King Vidor has made a gallant attempt to achieve a masterpiece in The Crowd, and even though it doesn't quite come off, the effort is sufficient in itself to earn a vast amount of credit. For directors with Mr. Vidor's courage are rare in Hollywood.

| Oct 7, 2021

Vidor, playing to that crowd, sternly warns against going it alone.

| Dec 15, 2014

In this powerful silent drama from director King Vidor, James Murray gives a superlative performance as an idealistic young man trapped in a dead-end job whose ambitions are dogged by tragedy.

| Aug 12, 2014

A truly great work of art: a one-of-a-kind blend of domestic drama and a depiction of urban geometry.

| Original Score: 10/10 | May 9, 2014

The Crowd is a masterpiece - moving, funny, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful. It's a must for anyone interested in the roots of moviemaking, and it's a good choice to show to someone who thinks they wouldn't like silent films.

| Sep 11, 2013

A remarkably prescient picture.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 26, 2013

The camera style owes something to Murnau, but the sense of space -- the vast environments that define and attack his protagonists -- is Vidor's own.

| Feb 26, 2013

King Vidor made a visually striking, influential feature about ordinary people and their anonymous, impersonal lives in the Big City

| Original Score: A- | Jun 10, 2011

Occasionally pushes its patriotism motif too far, but is extremely successful in all other ways, particularly in its strong portrayal of a full circle self-realization, love story, and sweeping portrait of America.

| Original Score: 73/100 | Jul 5, 2010

A drab actionless story of ungodly length and apparently telling nothing.

| Jul 7, 2008

Casts a dark shadow over the American Dream.

| Original Score: A+ | May 22, 2007

Plot in The Crowd is structured as the progression of a life, with all the undulations of ups and downs driven by the director's faith in human emotion.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 25, 2007

Throughout this subject Mr. Vidor shrewdly avoids the stereotyped conception of setting forth scenes, and in more than one case he uses his camera in an inspired fashion.

| Mar 25, 2006

The performances are absolutely flawless, and astonishing location work in the busy New York streets (including a giddy tour of Coney Island on a blind date) lends a gritty ring of truth to his intensely human odyssey.

Full Review | Feb 9, 2006

A stalwart repository for many of the themes and images of German Expressionism.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 19, 2005

my favorite silent film: poetically told with dazzling direction

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 28, 2005

Vidor's picture of the city is still impressive after all these years.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 11, 2004

Remarkably meshing 1920s screen Expressionism with location shooting, Vidor created a bittersweet parable on 20th century urban America...

| Feb 27, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 22, 2003

This is King Vidor's silent masterpiece, in which he turns a cynical eye towards the embodiment of the American Dream.

| Jun 17, 2003