In 1967 when this film first came out,I & everyone else raved about how funny & clever this political satire was. I am reasonably sure it was on my best of the year list. It was on many peoples list.
I saw this tonight,I am sorry to say my original 10 rating is now only a weak 6.
The problem is that now it is exceedingly dated, In the 1960's we were both in a cold war (Soviet Union) & Vietnam, also we had the hippie generation to contend with.Analysts of all kinds were all over the place. The Telephone Company is no longer a one firm monopoly.
There is one long scene involving a telephone booth (today you cant find any,public phones are almost extinct).
None of these developments are funny or even slightly humorous today..
James Coburn was at the beginning of his career in 1967 & this was a major starring role for him. He was a very talented actor who could do nearly any type of role..
The rest of the cast were mostly unknowns or from Television. GodfreCambridge was the biggest name player. William Daniels has a nice role as well.
It really is not fair to use todays standard on a 41 year old film. I must do it for this movie. It is dated & no longer funny.
There are a few racist type lines as well, They were not considered racist then.
Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 70 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)
I saw this tonight,I am sorry to say my original 10 rating is now only a weak 6.
The problem is that now it is exceedingly dated, In the 1960's we were both in a cold war (Soviet Union) & Vietnam, also we had the hippie generation to contend with.Analysts of all kinds were all over the place. The Telephone Company is no longer a one firm monopoly.
There is one long scene involving a telephone booth (today you cant find any,public phones are almost extinct).
None of these developments are funny or even slightly humorous today..
James Coburn was at the beginning of his career in 1967 & this was a major starring role for him. He was a very talented actor who could do nearly any type of role..
The rest of the cast were mostly unknowns or from Television. GodfreCambridge was the biggest name player. William Daniels has a nice role as well.
It really is not fair to use todays standard on a 41 year old film. I must do it for this movie. It is dated & no longer funny.
There are a few racist type lines as well, They were not considered racist then.
Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 70 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)