Splendor in the Grass (DVD)

One of the most moving, sentimental, and loving films ever made. Beautiful from start to even the bittersweet end. My heart broke infinitely for Deanie. I empathized with her so much because I felt her infinitely intense pain and heartbreak after losing Bud and I have experienced something like this before but I won't go into that but just take my word for it--it was a very heartbreaking experience. Every time I watch the last scene I cry my eyes out--I cry like a baby. If only he waited for her they would have lived happily ever after. Bud was the greatest love of Deanie's life and even if Bud does not admit it or say it ; Deanie is the greatest love of his life. It broke my heart when Deanie told Bud when she saw him for the very last time in her beautiful white outfit that she was getting married next month to the boy she met at the sanitarium. And Bud says "Are you Deanie?...I'm so happy for you." But of course you know he doesn't really mean it and you can hear the pain in his voice as he says that. And you can hear the hurt in Deanie's voice when she told him the news and see the pain in her eyes--both of their eyes as if they both were about to cry. Bud and Deanie pretend that they're happy that they have married or are about to marry other people other than each other which is of course tearing both their hearts apart. Also, when I saw Deanie meet and hold Bud and that wife of his baby boy; I could see the hurt and pain in her face and eyes--that painful look on her face and eyes simply says "If only he just waited for me and loved me as much as I love and worship him, this little boy could have been our son together instead of him and that other girl he married." I know that when Bud saw Deanie so beautiful after 2 and a half years; he wished so much that he could just go back to her and regretted so much with all his heart marrying that other girl instead of waiting for his true love. But it was too late already-- it wouldn't have been if only he and that other girl didn't have a kid together already. Whenever I think of Deanie and Bud, I always think of that song by Ambrosia called "How Much I Feef" and that heartbreaking but beautiful line almost to the end "How's your life been going on I've got a wife now and years we've been going strong...but there's just something that I have to say, sometimes when we make love I still see your face,,," That's exactly Bud and Deanie's heartbreaking situation; they got stuck with not marrying their true loves or the greatest love of their lives which are each other. I bet whenever Bud makes love to that other girl he married; he wishes so much that it was Deanie that he was making love to instead of that other girl and of course sees Deanie's face instead of that second rate girl he married instead. Same thing for Deanie but of course my utmost sympathy and love goes to her unlike that Bud. I have a strong feeling that when she makes love to that husband of hers she wishes so much that it was Bud instead and sees his face instead of that other guy she was stuck with marrying. And anytime; I bet when she's holding his hand or just kissing him--I know she wishes with all her heart that he was Bud instead. So sad, so heartbreaking, and just makes you want to sob and weep to kingdom come; especially if you are a sentimental gal like me. Oh, almost always go through the whole box of Kleenex when I watch the last part, and open a new box when Deanie says goodbye to Bud and drives off with her two best friends. One of her friends too at the end asks her if she still loves Bud, she doesn't really answer but just smiles and says the poem by Wordsworth. But of course by the sweet smile in her face and look in her eyes--you know she'll love him forever and no man--even her husband whom she is about to marry later on could ever replace bud which is forever the greatest love of her life. And same goes especially for Bud; nobody could ever replace the greatest love of his life which is Deanie. Love this movie; this is one of the films that makes you think how fragile the heart and soul is, especially a young teenage girl's heart. I blame Bud; he was such a jerk. If only he could've controlled his sexual urges, he would have patiently waited for Deanie. Deanie loved him more than he loved her and that's a fact. So sad and heartbreaking. Nothing could ever bring back the hour of splendor in the grass for both of them especially for Deanie. That poor girl. My heart breaks for her infinitely.

I always loved this classic story with a young Natalie Wood. It's in B&W but the story and directing pass the test of time. No bad language. No offensive scenes. It was made back when the story itself was the entertainment and the writers, directors and society itself had a high standard and taste for intelligent entertainment.Natalie plays a girl from a lower class family who falls for the football star of her High School. The self-made wealthy parents of the boy (Warren Beatty) have higher plans for their son. An Ivy League education at Yale; marriage to a fine young lady with a good pedigree. But the young couple's love is true. Pressured hard by his parents, the boy tries to grudgingly obey them by breaking off with the smitten Natalie, causing her whole world to topple. She ends up having a mental break-down but finds her way back through therapy. The end is a twist and very bitter-sweet. It's sad because they both end up in a place that will forever be second choice for both of them. She has risen higher, and he has descended lower. But the longing and ache are felt by the viewers as the watch the fate of true love as it is lost but never will be forgotten, and the realization that something that could have been precious and beautiful will never be.It's a favorite movie that I have watched several times and will watch again. But like One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest, I always walk away sad that the ending couldn't have been different. Well worth the watch.

The plot of Splendor in the Grass revolves around the fateful love between two teens, Bud and Deanie, in late 20s Kansas. Seemingly destined to be together, they are thwarted by repressive sexual mores and their overbearing parents. Deanie suffers a nervous breakdown over their separation and Bud winds up a failure at Yale, eventually becoming a dirt farmer. This occurs against a backdrop of 20s financial speculation, culminating in the stock market crash and depression. Beatty is adequate as Bud, while Natalie Wood gives a deeply sensitive portrayal as Deanie. However, both principals are upstaged by the actors portraying their dominant parents. Pat Hingle, always excellent, plays Bud's wealthy father, a crude oil man. Audrey Christie is Deanie's mother, constantly vigilant about her daughter's purity. Both manage the difficult task of portraying sincerely loving parents who nevertheless have a baneful influence on their children's lives. I'd also like to put in a good word for Fred Stewart playing Del Loomis, Deanie's father. His role as the small town grocer is small, but he does subtle wonders in a scene at the end of the movie where he overrules his wife's objection to Deanie's seeing Bud again. One wants to weep at his paternal love. If the film's diatribe against sexual repression is no longer fresh, its depiction of the banality of smalltown life remains so. This is skillfully shown in the second scene, where the Loomises' frame house is shown behind a large graphic reading "Southeast Kansas 1928." By vaguely mentioning the story's setting, rather than specifying a town, the director, Kazan, emphasizes the generic quality of the setting and makes it more insignificant and insipid. Snoopy, gossiping neighbors, drunken oil workers, and insensitive classmates all contribute to this mood. The one character who attempts to break free from this stifling atmosphere, Bud's wayward sister, Ginny, comes to grief, as if to emphasize the impossibility of escape. Despite the somewhat pedestrian plot, the film is redeemed by the performances. The final scene, where Deanie, home after being cured of her breakdown, visits Bud, now married and living on a dusty farm, is very poignant. It's a vivid depiction of lovers separated by destiny. I would also like to praise David Amram's evocative, bluesy theme music. Played over the opening credits, it mightily prepares the viewer for the story he's about to see. I can't close this review without complaining that I was unable to access the theatrical trailer promised on my DVD box. I've never had this problem with any other DVD special features, and can only guess this was the manufacturer's fault, not mine.