DVD Review

The Fountainhead (2006)

EW's GRADE
B+

Details Rated: Unrated; DVD Release Date: Nov 07, 2006; With: Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal

One of the loopiest films from '40s Hollywood, The Fountainhead, King Vidor's adaptation of Ayn Rand's polemic about uncompromising architect Howard Roark (Cooper) bursts with high-minded chatter on conformity and integrity, plus lots of phallic symbols (tall buildings, pneumatic drills). On one level, it's fairly campy; on another, it's a radiant fever dream with striking set design and an erotic undertow no doubt fueled by Cooper and Neal's affair at the time.

EXTRAS
A doc reveals that the Roark-like Rand would not allow a single word of her screenplay to be changed.

Originally posted Nov 10, 2006 Published in issue #907 Nov 17, 2006 Order article reprints

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