I saw this film in 1986 and I was very thrilled. But it had even more impact on me when I came to L.A. for the first time two years later. It seemed as if the movie had exposed parts of the soul of this strange city to me. Many people I met there - some of them became friends - seemed to share features of the characters in "The Day of the Locust", maybe it had something to do with their unfulfilled dreams and their lack of success. One seems to understand who Hollywood an the movie industry became the way they are now. Another aspect of the picture is the incomparable feeling of horror it lays on you - even though the sun is shining most of the time and you have no idea what will actually happen in the end. I would love to see this film again ever since, but it's so hard to find. Only a single one of my friends has even heard of it. In my view one of Schlesingers masterpieces, strangely underrated and almost forgotten.
Review of The Day of the Locust
