle finger extended—strapped to the Stampers' boat mast as a standard of everlasting defiance. Incidentally, book and film derive their titles from the 1936 Leadbelly song, "Goodnight Irene": Sometimes I live in the country/Sometimes I live in the town/Sometimes I get a great notion/To jump in the river and drown." 'Sometimes a Great Notion' was the first movie shown on HBO when it began broadcasting on November 8, 1972. VHS (1998).

Knowing nothing about this firm, apart from the very handy cast, I was surprised and pleased how good it was. The story is simple and not especially original - a family in the logging business defy a strike by the unionised labour in their district and keep working - but it is told with considerable intelligence and gusto.The entire cast are excellent; they are working with a strong script (an adaptation from a book, which I have not read); and Paul Newman proves himself a skillful director, in this first- up effort. The film's greatest impact point, however, is its setting, in Oregon, and the extensive and exciting sequences of tree felling, trimming, hauling and rafting. These are not fillers; they lie the heart of the film and drive the narrative. Two scenes stand out, in particular: when Hank (Newman's character) is trying to keep his brother (who is trapped under a log in the river) from drowning, by mouth to mouth resuscitation underwater; and Henry Fonda, the mortally injured family patriarch Henry Stamper, in hospital, defying death right to his last gasp.The central conflict is between the independent, accountable-to-no-one Stamper family and the lumbermen's union, but the more telling commentary on the Stamper philosophy is provided by Lee Remick's character, Hank's wife. On the back of a typically sensitive and wry Remick performance, she is the real counterpoint to the macho, 'life is work, shagging and drinking' world view the family personify. It's not that she wishes to tear it down or even repudiate it; she simply finds it is not enough.The camera-work and editing are first class. The DVD looks and sounds great. There is enormous energy in the production, which builds to a powerful and convincing conclusion.

The death scene involving the characters of Mr. Newman and Mr. Jaeckel was as moving and emotional as i have seen in 70 years of watching films. Others have stated that this film fails to live up to the novel by Ken Kesey. On its own merit this reviewer takes under consideration the fine ensemble acting and the rich photography to make this film memorable. Lee Remick, because of her talent, always turns in a believable performance. This movie is being featured on some movie channels this weekend, so i strongly recommend it to viewers. Its important to note the direction of Paul Newman. This is one his earliest directorial efforts.