Film Forum

U.S., 1981
Directed by Miloš Forman
Starring James Cagney, Mary Steenburgen, Howard Rollins, Brad Dourif, Elizabeth McGovern
Based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow
Approx. 155 min. DCP.

When Forman left Czechoslovakia for America, he immediately (and permanently) keyed into the dramatic crosscurrents that animated the culture, and in E.L. Doctorow’s historical novel about the early 1900s, he worked on his largest canvas to date. But rather than give “RAGTIME” the “NASHVILLE” treatment, Forman and his screenwriter, Michael Weller, focused mainly on revealing this world through the story of an African-American jazz pianist (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) who gets entangled in class and racial conflicts. A beautiful production, it also has a willingness to engage in the uncomfortable issues that continue to plague the nation. – Scott Tobias, The New York Times

Reviews

“A loving, beautifully mounted, graceful film that creates its characters with great clarity.”
– Roger Ebert