The Last Picture Show (1971) review

"The Last Picture Show is one of the key films of the American cinema renaissance of the seventies. Set during the early fifties, in the loneliest Texas nowheresville to ever dust up a movie screen, this aching portrait of a dying West, adapted from Larry McMurtry’s novel, focuses on the daily shuffles of three futureless teens—the enigmatic Sonny (Timothy Bottoms), the wayward jock Duane (Jeff Bridges), and the desperate-to-be-adored rich girl Jacy (Cybil Shepherd)—and the aging lost souls who bump up against them in the night like drifting tumbleweeds, including Cloris Leachman’s lonely housewife and Ben Johnson’s grizzled movie-house proprietor. Featuring evocative black-and-white imagery and profoundly felt performances, this hushed depiction of crumbling American values remains the pivotal film in the career of the invaluable director and film historian Peter Bogdanovich." - from Criterion.com

I hadn't seen this film in a long time but I remembered not liking when I first saw it. I thought it was depressing and somewhat boring - plus I preferred the directors other film "Paper Moon". You can't appreciate films like these until you're older though. It takes on a deeper meaning.

The 1970's were, in my opinion, probably the best decade for films. Some of the best directors started (or did their best work) in that era, like: Friedkin, Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, DePalma, Bogdanovich, Ashby, Altman, Peckinpah, Siegel, Yates, Carpenter, Malick, etc. They made game changing films like "Jaws", "The Exorcist" and "Star Wars".

Most of them wouldn't be able to find success in the 1980's, especially Bogdanovich who made three goods films (The Last Picture Show, What's Up Doc and Paper Moon) and then made flop after flop. I've tried watching "They All Laughed" at least twice and I cannot get into it. He basically wanted to make classical Hollywood style films in a modern era, which is really self-indulgent and ludicrous. I cringe every time I listen to him in an interview and talks about making screwball comedies or when he thinks he's the heir to Howard Hawks. He's a lecherous, cravat-wearing, sleazy guy who has a thing for girls half his age. His relationship with Dorothy Stratten (he met her when she was barely 20 and he was 40) and then her younger sister Louise (she was 20 when they married and he was 49) is creepy.

In spite of that, he's oddly still respected today. He did have talent and this movie definitely proves that. This film has one of the best ensembles ever and everyone brings their A-game. Cloris Leachman's performance in this is astounding - that last emotional scene is a gut punch. Her storyline in the movie reminded me of a better version of "The Graduate". Timothy Bottoms' character Sonny doesn't come from money like Benjamin Braddock. He doesn't spend his post high school days lounging and swimming in the pool and Cloris Leachman's character Ruth isn't a bored, rich housewife like Mrs. Robinson. Ruth doesn't even seduce Sonny - they genuinely care for each other.

It's crazy to think there was a time in cinema when a movie this raw, honest, artistic, elegiac and bleak was a hit at the box office. Just the fact that they let him make the film in black and white is nuts. When Scorcese made "Raging Bull" and Burton made "Ed Wood" they had each made the studios some money - not so in this case. That's why I like 1970's films - the studios took risks and didn't make movies that only followed some money-making formula.