I got a kick out of seeing Boris Karloff in this, still with great screen presence and released a little less than six months before he died at 81 (his career started 50 years earlier in 1918). He plays an aging, disillusioned horror film actor who is tired of making bad films and appearing before fans. It's not clear exactly how his character is going to intersect with that of a gunman who randomly goes on a shooting rampage, but eventually of course it does.
Peter Bogdanovich juxtaposes the fictitious horror of old movie monsters with the real horror of gun violence in America, and that seems to be the main thrust of a lean, straightforward plot. It was certainly topical at the time following the University of Texas tower shooting and political assassinations of 1968, and it's grown in relevance, since America has done nothing but take steps backward to control what should be considered a national emergency. The film does not preach in the slightest (as I'm in danger of here, apologies to anyone who reads this), but it comes across as a plea for gun control when we see this guy saunter into a shop and purchase guns and ammunition with ease.
I liked the film's directness, how it shows the suffering of the victims, and how it gives a little glimpse into all those 60's retro aspects - the home décor, slang, street scenes, and drive-in movies. It was nice to see Nancy Hsueh in a good supporting role, and clips from a pretty good old film (The Criminal Code (1930)), as well as a dog (The Terror (1963), which also starred Jack Nicholson). The film isn't majestic by any means, but there is enough here to make me recommend it. Oh, and loved this little tale Karloff tells in that wonderfully eerie voice of his:
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home through the darkness. Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions. And after a while the servant came back, white-faced and trembling, and said, 'Master, when I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and I turned to look, and I saw that it was Death that jostled me. And she looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Oh, master, please, lend me your horse, that I may ride away from this city and escape my fate. I will ride to Samarra and Death will not find me there.' So the merchant loaned him the horse and the servant mounted it, and dug his spurs into its flank, and as fast as the horse could gallop he rode towards Samarra. Then the merchant went to the marketplace and he saw Death standing in the crowd and he said to her, 'Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?' And Death said, 'I made no threatening gesture - that was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.'"
Peter Bogdanovich juxtaposes the fictitious horror of old movie monsters with the real horror of gun violence in America, and that seems to be the main thrust of a lean, straightforward plot. It was certainly topical at the time following the University of Texas tower shooting and political assassinations of 1968, and it's grown in relevance, since America has done nothing but take steps backward to control what should be considered a national emergency. The film does not preach in the slightest (as I'm in danger of here, apologies to anyone who reads this), but it comes across as a plea for gun control when we see this guy saunter into a shop and purchase guns and ammunition with ease.
I liked the film's directness, how it shows the suffering of the victims, and how it gives a little glimpse into all those 60's retro aspects - the home décor, slang, street scenes, and drive-in movies. It was nice to see Nancy Hsueh in a good supporting role, and clips from a pretty good old film (The Criminal Code (1930)), as well as a dog (The Terror (1963), which also starred Jack Nicholson). The film isn't majestic by any means, but there is enough here to make me recommend it. Oh, and loved this little tale Karloff tells in that wonderfully eerie voice of his:
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home through the darkness. Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions. And after a while the servant came back, white-faced and trembling, and said, 'Master, when I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and I turned to look, and I saw that it was Death that jostled me. And she looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Oh, master, please, lend me your horse, that I may ride away from this city and escape my fate. I will ride to Samarra and Death will not find me there.' So the merchant loaned him the horse and the servant mounted it, and dug his spurs into its flank, and as fast as the horse could gallop he rode towards Samarra. Then the merchant went to the marketplace and he saw Death standing in the crowd and he said to her, 'Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?' And Death said, 'I made no threatening gesture - that was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.'"