Isadora (1968)

Opening on the French Riviera in 1927 during the last week of her life, through flashbacks we see the life of the revolutionary, free thinking, free spirited, controversial and celebrated dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (Vanessa Redgrave). Based on the books MY LIFE by Isadora Duncan and ISADORA, AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT by Sewell Stokes and directed by Karel Reisz (THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN). As far as movie biographies go, it's blessedly free of most of the cliches (Duncan wasn't a drug addict or alcoholic) of the genre but neither, due to the restrictions of the genre, very fluid as cinema. A film like this rises or falls on the shoulders of the actress playing Isadora Duncan and that is the film's piece de resistance, an extraordinary performance by Redgrave in the title role. It ranks with the greatest performances by an actress ever put on film (Redgrave won the Cannes film festival best actress award as well as the New York Film Critics award and an Oscar nomination), playing the fresh faced young Isadora and the henna haired aging Isadora with equal aplomb. So brilliantly that one overlooks a crucial fact ..... Redgrave is not a dancer. Fortunately, she carries herself as a dancer but when required to actually dance, she doesn't have a dancer's grace, a dancer's mobility. The film was originally shown in Los Angeles in 1968 as a three hour Roadshow cut to qualify for the Academy Awards but when released in the rest of the country in April 1969 (including New York), the film had been cut down to two hours and 20 minutes. Apparently, the three hour Roadshow cut no longer exists which is a pity. The dreary score is by Maurice Jarre. With Jason Robards, James Fox, John Fraser, Zvonimir Cmko and Bessie Love.