Hacker Cinema
The Last Picture Show
1971 · Film · 119 min
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
4 positive1 neutralfrom 5 commenters
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7 comments on Hacker News
"The last Picture Show" (1971) is a B&W "coming of age" film by Peter Bogdanovich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Picture_Show
Not disagreeing with the economics behind it, but this movie-goer walked away decades ago when the "super hero" genre became Hollywood's focus.
Even before that though otherwise decent movies were starting to play heavy handed and treating their audiences for children that need lecturing — need "The Moral of the Story" spelled out for them. I disliked the "book-ending" that was popular when Titanic, Saving Private Ryan (and even Schindler's List) were released.
Music in film too has, for some time now, been telling us how to feel much too often. In romps or swashbuckling films it's probably an expected part of the genre. I just wish there were more quiet films where we are left to feel for ourselves.
Billy's death in The Last Picture Show (and as metaphor for the death of the town) is an excellent example of old-school film making where you just let the film do the talking. And then it is us, the viewers, who are left talking about it, thinking about it afterward.
Maybe the biggest tragedy of heavy-handed film making is it leaves nothing to really even ponder afterward. I kind of like films that leave you thinking about them much, much later.
While I remember seeing great films like Cool Hand Luke, Summer of '42 and The Last Picture Show, working through the "1001 Movies to See Before You Die" has been a real eye-opener to how much film can be art and how far we fallen from anything close to that.
Perhaps we'll get another "New Wave" of young filmmakers to break the corporate log-jam.
> The book’s morality was a sticking point even for the most sympathetic critics, with Edwin Muir lamenting that “his good people are consistently good, his evil figures immovably evil”.
Yeah, I love The Lord of the Rings: read and re-read it as a teen (read it to my daughters when they were young — twice because the younger one was too young the first go-through). But I don't disagree with a lot of the criticism of the book.
I don't know the term that the critics would use, but I tend to say that I like "small" stories in general. A small story is more like the film "The Last Picture Show". A story where the entire world is saved from the embodiment of evil by a handful of determined but powerless good guys is the opposite of what I would call a "small" story.
But I forgive Lord of the Rings because I put it on a different shelf and in another corner. Tolkien wrote perhaps the second best "fable" of all time. It seems strange to me to hold it up to 20th Century literary trends.
Last Picture Show is a great film.
I've always felt Bond's success was due to Sir. Sean Connery.
I don't think it was about race at all, it was about charisma.
I even go further and say we would probally not have a Bond theatrical legacy, if it wasen't for Connery's decision to be an actor.
Oh yea, Rolex owes so much advertising dollars to the estate of Connery.
That iconic wrist shot sold millions of Oyster Subs.
I repair watches part time. There are guys who bring me their overpriced broken watch, and when we meet at the door, I would swear they were brought up watching Bond movies.
Most sub owners just want a working quality watch, but there are others that take on Connery's persona in little ways.
Kinda like the young guys who wanted to be fighter pilots after watching Top Gun, or be Bud in Urban Coyboy, or living Tony's life after watching Saturday Night Fever. Most of you are probally to young, but after Saturday Night Fever, America became disco dancers. After Urban Cowboy, Stock brokers were doing the two step, and had a slight accent overnight. It was funny. And yes--I bought a polyester shirt. And yes--I bought cowboy boots. I let it go though. I'm embarrassed even writing about it.
My point is certain charismatic actors are the reason certain films are great.
The color of America is changing, and there will be actors that out shine some of our greats.
(I am a total movie snob. I don't think Bond movies are magic. I do think Connery, and Travolta, had huge natural star power though. All my great movies were are in black, and white. I've noticed The Last Picture Show is on tv today. If you haven't seen it you must. Peter Bogdonovich captured a certain time in Texas brilliantly. All the actors did a phenomenal job. Billy is Timothy Bottons brother in real life. Have a good weekend guys.)
Just watched "Hud" again recently. "The Last Picture Show" is another beautiful film based on McMurtry's sober novels. I recommend both.
What a loss to literature but McMurtry's legacy lives on.
If anyone is looking for novels of his try out the Thalia trilogy Larry wrote. It bleeds Texan vibes in a very human, realistic fashion. And if you're into film there's a movie based on the last book The Last Picture Show in which McMurtry was also involved with the screen play. They filmed it in Archer City, the town he grew up in and heavily inspired the novel.
R.I.P. Larry!