DbcultAccessing Vault...
6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The World Changes remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have two hours and a weird interest in how Chicago became the meat capital of the world, you should probably watch this. It’s for people who like those massive, sprawling stories that cover fifty years in one sitting.
If you hate movies where people talk about 'progress' every five minutes, stay away. It’s a lot of Paul Muni being very intense.
The movie starts out in the Dakotas. It’s all wide open spaces and Paul Muni looking very young and wearing a lot of flannel.
He wants to move cattle. He wants to feed the world.
It’s a bit like a live-action version of a historical textbook, but with more shouting. The first half is actually pretty exciting in a 'man vs. nature' kind of way.
Then he gets to Chicago and meets Mary Astor. She plays a woman who basically hates everything about the outdoors and smells.
She’s great at looking disgusted. Her face when she sees a cow is honestly the highlight of the first hour.
I noticed a very young Mickey Rooney running around for a bit. He has so much energy it’s almost distracting from the actual plot. 🏃♂️
It’s definitely not as lighthearted as something like Bosko's Holiday. It gets heavy.
Once the money starts rolling in, the movie gets cynical. Orin becomes a rich jerk, and his kids are even worse.
The aging makeup on Paul Muni is... something else. By the end, he looks like a deflated balloon with a mustache.
There is one scene at a fancy dinner party where nobody is happy. The silence in that room felt more real than the big speeches about the stock market.
The pacing is a bit weird. It jumps years so fast you might get whiplash.
One minute he’s a pioneer, the next he’s complaining about his daughter-in-law’s spending habits. It’s a bit like The Flirt if there were way more dead cows involved.
I liked the scenes in the actual meat plants. They look dirty and loud and dangerous. 🥩
You can tell the director really cared about the machinery. The family drama stuff feels a bit more 'painted by numbers' in comparison.
Aline MacMahon is the best part, honestly. She plays the mother who stays on the farm and she has this look in her eyes that says she knows exactly how this is going to end.
The movie tries to cover way too much ground. It’s like they had three different scripts and just smashed them together.
It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s interesting to see how they used to make these 'big' movies. The scale is huge.
I felt tired by the end of it. In a good way? Maybe.
It makes you want to go outside and breathe some air that doesn't smell like a slaughterhouse. 🐄
If you’re looking for something shorter, you could try Singing Saps, but this is better if you want to feel the weight of time.
Paul Muni really gives it his all. Even when he's just staring at a wall, he's acting so hard you can almost see his pulse.
IMDb —
1926
Community
Log in to comment.
