I made a point of checking this one out primarily because the average rating was so high when I was going through Oliver Reed's work...
I think it's currently at 6.9 or something... Unreal.
This thing is a mess from start to finish. The only person who does even passable acting is Reed, and it's hardly his finest work. He successfully comes across as crazy, which is kind of required because the script is so jumpy, illogical and disjointed.
The script seems like two unrelated short stories stapled together and the whole opening third of the movie just seems like a vehicle to get that lousy "Black Leather" song in there.
Did the producer's nephew record it and they wanted it to be a hit single or something? The gang of hoods wasn't the least bit scary. I don't imagine they would have been intimidating even in the early 60s. They would have probably got beaten up at Woodstock.
I understand that some people might want to recognize this movie as some sort of prototype for government conspiracy films... But really it is kind of like studying extensively all the old rationales for why the world must be flat. Filmmaking and writing have moved way beyond The Damned. It is of marginal value even as a historical footnote.
I only suffered through to the end because the rating was so high and several reviewers on here had suggested I would be left thinking and pondering after the movie's conclusion.
I am pondering...but I am only pondering why I bothered.
One star for Oliver Reed, one star for decent cinematography, one star because the final 30 minutes is better than the first 60. But why did we have to sit through all that crap to get there? Imagine if they had condensed the Wizard of Oz to 30 minutes and then added 60 minutes at the start of Dorothy and Toto getting harassed in Kansas by a barber shop quartet for no reason.
Alternatively, I could give this movie 10 stars and just deduct one for every decade of age difference between the male and female leads. Also gives us 3/10.
Oh, whatever. One more star out of charity. If you watch it, just start at the 45 minute mark. You'll get more out of what the movie wanted to and should have been.
I think it's currently at 6.9 or something... Unreal.
This thing is a mess from start to finish. The only person who does even passable acting is Reed, and it's hardly his finest work. He successfully comes across as crazy, which is kind of required because the script is so jumpy, illogical and disjointed.
The script seems like two unrelated short stories stapled together and the whole opening third of the movie just seems like a vehicle to get that lousy "Black Leather" song in there.
Did the producer's nephew record it and they wanted it to be a hit single or something? The gang of hoods wasn't the least bit scary. I don't imagine they would have been intimidating even in the early 60s. They would have probably got beaten up at Woodstock.
I understand that some people might want to recognize this movie as some sort of prototype for government conspiracy films... But really it is kind of like studying extensively all the old rationales for why the world must be flat. Filmmaking and writing have moved way beyond The Damned. It is of marginal value even as a historical footnote.
I only suffered through to the end because the rating was so high and several reviewers on here had suggested I would be left thinking and pondering after the movie's conclusion.
I am pondering...but I am only pondering why I bothered.
One star for Oliver Reed, one star for decent cinematography, one star because the final 30 minutes is better than the first 60. But why did we have to sit through all that crap to get there? Imagine if they had condensed the Wizard of Oz to 30 minutes and then added 60 minutes at the start of Dorothy and Toto getting harassed in Kansas by a barber shop quartet for no reason.
Alternatively, I could give this movie 10 stars and just deduct one for every decade of age difference between the male and female leads. Also gives us 3/10.
Oh, whatever. One more star out of charity. If you watch it, just start at the 45 minute mark. You'll get more out of what the movie wanted to and should have been.