1968
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
We finally get to a really good film after a string of absolute snores. I have never heard anyone mention this film before in my life, but it turned out to a really great find from The List.
The story revolves around a young Vietnam veteran who kills his mother and wife before going on a shooting spree at a local drive in. Meanwhile, a faded movie star struggles to be relevant (or as I call it, The Robin Williams story).
I am fervently against acknowledging mass shooters or romanticizing them in fiction. However, this film's depiction of the killer, who is loosely based on Charles Witman, is very artfully done. I was entertained and interested the entire time, without feeling like the filmmakers were glorifying anyone or promoting anything.
The use of Boris Karloff is absolutely brilliant and kind of made me miss doing earlier films. It is a pretty upsetting film, but a very successful thriller.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Boris Karloff lived just long enough to see the finished film and receive the praise he deserved for his role in it.
Good Morning Amanda...
ReplyDeleteAnd i see we have 4 new postings to go at today.. so let me start with this one and a big 'I agree',, because I'm afraid I see our friend Mr. Bergman approaching.. and, after a long run of agreements on your comments.. we may be heading.. Well, lets not predict too strongly.
Loved this one too and I am glad that we could agree!
DeleteI am going to watch this right away. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteWow thanks!
DeleteIt was cool to see Boris Karloff again and nice that he lived to see the result.
ReplyDeleteI don't seem to dislike any of the films any more. I'm even wondering if this persistent attitude is starting to grate with anyone. But, surprisingly, I didn't like this.
ReplyDeleteI can't fault anything about the way it was made, even if the whole thing does feel like a TV movie. And I can hardly claim that it's failed in its job when my heart beat is racing away.
Probably it's just because I dislike disaster movies and their grim inevitability. You could say they're tragedies, but certainly not in the Shakespearian sense. There's no great drama, tension, mystery, romance nor even comedy in the lead-up. No one lets the team down and Boris is particularly good, but no great characters are brought before us. Apart from the killer's girlfriend, I don't think any of the victims had more than two lines of dialogue before he popped a cap in them.
I ask this rhetorically and accept that wiser people than me disagree, but who cares?
It doesn't annoy me, I would never want to take somebody's enjoyment out of a film, even if it wasn't for me. Although I guess I would be uncomfortable if somebody enjoyed Tetsuo too much. Also, the Robin Williams reference really dates this post. Cringe.
ReplyDelete