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The Angel Levine

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The Angel Levine
Directed byJán Kadár
Screenplay byBill Gunn
Ronald Ribman
Story byBernard Malamud
Produced byChiz Schultz
StarringZero Mostel
Harry Belafonte
Ida Kaminska
Milo O'Shea
Gloria Foster
CinematographyRichard C. Kratina
Edited byCarl Lerner
Music byZdenek Liska
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
1970
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Angel Levine is a 1970 American film directed by Jan Kadar and based on a short story by Bernard Malamud about an impoverished New York City tailor (played by Zero Mostel) unable to work due to health problems, creating a financial strain since his wife (Ida Kaminska) is seriously ill. The tailor's faith is challenged when a man calling himself Alexander Levine (Harry Belafonte) comes into his life, claiming to be his guardian angel. The angel is concerned that he must make the tailor believe in his mission, or else he will be unable to earn his angelic wings.[1][2]

The Angel Levine was poorly received when it was first released, with Roger Greenspun of the New York Times stating that "given the reputations of the talents involved, [the film is] a failure of major proportions. I have seen worse movies. But I cannot remember having seen a movie so nervously at odds with itself, so timid in its impulses, and so mistaken in its choices."[3] When the film was released on DVD in 2002, Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk commented: "The Angel Levine is one of dozens of interesting movies in the United Artists library that seem to have been created for the purpose of being obscure.”[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "DVD Savant, Glenn Erickson's Review Column at DVD Talk". DVDtalk.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. ^ "The Angel Levine". TV Guide. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Movie Review - The Angel Levine - Screen: Kadar's 'The Angel Levine':Belafonte Is the Angel of Malamud's Tale Zero Mostel Portrays a Troubled Tailor - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.