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The Magnificent Ambersons

The Magnificent Ambersons

Drama · Romance · 1942

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.

Movie details

The Magnificent Ambersons

“Real life screened more daringly than it’s ever been before!”

1942 Drama · Romance 1h 28m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Magnificent Ambersons?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Orson Welles

Written by

Orson Welles

Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten

Eugene Morgan

Dolores Costello

Dolores Costello

Isabel Amberson Minafer

Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter

Lucy Morgan

Tim Holt

Tim Holt

George Minafer

Agnes Moorehead

Agnes Moorehead

Fanny Minafer

Ray Collins

Ray Collins

Jack Amberson

Erskine Sanford

Erskine Sanford

Roger Bronson

Court is in session

Put The Magnificent Ambersons on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.