Filmgoers will be eager to see the second film rendering of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel All the King’s Men, due out this fall, for its cast alone. Names include Sean Penn (in the lead), Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins and Patricia Clarkson.

But before seeing the new version, do check out the 1949 original, which starred Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge (in her first role) in this brilliant adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel, written and directed by Robert Rossen and out on DVD this week. This is one of those truly great epic features about politics and corruption, showing the rise and fall of one sullied, self-destructive senator, clearly based on the life of Louisiana’s notorious Huey Long. The film took the Best Picture Oscar, as well as Oscars for both Crawford and McCambridge.

A cool bit of trivia: the campaign sequences, seen at pivotal moments in the film, were directed by auteur Don (Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) Siegel. —Matthew Hays