Review of The Last Picture Show (1971) by John S — 08 Mar 2010

The last picture show is tried and true, a masterpiece of cinema. Each scene is frank and honest, and gives the audience, whether you were alive then or not, a glimpse of what life was like for teens in the 50's. And if you were alive then, a reminder of how life was.

The acting is 100% the best thing about this movie. Every actor does more than a fine job. Jeff Bridges, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, and Ben Johnson all produced Academy award nominated (and is 2 cases winning) performances. But that's not to say they were the lone stand-outs. Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, and Sam Bottoms all do great as well.

With a cast this big, a script this tight and touching, and the overall controversial-ness of it all, it would take a director with a lot of skill and knowledge of how to do his job to pull this off. Peter Bogdanovich has that skill and knowledge. He drives the movie all the way home, and scores a victory in every sense of the word. He started the career of at least half of the actors and actresses in this, and made what is hailed as one of cinema's greatest achievements.

The cinematography is another great element of The Last Picture Show. It looks and feels as if it was plucked straight out of the 50's. Every house, car, truck, feeling, emotion, eye-gaze, handshake, and even the linens on the beds look brilliantly stylized to fit the movie.

I could see where some may turn away from this movie. It touches some pretty risque subjects (under-age sex specifically), but it's worth a try. The Last Picture Show exceeds in virtually every way possible and stands as one of my favorite movies of all time. It does start out a little slow moving, and (save for a few scenes) doesn't really pick up all that much. But that's what is so good about it. It makes it real.

The movie gets it's name from the heartfelt ending, when friends Duane and Sonny become friends again. From there Duane takes of to join the army by his famous last words "I'll see you soon, if I don't get shot". As I said, frank and honest, but sincere. The Last Picture Show touches a lot of different issues of growing up. Pressure to have sex, have fun, and life life your way. But this isn't exactly a movie about love, this is a movie about life. It's about the values and morals made by growing up in a small town where "You can't sneeze without someone offering you a handkerchief".

The Last Picture Show makes you feel like your in their world. And any movie that can do that, deserves nothing less than full attention and praise. And because of it's wonderful direction, hefty script, and highly realized acting, it has gotten it from all sides.