The Fountainhead
King Vidor / US, 1948 / 114 min.
Megalomaniac, ruthless architects have proven a great source of inspiration for the cinema. For example, the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s (in)famous book The Fountainhead, about hyper-ambitious architect Howard Roark, was a direct influence on Coppola's Megalopolis.
In King Vidor’s ambitious interpretation of Ayn Rand’s (in)famous novel, Gary Cooper shines as libertarian architect Howard Roark (inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright), whose unshakeable individualism and uncompromising vision are challenged by a left-leaning architecture critic (Robert Douglas). When a society columnist (Patricia Neal) sets her sights on Roark, an improbable romance ensues. But Roark’s commitment to his idealistic mission is put to the test when he has to make compromises for big business.
The Fountainhead’s incredible production design is charged with Freudian motifs. This hotly debated film adaptation proved divisive at the time of its release as an extreme celebration of individualism, but in the meantime has become one of Vidor’s most interesting, personal films – a rich work ripe for re-evaluation.
Screening on 35mm (Park Circus).
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Director
King Vidor
Production year
1948
Country
US
Original title
The Fountainhead
Length
114 min.
Language
English
Subtitles
NONE
Format
35mm
Part of
Feat or Failure
Magnum opus or flawed masterpiece? No film divided opinion at the last Cannes film festival as much as Francis Ford Coppola's latest epic, Megalopolis. To accompany the première, Eye is screening a selection of other films that turned out to be way ahead of their time – in spite of not being well understood in their own era.
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