Ragtime

My least favorite film by Miloš Forman. This is probably because it is too raw and the typical Forman viewer will not appreciate James Cagney or the side storyline about the pioneers of optical toys who succeeded as filmmakers. Forman's audience understands the struggle for freedom and there are too many layers here. (11.05.2017)

Miloš Forman is a legend, no question about that. But *Ragtime* feels quite middle-of-the-road and doesn’t quite hit the highs you'd expect. It gave me a bit of a Great Beauty vibe by Paolo Sorrentino at the start—lots of lavish parties, food everywhere (which made me think of the contrast with Forman's early days in New York, living off free samples at stores). The film sets up several storylines—some intriguing, others not so much—but overall, it felt strangely impersonal. And honestly, the runtime didn’t do it any favors. Ragtime tackles some interesting American themes, but it’s not one I’ll revisit, unlike Amadeus or some of Forman's other works. (19.02.2021)

It's hard to say exactly what is wrong with Forman's film because it had an excellent crew, a great cast, well-known and highly dramatic source material, and high-quality elements such as music and set design. However, I was occasionally bored and the film did not captivate me in any way. In my opinion, it is unquestionably Forman's weakest foreign film. It lacks emotional engagement, pace, and coherence. Overall impression: 55%. It needed more daring editing and focus on a single protagonist and their fight for justice. The attempt to create a complex narrative about a certain period in the development of the USA slipped out of the director's hands... (30.03.2009)

An amazing film, I think one of Forman's very best. It presents a longing for freedom from multiple perspectives, gradually interweaving these initially seemingly separate stories and then tying them together at the end. All of this is seen by a man who was not an American and longed for the same things as his characters and was therefore able to look at the subject a little differently than his American counterparts might have. P.S. Great music by Randy Newman. (01.12.2019)

A strong topic, a beautiful retro setting and architectural style and a gripping second half that narrows the complex story into a spatially limited racial conflict. But in all that effort to be complex, the story doesn’t feel coherent at all; the motifs are thrown one after another and I really don’t get why the first act had to say what it primarily said. Forman had everything set for another great film, but he ended up with a good looking period puzzle with uneven pace and at times a haphazard sequence of scenes. But I loved seeing the old James Cagney and a young Sam Jackson, who’s been speaking the same way probably since kindergarten. 70% (06.03.2021)