Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Yes, DDA got a lot of buzz in 1975. It was certainly a well done film, although I didn't love the story. This was a great vehicle for Pacino and Cazale, who reunited from The Godfather saga. I guess we can blame DDA for ushering in a whole string of bank heist/hostage films..

Do you see some parallel between this and Taxi Driver? Sidney Lumet did direct some great films. Two of my favorites are 12 Angry Men and The Pawnbroker. Network has come down as a classic, although it left me feeling that it was overrated, similar in that aspect to The Graduate.

~Doc

I've seen 12 Angry Men my review a couple of times. I hate that movie with a red hot passion. Even though it's universally loved, I know of at least 2 other members here who hate it as much as I do.

I didn't care for the over the top story line in Network my review or the wacky The Graduate my review, Dustin Hoffman's near autistic actions didn't jive with the story line of a privileged jock from a wealthy family.

I've never seen The Pawnbroker, but I will add that one to my watch list, thanks for mentioning it. I see it has Rod Steiger and he almost always impresses me with his acting...and I'm a fan of powerful performances.

As I've mentioned many times on this site, I'm one of the few people on the planet who thinks Pacino should have Best Actor over Nicholson for Cuckoo's Nest.

Heh, heh. Well, there again "12 Angry" was from 1957. It would be done totally differently today, as it would have in 1975.

I agree with you about Network and The Graduate. That was a riot what you said about Hoffman. I too thought he was a spaz, and not the best choice for the role.

Oh, you must see The Pawnbroker. It was one of Steiger's premier roles. It's a heavy movie, but pretty moving, especially for 1964. And we get Geraldine Fitzgerald to boot! Such a deal..

~Doc

Yeah, sometimes I think it's the character itself who wins the award. Most actors would give anything for a role like R.P. McMurphy!

I'm partial to Five Easy Pieces. Of course I was also very partial to Karen Black..

~Doc

I think Nicholson should have won his first Oscar for Five Easy Pieces

Totally agree regarding The Pawnbroker...hands down, Steiger's best performance.

It's been a long time, like decades since I seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I need to see again.

I did watch Five Easy Pieces recently, my review

I thought Karen Black was pretty special in it. Which is weird because I had just seen her in Family Plot and she didn't stand out in that film. It all has to do with the character they play, like you said.

Director: Ray Milland
Writers: Jay Simms & John Morton (screenplay)
Cast: Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel
Genre: Thriller, Sci Fi

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Wasn't it neat how the jazzy beat-nik background music was totally incongruous to a post-nuclear war apocalypse?

I liked that jazzy beatnik score, it's like crazy man

You've recommended me some pretty great films, and that one is right there towards the tops. Do you know of any other similar movies? Especially from the time period. Doesn't have to be the same theme.

I gave it a 7, a pretty enjoyable flick that played things to scale .... have to point out though that no amount of prepping is gonna help anyone survive an 'end of the world disaster'

Ha that's funny, because I struggled with that very word description, and even tried to find a substitute word/phrase, but couldn't find one that flowed with the sentence.

Don't hold back Citizen, how did you really feel about this movie? Four and a half bags of popcorn? Loved your review and will be adding this to my watchlist.

I must concur regarding Maurice and Endora...I always got the impression that divorce didn't exist in Witches' World...in the eight seasons the show was on the air and all the scenes featuring Endora and Maurice, I don't remember the word divorce being used and I don't remember Samantha ever using it either. I always got the feeling that Samantha was secretly longing for her parents to reconcile, but Maurice couldn't control his wandering eye.

I'll be interested in reading your review. I'm not sure you'll love it like I did, but hey it has Frankie Avalon toting a gun, that's gotta be worth something.

I agree with that. I was going to post more about that when Captain Steel asked, but I forgot. So...as I remember Endora and Maurice never said they were married or divorced. I think it's like Captain said, in the witches world it was more comme ci comme ça. The witches often talk about flying around the world and living it up, so I don't think there were marriages in their world.

From the Harpies Bizarre website FAQ:

" Were Endora and Maurice divorced?

No, Endora threatened an ectoplasmic interlocutory (the witches’ version of Divorce Court) when Maurice paraded a new bombshell secretary around in front of her in #168, "Samantha's Good News", but they clearly did not live together or get along all that well on the show. Yet, they both accepted (begrudgingly) their daughter’s choice to live a mortal existence and popped in for visits with their grandchildren. Bewitched was very liberal for its time. Not only did they feature a couple that were separated, they also were the first sitcom to show bedroom scenes. Florence Henderson once attributed the Bradys to being the first couple to share a bed on TV, but Sam and Darrin were seen in a double bed (unlike Rob and Laura Petrie who managed to conceive little Richie despite their twin beds) since the 1st season in 1964."

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Actually, the first TV couple observed serving a bed together were Herman and Lily Munster.

I enjoyed this movie very much, and it strangely enough holds up to today. Milland was a little long in the tooth for this role, but his direction and acting were top notch. Hey, they used to have us get under our desks at school to rehearse for a nuclear attack, so this story fits right in!..

~Doc

Well, here's what Snopes says about that.