Good Attempt

Rating: 7/10 (15 September 2006)

John Steinbeck's 500+ page novel 'The Grapes of Wrath' is a masterpiece. This film of the book is good but does not reach the books level of greatness.
The film just scrapes the surface of the book. It doesn't show the pain, suffering and hardship that the Joads and families like them have to go through. It's not gritty enough and lacks bite. It doesn't show them toiling and sweating in the fields. You never get intimate with the family and the feelings that you develop for them in the book simply do not appear in the film.
Also, what happens to Noah in the film? He simply vanishes. In the book we know what happens to him. Certain scenes also sound as if they were shot in a tin studio - I hoped they sacked that sound op!!! Worth watching but could be a much better.