Jack-Nicholson Movie Reviews

Not sure what to make of this film. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Summary:
While Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) was gone for supplies for his mining operation (very small mining operation of only a couple of people in the middle of the desert) his brother and one of their friends got into some trouble in town. They both return to the camp but Willet's brother flees the camp and the friend is gunned down in the middle camp. Another friend, Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), sees what happens, but it upsets him so much that he hides in the mine with his gun. When Willet finally returns he has to talk Coley out of the cave. Not long after he does, a woman (Millie Perkins), whose name we never find out, appears and hires Willet to guide her across the desert to a city. Willet agrees to go but only if Coley can come.

So they set out, with Coley as something of an errand boy and Willet as the rough and tumble tracker. What Willet and Coley don't realize is that the woman has already hired a gunmen that is riding behind them and trying to stay out of sight to kill the person they are tracking. Though they were told they were just helping the woman across the desert, they are actually tracking someone, and the woman wants that someone dead.

When Coley accidentally sends the wrong signal to the hired gun, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), Billy appears at their camp then joins the entourage. As they finally catch up to the person they are 'hunting', Billy kills Coley for trying to warn Willet that Billy is likely just going to kill them all in the end. When Billy passes out from the heat, Willet beats him up then crushes his gun hand with a rock, preventing him from being able to accomplish his mission.

While Willet and Billy are fighting, the woman chases the prey up a mountain side. Once Willet finishes with Billy he enters the chase and reaches the woman in time to ?

Sorry about the question mark there. The truth is, you aren't exactly sure what happens. You hear gun shots and it seems like the prey (whom I believe is Willet's brother), the woman, and Willet all die. But you can't be sure. The only person that looks to be alive when the movie ends is Billy.

My Comments:
I must admit, even though nothing is ever really happening, that the set up of the movie is good enough to make you want to keep watching it. You don't ever really know what is going on and you never actually find out, either. But, because we are human, we want to try to figure it out. So, we keep watching, hoping to pick up on some detail that will help the movie make sense. None are forthcoming.

The soundtrack reminds me of the original The Planet of the Apes, where the music just doesn't seem to fit the action, and there are long periods of time when you would think there should be music, but there isn't any. I guess, if the intent of the director was to give the impression that this story was taking place over an indeterminate period of time, he accomplished his goal. To the viewer, the movie seems to go on forever and it feels like they spend months out in the desert.

Overall, the movie kept my interest most of the time just because I wanted to figure out what was going on. It never made much sense, which I guess is okay. I definitely don't think this movie is for everyone. I didn't think it was too bad, but I didn't really love it either.

In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films are subtly interconected.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind" which is a straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features sharp performances from Cameron Mitchell, the great Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others.

After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the "The Shooting," former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

THE SHOOTING (1966): Willet Gashade (Warren Oates) and his dimwitted friend Coley (Will Hutchins) are in a state of growing paranoia after their partner is inexplicably shot to death by an unseen assassin at their small mining camp. The murder may have been in retaliation for the accidental trampling death of "a little person" in town, ostensibly by Gashade's brother, who had left camp in a great hurry immediately prior to the shooting. The next morning, while the two remain confused and suspicious over this disturbing mystery, a strange young woman (Millie Perkins) shoots her horse to death outside of the camp and then offers Gashade a thousand dollars to lead her to a place called Kingsley. He accepts even though he makes no attempt to hide his distrust. Intrigued by The Woman, Coley offers to tag along. On their journey, the trio are tracked at a distance by a black clad stranger, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, The Woman laughingly toys with Coley's emotions and refuses to answer any of Gashade's questions. Spear eventually joins them and proves to be a most despicable companion. Hostile and abusive in the extreme, Spear is a gunslinger cohort of The Woman, who is herself quickly revealed to be every bit as wicked as Gashade had suspected from the beginning. Eventually, the strange journey ends in bloody disarray at the foot of a rock-strewn mountain, where Gashade comes face to face with the answer to the mystery, at great cost.

One of the most celebrated of all cult movies, and deservedly so, THE SHOOTING is a truly great example of the once vital western form, a triumphant dying gasp for the genre. This compelling tale of weird vengeance is directed with icy cold brilliance by Monte Hellman. The perennially underrated Hellman works wonders on a lowbudget, with stunning cinematography (by Gregory Sandor) provoking a strong aura of the mysterious and uncanny even in the most realistically detailed scenes.

A small but terrific cast helps brings the occasionally mystical narrative to life. Warren Oates plays the world weary and wise Grashade with his usual gritty style, making him a suitable anti-hero for this dark tale. He's an excellent foe to Jack Nicholson's irredeemably evil Billy Spear, one of the most repulsively mean of all movie villains. As bad as he is, Nicholson is ultimately simply a well armed servant at the beck and call of The Woman, who is beautifully played by Millie Perkins for maximum hissability. Both Spear and The Woman engineer the destruction of Oates' foolish sidekick Coley, whose decency earns him an undeserved fate; Will Hutchins' charmingly sweet performance provides the film with its only moments of gentleness.

Richly ambiguous and by turns realistic and dreamlike, THE SHOOTING is a sporadically baffling but undeniably heady ride into the desert. The creepy ending makes this one of those rare movies that will compel you to immediately rewatch the whole thing from beginning to end, if only so you can try to satisfy your curiosity about what it just might REALLY be all about. Its THAT great of a movie.

The VCI DVD presents THE SHOOTING in a fine, modestly letterboxed transfer that captures the film in all its eerie widescreen glory. Since the film never received a theatrical release and has been shown only rarely on television, this is the first time most people will have ever had the chance to see this film in its intended aspect ratio. The only extra is a terrific and highly informative audio commentary from Hellman and Perkins, who vividly recall with candor and humor the filming of this ultra-cheap, high-class production.

Not sure what to make of this film. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Summary:
While Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) was gone for supplies for his mining operation (very small mining operation of only a couple of people in the middle of the desert) his brother and one of their friends got into some trouble in town. They both return to the camp but Willet's brother flees the camp and the friend is gunned down in the middle camp. Another friend, Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), sees what happens, but it upsets him so much that he hides in the mine with his gun. When Willet finally returns he has to talk Coley out of the cave. Not long after he does, a woman (Millie Perkins), whose name we never find out, appears and hires Willet to guide her across the desert to a city. Willet agrees to go but only if Coley can come.

So they set out, with Coley as something of an errand boy and Willet as the rough and tumble tracker. What Willet and Coley don't realize is that the woman has already hired a gunmen that is riding behind them and trying to stay out of sight to kill the person they are tracking. Though they were told they were just helping the woman across the desert, they are actually tracking someone, and the woman wants that someone dead.

When Coley accidentally sends the wrong signal to the hired gun, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), Billy appears at their camp then joins the entourage. As they finally catch up to the person they are 'hunting', Billy kills Coley for trying to warn Willet that Billy is likely just going to kill them all in the end. When Billy passes out from the heat, Willet beats him up then crushes his gun hand with a rock, preventing him from being able to accomplish his mission.

While Willet and Billy are fighting, the woman chases the prey up a mountain side. Once Willet finishes with Billy he enters the chase and reaches the woman in time to ?

Sorry about the question mark there. The truth is, you aren't exactly sure what happens. You hear gun shots and it seems like the prey (whom I believe is Willet's brother), the woman, and Willet all die. But you can't be sure. The only person that looks to be alive when the movie ends is Billy.

My Comments:
I must admit, even though nothing is ever really happening, that the set up of the movie is good enough to make you want to keep watching it. You don't ever really know what is going on and you never actually find out, either. But, because we are human, we want to try to figure it out. So, we keep watching, hoping to pick up on some detail that will help the movie make sense. None are forthcoming.

The soundtrack reminds me of the original The Planet of the Apes, where the music just doesn't seem to fit the action, and there are long periods of time when you would think there should be music, but there isn't any. I guess, if the intent of the director was to give the impression that this story was taking place over an indeterminate period of time, he accomplished his goal. To the viewer, the movie seems to go on forever and it feels like they spend months out in the desert.

Overall, the movie kept my interest most of the time just because I wanted to figure out what was going on. It never made much sense, which I guess is okay. I definitely don't think this movie is for everyone. I didn't think it was too bad, but I didn't really love it either.

In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films are subtly interconected.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind" which is a straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features sharp performances from Cameron Mitchell, the great Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others.

After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the "The Shooting," former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

THE SHOOTING (1966): Willet Gashade (Warren Oates) and his dimwitted friend Coley (Will Hutchins) are in a state of growing paranoia after their partner is inexplicably shot to death by an unseen assassin at their small mining camp. The murder may have been in retaliation for the accidental trampling death of "a little person" in town, ostensibly by Gashade's brother, who had left camp in a great hurry immediately prior to the shooting. The next morning, while the two remain confused and suspicious over this disturbing mystery, a strange young woman (Millie Perkins) shoots her horse to death outside of the camp and then offers Gashade a thousand dollars to lead her to a place called Kingsley. He accepts even though he makes no attempt to hide his distrust. Intrigued by The Woman, Coley offers to tag along. On their journey, the trio are tracked at a distance by a black clad stranger, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, The Woman laughingly toys with Coley's emotions and refuses to answer any of Gashade's questions. Spear eventually joins them and proves to be a most despicable companion. Hostile and abusive in the extreme, Spear is a gunslinger cohort of The Woman, who is herself quickly revealed to be every bit as wicked as Gashade had suspected from the beginning. Eventually, the strange journey ends in bloody disarray at the foot of a rock-strewn mountain, where Gashade comes face to face with the answer to the mystery, at great cost.

One of the most celebrated of all cult movies, and deservedly so, THE SHOOTING is a truly great example of the once vital western form, a triumphant dying gasp for the genre. This compelling tale of weird vengeance is directed with icy cold brilliance by Monte Hellman. The perennially underrated Hellman works wonders on a lowbudget, with stunning cinematography (by Gregory Sandor) provoking a strong aura of the mysterious and uncanny even in the most realistically detailed scenes.

A small but terrific cast helps brings the occasionally mystical narrative to life. Warren Oates plays the world weary and wise Grashade with his usual gritty style, making him a suitable anti-hero for this dark tale. He's an excellent foe to Jack Nicholson's irredeemably evil Billy Spear, one of the most repulsively mean of all movie villains. As bad as he is, Nicholson is ultimately simply a well armed servant at the beck and call of The Woman, who is beautifully played by Millie Perkins for maximum hissability. Both Spear and The Woman engineer the destruction of Oates' foolish sidekick Coley, whose decency earns him an undeserved fate; Will Hutchins' charmingly sweet performance provides the film with its only moments of gentleness.

Richly ambiguous and by turns realistic and dreamlike, THE SHOOTING is a sporadically baffling but undeniably heady ride into the desert. The creepy ending makes this one of those rare movies that will compel you to immediately rewatch the whole thing from beginning to end, if only so you can try to satisfy your curiosity about what it just might REALLY be all about. Its THAT great of a movie.

The VCI DVD presents THE SHOOTING in a fine, modestly letterboxed transfer that captures the film in all its eerie widescreen glory. Since the film never received a theatrical release and has been shown only rarely on television, this is the first time most people will have ever had the chance to see this film in its intended aspect ratio. The only extra is a terrific and highly informative audio commentary from Hellman and Perkins, who vividly recall with candor and humor the filming of this ultra-cheap, high-class production.

Not sure what to make of this film. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Summary:
While Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) was gone for supplies for his mining operation (very small mining operation of only a couple of people in the middle of the desert) his brother and one of their friends got into some trouble in town. They both return to the camp but Willet's brother flees the camp and the friend is gunned down in the middle camp. Another friend, Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins), sees what happens, but it upsets him so much that he hides in the mine with his gun. When Willet finally returns he has to talk Coley out of the cave. Not long after he does, a woman (Millie Perkins), whose name we never find out, appears and hires Willet to guide her across the desert to a city. Willet agrees to go but only if Coley can come.

So they set out, with Coley as something of an errand boy and Willet as the rough and tumble tracker. What Willet and Coley don't realize is that the woman has already hired a gunmen that is riding behind them and trying to stay out of sight to kill the person they are tracking. Though they were told they were just helping the woman across the desert, they are actually tracking someone, and the woman wants that someone dead.

When Coley accidentally sends the wrong signal to the hired gun, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), Billy appears at their camp then joins the entourage. As they finally catch up to the person they are 'hunting', Billy kills Coley for trying to warn Willet that Billy is likely just going to kill them all in the end. When Billy passes out from the heat, Willet beats him up then crushes his gun hand with a rock, preventing him from being able to accomplish his mission.

While Willet and Billy are fighting, the woman chases the prey up a mountain side. Once Willet finishes with Billy he enters the chase and reaches the woman in time to ?

Sorry about the question mark there. The truth is, you aren't exactly sure what happens. You hear gun shots and it seems like the prey (whom I believe is Willet's brother), the woman, and Willet all die. But you can't be sure. The only person that looks to be alive when the movie ends is Billy.

My Comments:
I must admit, even though nothing is ever really happening, that the set up of the movie is good enough to make you want to keep watching it. You don't ever really know what is going on and you never actually find out, either. But, because we are human, we want to try to figure it out. So, we keep watching, hoping to pick up on some detail that will help the movie make sense. None are forthcoming.

The soundtrack reminds me of the original The Planet of the Apes, where the music just doesn't seem to fit the action, and there are long periods of time when you would think there should be music, but there isn't any. I guess, if the intent of the director was to give the impression that this story was taking place over an indeterminate period of time, he accomplished his goal. To the viewer, the movie seems to go on forever and it feels like they spend months out in the desert.

Overall, the movie kept my interest most of the time just because I wanted to figure out what was going on. It never made much sense, which I guess is okay. I definitely don't think this movie is for everyone. I didn't think it was too bad, but I didn't really love it either.

In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films are subtly interconected.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind" which is a straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features sharp performances from Cameron Mitchell, the great Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others.

After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the "The Shooting," former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

THE SHOOTING (1966): Willet Gashade (Warren Oates) and his dimwitted friend Coley (Will Hutchins) are in a state of growing paranoia after their partner is inexplicably shot to death by an unseen assassin at their small mining camp. The murder may have been in retaliation for the accidental trampling death of "a little person" in town, ostensibly by Gashade's brother, who had left camp in a great hurry immediately prior to the shooting. The next morning, while the two remain confused and suspicious over this disturbing mystery, a strange young woman (Millie Perkins) shoots her horse to death outside of the camp and then offers Gashade a thousand dollars to lead her to a place called Kingsley. He accepts even though he makes no attempt to hide his distrust. Intrigued by The Woman, Coley offers to tag along. On their journey, the trio are tracked at a distance by a black clad stranger, Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, The Woman laughingly toys with Coley's emotions and refuses to answer any of Gashade's questions. Spear eventually joins them and proves to be a most despicable companion. Hostile and abusive in the extreme, Spear is a gunslinger cohort of The Woman, who is herself quickly revealed to be every bit as wicked as Gashade had suspected from the beginning. Eventually, the strange journey ends in bloody disarray at the foot of a rock-strewn mountain, where Gashade comes face to face with the answer to the mystery, at great cost.

One of the most celebrated of all cult movies, and deservedly so, THE SHOOTING is a truly great example of the once vital western form, a triumphant dying gasp for the genre. This compelling tale of weird vengeance is directed with icy cold brilliance by Monte Hellman. The perennially underrated Hellman works wonders on a lowbudget, with stunning cinematography (by Gregory Sandor) provoking a strong aura of the mysterious and uncanny even in the most realistically detailed scenes.

A small but terrific cast helps brings the occasionally mystical narrative to life. Warren Oates plays the world weary and wise Grashade with his usual gritty style, making him a suitable anti-hero for this dark tale. He's an excellent foe to Jack Nicholson's irredeemably evil Billy Spear, one of the most repulsively mean of all movie villains. As bad as he is, Nicholson is ultimately simply a well armed servant at the beck and call of The Woman, who is beautifully played by Millie Perkins for maximum hissability. Both Spear and The Woman engineer the destruction of Oates' foolish sidekick Coley, whose decency earns him an undeserved fate; Will Hutchins' charmingly sweet performance provides the film with its only moments of gentleness.

Richly ambiguous and by turns realistic and dreamlike, THE SHOOTING is a sporadically baffling but undeniably heady ride into the desert. The creepy ending makes this one of those rare movies that will compel you to immediately rewatch the whole thing from beginning to end, if only so you can try to satisfy your curiosity about what it just might REALLY be all about. Its THAT great of a movie.

The VCI DVD presents THE SHOOTING in a fine, modestly letterboxed transfer that captures the film in all its eerie widescreen glory. Since the film never received a theatrical release and has been shown only rarely on television, this is the first time most people will have ever had the chance to see this film in its intended aspect ratio. The only extra is a terrific and highly informative audio commentary from Hellman and Perkins, who vividly recall with candor and humor the filming of this ultra-cheap, high-class production.

When you notice that this movie was directed by Elia Kazan, has the great Robert De Niro in the central role, has a supporting cast with very familiar names (Jack Nicholson, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau and Theresa Russell), you would think that this should be a great movie...well, it isn't, in fact is a very boring movie.

"The Last Tycoon" is full of uninteresting situations, one dimensional characters, a very slow and boring rhythm, in few words this movie is a big disappointment. The only reason to see this sleeping potion, is to see the scene that shows at the same time the screen legends Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson. Beside that, there isn't another highlight.

Recommendable only for Robert De Niro fans or Jack Nicholson fans, but most likely they will see this movie only once.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels focused on the haunted lives of American males and how they tried to recreate themselves in the image of others as successful individuals. The Last Tycoon based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's posthumous unfinished novel echos many of the themes that appeared in Fitzgerald's small body of work as a novelist and short story writer. His protagonist were always trying to be something they were not denying their past and, in the process, denying themselves

Tycoon is a thinly veiled retelling of the life of movie mogul Irving Thalberg. Thalberg made an amazing slew of motion pictures during his short rein as a producer and studio head in the 30's and 40's. DeNiro's Monroe Stahr is a mysterious, haunted individual who literally lives only for the movies he's making. It seems his fascinating with the screen makes him unable to communicate with the living all around him. Playwrite Harold Pinter ( plays The Servant, The Caretakeruses and films The Handmaid's Tale, The French Lieutenant's Woman) this as a metaphor for Stahr's detachment from humanity and his inability to connect with the elusive love of his life Kathleen Moore played by Ingrid Bolting.

Pinter's detached, elliptic dialog and unusual dialog rhythms only enhances the impression that Stahr is in this world but not of it. Ultimately Stahr's (ironically named given his position in the industry) intense devotion to what we see vs. what we experience through living contributes to him working himself to death. Pinter fleshes out Fitzgerald's novel (essentially a retelling of The Great Gatsby focusing on the elite of Hollywood instead) and manages faithfully translates many of the themes from the book.

As directed by Hollywood and Broadway veteran Elia Kazan (On The Waterfront, East of Eden, A Streecar Named Desire), The Last Tycoon isn't an easy film to like; many of the characters seem vapid and self serving. In the character of Stahr we have a protagonist who isn't really "there" at all. Which is precisely Kazan and Pinter's point; The Last Tycoon is how image overwhelms substance but can't become a substitute for living. The brilliant casting features veterans that were contemporaries of (and in some cases worked with) Irving Thalberg. Kazan's direction brings many of these characters to life providing a unique glimpse into the Hollywood studio system at its prime. Kazan and Pinter provide a fascinating and disquieting glimpse into the American life of the glamorous and powerful of Hollywood during its heyday. It's a sad and tragic tale which Kazan manages to inject with quiet power.

The transfer is very nice although there are a few analog and digital artifacts. The compression artifacts are minimal, however and probably won't be noticeable to most viewers. Although the packaging claims the sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1, it's actually presented in a stereo format and not remixed for 5.1 that I can tell.

There aren't any extras provided. With the cast, writer and director involved you would expect there to be something in Paramount's vaults that could be included as an extra. There's no audio commentary. Since Kazan was alive just prior to the release of this film (September 2003), I would have thought he might have been asked to provide a commentary after all this was his last film. Additionally, it was produced by legendary independent producer Sam Spiegel with music by Maurice Jarre so from a historical perspective it's a fairly important mainstream film. The Last Tycoon was the last gasp from a generation of film makers and, as such, deserved better.

While not a showcase like Kazan's earliest motion pictures (he peaked as a film director in the 50's with On The Waterfront and a handful of other classic films), The Last Tycoon manages to capture the end of an era and a tragic life in its all too brief 123 minutes with elegance and power.

I can understand how a lot of people feel bored by this movie. It mainly just introduces some characters and shows them progressing through their lives with no real direction for the plot, and the ending makes you feel like you have to wait for a sequel to find out what happens in the story. However there are a few reasons to like this movie. Seeing a young Deniro who was aggresive and not playing the same old cop role of today is something to see. Seeing him with fellow icons Robert Mitchim and Jack Nicholson is a once and a lifetime thing to see. Also the attractive woman he persues, could really aggrivate some men who have been in the same situation. Seeing how the prettiest women who can get any man, treat guys so badly and play with their hearts. Also I admire Deniro's character's creativity and drive to be the best at what he does, that's something that can inspire people to be the same way.

The 1994 original movie "The Cold Light of Day" is significantly better than Sean Penn's interpretation. I knew "The Pledge" was a bomb when a couple of viewers in different parts of the theater remarked on how lousy it was. The film left the Houston area about one week later headed for box office oblivion. Sean Penn made a horrible mistake in in keeping secret the identity of the sex deviate. This was frustrating to say the least and made the rest of the film seem pointless. Jack Nicholson did a good job as the alcoholic retired detective who pledges to a mother that he will find the killer of her daughter. However, Penn has Nicholson play the role of Jerry Black in such a manner as to suggest that the police officer committed himself to the case not so much as to solve it, but because the man has nothing better to do. Nicholson's character comes across as an existentially challenged individual who needs to find a purpose to make his life worth living. The murdered girl is merely an excuse to justifying getting up in the morning.

Penn's real life wife Robin Wright Penn is very convincing as the mother who accepts the generosity of the much older retired officer. Initially she seeks only a relationship which will secure a loving home for the young girl. A sort of romance soon develops between the two adults which seems only to bewilder and overwhelm the man. Wasn't the recent Academy Award winner Benico Del Toro, you might ask, also in the movie? Del Toro merely has about a five minute part indulging in histrionic mannerisms as a mentally retarded man falsely suspected of a vile crime. Penn essentially wasted this great actor's enormous talent. The other actors do little to balance out the deficiencies of Penn's directing.

I can give "The Pledge" only two stars. Only the true fans of Jack Nicholson will find it worth viewing. The previously mentioned "The Cold Light of Day," though, is highly recommended (four stars) as a something of a hidden gem. Rudolf Van Den Berg aptly directs this virtually unknown movie in an intelligent and exciting manner. The audience actually gets to understanding the sick motivations of the child killer. Van Berg's direction is not pretentious, and he accomplishes a lot with almost certainly a smaller budget. Sean Penn should seek instruction and guidance from Van Berg before he attempts another film.

Anyone expecting to find a formulaic cops-chase-killers movie should immediately move on to the latest Hollywood idiot fodder flick. "The Pledge" is intelligent, thought-provoking, well-directed, well-acted, and a feast for the senses.
I know many people who felt let down by this film, possibly because they expected the usual chase and hero's triumph at the end, which does not happen here. I found myself to be curious and somehow astonished by the end, and anxious to see it again.
Jack Nicholson gives one of his best latter-day performances here, and touches on areas which are not normally "Jack". By the end of the film, he is stunned and totally confused; knowing he was somehow right, though strange twists of fate conspire against him. It's almost Hitchcock territory; the man wrongly accused, or the man who knows all the facts, and yet no one believes him.
Sean Penn is no clown director; he's not making mass-market cheap thrill flicks here. He lets the story develop with a total absence of Hollywood cliches and setups. By the end, though most people will feel somehow cheated out of a visceral release, I feel viewers with an open mind who don't expect their movies to be served up like fast-food will be quite pleased. It's one of those movies you can talk about all night long.

This *is* a very different movie in the cop vs. serial killer genre. If you want a formula movie with a formula 3rd Act (plot twists that lead to ultimate victory), then look elsewhere.

Sean Penn has created a movie that starts routine, with a rich character study by Jack Nicholson, as the almost-retired Reno Detective Jerry Black. Jack Nicholson as a world-weary retiree is a joy to behold -- as he gazes on old photos of himself (clever cut-and-pastes using the young Jack Nicholson we know, placed in photos ... him with his Vietnam buddies, him getting a police medal), we see the evolution of Jack Nicholson, who puts his all into the very wise and flawed Detective Black.

Starting with a formula idea, -- that the conventional wisdom of who-did-it is wrong, --- and that even in retirement, Det. Black is continuing the hunt for the real killer, -- the film leads you down a conventional path and then jumps the track in Act 3, becoming a study in how things derail in real life, and how in real life tidy storybook endings may be the exception.

The ending is a dark and disquieting one, satisfying only in that the killer is stopped (although by an unexpected means). It *is* worth discussing the specifics of the ending, so if you don't want the ending spoiled for you, READ NO FURTHER.

Det. Black discovers that the killer goes after 7 year old blonde girls wearing red dresses. The killer's m.o. is that he first establishes a relationship with the victim (as a magical "Wizard"), and gives them little gifts, and gains their confidence over time, and then finally ritualistically sexually assaulting them and butchering them. The killer is tall and drives a dark station wagon.

Det. Black, a fisherman, foregoes buying a lakeside cabin, and instead buys a gas station (to track local vehicles, and tall guys). By happenstance, he takes in a battered wife and her 7 year old blonde girl. Without letting them in on his plans, he sets up a swing-set at roadside for the girl to play on (to attract the killer), and says nothing when the girl picks out a red dress at a clothing store. Without the mothers' consent, he thus sets up the girl as bait. By luck, the killer makes contact (the girl announces to Black, chillingly, "I've met the Wizard"), and sets up a meeting with the girl at a local park. Black then convinces his Reno swat team buddies to set up a surveillance, and they all wait for the killer to show.

Right here, the off-beat ending starts: The killer, unbeknownst to all, has a head-on collision on the highway, on the way to the park, and is dead. The swat team leaves, in disgust, believing that Black has led them on an insane goose chase. The girl's mother show up and breaks off her relationship with Black, rightly accusing him of manipulating her and her daughter into being unknowing bait. Black descends into an alcoholic insanity, and the ending shows him jabbering incoherently at the sky, his life in ruins.

So this ending is way unsatisfying for formula viewers -- if I was at the movies and wanted to feel good upon departure, I'd feel cheated. However, the acting throughout is superb, and is the movie's salvation:

Patricia Clarkson is intense as the mother of the first dead girl who extracts Jack's/Black's pledge to find the killer. Mickey Rourke is intense as a dead girl's father who fully explains the intensity with which he misses his dead daughter. Aaron Eckhart plays Det. Stan Krolak (Black's last partner) with a beautiful intensity. Eckhart has a gift for playing intense and not-so-bright characters (he was great as sleezy Del Sizemore in Nurse Betty), and his finger countdown from "3", boasting how fast he will extract a confession from a "slow" Indian (B. Del Toro), is a classic moment of bravado.

So even though the script trashes a feel good ending, the acting is wonderful, -- on balance, this is a great film (buy it!), but if (especially after 9-11-01) you want a feel-good ending, you will be let down.

The other let down is that the DVD is minimal -- no special features other than the trailer (I would have loved to hear a director's commentary with Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson) -- but the tranfer to DVD is crisp, both video and audio quality is excellent.

The 1994 original movie "The Cold Light of Day" is significantly better than Sean Penn's interpretation. I knew "The Pledge" was a bomb when a couple of viewers in different parts of the theater remarked on how lousy it was. The film left the Houston area about one week later headed for box office oblivion. Sean Penn made a horrible mistake in in keeping secret the identity of the sex deviate. This was frustrating to say the least and made the rest of the film seem pointless. Jack Nicholson did a good job as the alcoholic retired detective who pledges to a mother that he will find the killer of her daughter. However, Penn has Nicholson play the role of Jerry Black in such a manner as to suggest that the police officer committed himself to the case not so much as to solve it, but because the man has nothing better to do. Nicholson's character comes across as an existentially challenged individual who needs to find a purpose to make his life worth living. The murdered girl is merely an excuse to justifying getting up in the morning.

Penn's real life wife Robin Wright Penn is very convincing as the mother who accepts the generosity of the much older retired officer. Initially she seeks only a relationship which will secure a loving home for the young girl. A sort of romance soon develops between the two adults which seems only to bewilder and overwhelm the man. Wasn't the recent Academy Award winner Benico Del Toro, you might ask, also in the movie? Del Toro merely has about a five minute part indulging in histrionic mannerisms as a mentally retarded man falsely suspected of a vile crime. Penn essentially wasted this great actor's enormous talent. The other actors do little to balance out the deficiencies of Penn's directing.

I can give "The Pledge" only two stars. Only the true fans of Jack Nicholson will find it worth viewing. The previously mentioned "The Cold Light of Day," though, is highly recommended (four stars) as a something of a hidden gem. Rudolf Van Den Berg aptly directs this virtually unknown movie in an intelligent and exciting manner. The audience actually gets to understanding the sick motivations of the child killer. Van Berg's direction is not pretentious, and he accomplishes a lot with almost certainly a smaller budget. Sean Penn should seek instruction and guidance from Van Berg before he attempts another film.

Anyone expecting to find a formulaic cops-chase-killers movie should immediately move on to the latest Hollywood idiot fodder flick. "The Pledge" is intelligent, thought-provoking, well-directed, well-acted, and a feast for the senses.
I know many people who felt let down by this film, possibly because they expected the usual chase and hero's triumph at the end, which does not happen here. I found myself to be curious and somehow astonished by the end, and anxious to see it again.
Jack Nicholson gives one of his best latter-day performances here, and touches on areas which are not normally "Jack". By the end of the film, he is stunned and totally confused; knowing he was somehow right, though strange twists of fate conspire against him. It's almost Hitchcock territory; the man wrongly accused, or the man who knows all the facts, and yet no one believes him.
Sean Penn is no clown director; he's not making mass-market cheap thrill flicks here. He lets the story develop with a total absence of Hollywood cliches and setups. By the end, though most people will feel somehow cheated out of a visceral release, I feel viewers with an open mind who don't expect their movies to be served up like fast-food will be quite pleased. It's one of those movies you can talk about all night long.

This *is* a very different movie in the cop vs. serial killer genre. If you want a formula movie with a formula 3rd Act (plot twists that lead to ultimate victory), then look elsewhere.

Sean Penn has created a movie that starts routine, with a rich character study by Jack Nicholson, as the almost-retired Reno Detective Jerry Black. Jack Nicholson as a world-weary retiree is a joy to behold -- as he gazes on old photos of himself (clever cut-and-pastes using the young Jack Nicholson we know, placed in photos ... him with his Vietnam buddies, him getting a police medal), we see the evolution of Jack Nicholson, who puts his all into the very wise and flawed Detective Black.

Starting with a formula idea, -- that the conventional wisdom of who-did-it is wrong, --- and that even in retirement, Det. Black is continuing the hunt for the real killer, -- the film leads you down a conventional path and then jumps the track in Act 3, becoming a study in how things derail in real life, and how in real life tidy storybook endings may be the exception.

The ending is a dark and disquieting one, satisfying only in that the killer is stopped (although by an unexpected means). It *is* worth discussing the specifics of the ending, so if you don't want the ending spoiled for you, READ NO FURTHER.

Det. Black discovers that the killer goes after 7 year old blonde girls wearing red dresses. The killer's m.o. is that he first establishes a relationship with the victim (as a magical "Wizard"), and gives them little gifts, and gains their confidence over time, and then finally ritualistically sexually assaulting them and butchering them. The killer is tall and drives a dark station wagon.

Det. Black, a fisherman, foregoes buying a lakeside cabin, and instead buys a gas station (to track local vehicles, and tall guys). By happenstance, he takes in a battered wife and her 7 year old blonde girl. Without letting them in on his plans, he sets up a swing-set at roadside for the girl to play on (to attract the killer), and says nothing when the girl picks out a red dress at a clothing store. Without the mothers' consent, he thus sets up the girl as bait. By luck, the killer makes contact (the girl announces to Black, chillingly, "I've met the Wizard"), and sets up a meeting with the girl at a local park. Black then convinces his Reno swat team buddies to set up a surveillance, and they all wait for the killer to show.

Right here, the off-beat ending starts: The killer, unbeknownst to all, has a head-on collision on the highway, on the way to the park, and is dead. The swat team leaves, in disgust, believing that Black has led them on an insane goose chase. The girl's mother show up and breaks off her relationship with Black, rightly accusing him of manipulating her and her daughter into being unknowing bait. Black descends into an alcoholic insanity, and the ending shows him jabbering incoherently at the sky, his life in ruins.

So this ending is way unsatisfying for formula viewers -- if I was at the movies and wanted to feel good upon departure, I'd feel cheated. However, the acting throughout is superb, and is the movie's salvation:

Patricia Clarkson is intense as the mother of the first dead girl who extracts Jack's/Black's pledge to find the killer. Mickey Rourke is intense as a dead girl's father who fully explains the intensity with which he misses his dead daughter. Aaron Eckhart plays Det. Stan Krolak (Black's last partner) with a beautiful intensity. Eckhart has a gift for playing intense and not-so-bright characters (he was great as sleezy Del Sizemore in Nurse Betty), and his finger countdown from "3", boasting how fast he will extract a confession from a "slow" Indian (B. Del Toro), is a classic moment of bravado.

So even though the script trashes a feel good ending, the acting is wonderful, -- on balance, this is a great film (buy it!), but if (especially after 9-11-01) you want a feel-good ending, you will be let down.

The other let down is that the DVD is minimal -- no special features other than the trailer (I would have loved to hear a director's commentary with Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson) -- but the tranfer to DVD is crisp, both video and audio quality is excellent.

The 1994 original movie "The Cold Light of Day" is significantly better than Sean Penn's interpretation. I knew "The Pledge" was a bomb when a couple of viewers in different parts of the theater remarked on how lousy it was. The film left the Houston area about one week later headed for box office oblivion. Sean Penn made a horrible mistake in in keeping secret the identity of the sex deviate. This was frustrating to say the least and made the rest of the film seem pointless. Jack Nicholson did a good job as the alcoholic retired detective who pledges to a mother that he will find the killer of her daughter. However, Penn has Nicholson play the role of Jerry Black in such a manner as to suggest that the police officer committed himself to the case not so much as to solve it, but because the man has nothing better to do. Nicholson's character comes across as an existentially challenged individual who needs to find a purpose to make his life worth living. The murdered girl is merely an excuse to justifying getting up in the morning.

Penn's real life wife Robin Wright Penn is very convincing as the mother who accepts the generosity of the much older retired officer. Initially she seeks only a relationship which will secure a loving home for the young girl. A sort of romance soon develops between the two adults which seems only to bewilder and overwhelm the man. Wasn't the recent Academy Award winner Benico Del Toro, you might ask, also in the movie? Del Toro merely has about a five minute part indulging in histrionic mannerisms as a mentally retarded man falsely suspected of a vile crime. Penn essentially wasted this great actor's enormous talent. The other actors do little to balance out the deficiencies of Penn's directing.

I can give "The Pledge" only two stars. Only the true fans of Jack Nicholson will find it worth viewing. The previously mentioned "The Cold Light of Day," though, is highly recommended (four stars) as a something of a hidden gem. Rudolf Van Den Berg aptly directs this virtually unknown movie in an intelligent and exciting manner. The audience actually gets to understanding the sick motivations of the child killer. Van Berg's direction is not pretentious, and he accomplishes a lot with almost certainly a smaller budget. Sean Penn should seek instruction and guidance from Van Berg before he attempts another film.

Anyone expecting to find a formulaic cops-chase-killers movie should immediately move on to the latest Hollywood idiot fodder flick. "The Pledge" is intelligent, thought-provoking, well-directed, well-acted, and a feast for the senses.
I know many people who felt let down by this film, possibly because they expected the usual chase and hero's triumph at the end, which does not happen here. I found myself to be curious and somehow astonished by the end, and anxious to see it again.
Jack Nicholson gives one of his best latter-day performances here, and touches on areas which are not normally "Jack". By the end of the film, he is stunned and totally confused; knowing he was somehow right, though strange twists of fate conspire against him. It's almost Hitchcock territory; the man wrongly accused, or the man who knows all the facts, and yet no one believes him.
Sean Penn is no clown director; he's not making mass-market cheap thrill flicks here. He lets the story develop with a total absence of Hollywood cliches and setups. By the end, though most people will feel somehow cheated out of a visceral release, I feel viewers with an open mind who don't expect their movies to be served up like fast-food will be quite pleased. It's one of those movies you can talk about all night long.

This *is* a very different movie in the cop vs. serial killer genre. If you want a formula movie with a formula 3rd Act (plot twists that lead to ultimate victory), then look elsewhere.

Sean Penn has created a movie that starts routine, with a rich character study by Jack Nicholson, as the almost-retired Reno Detective Jerry Black. Jack Nicholson as a world-weary retiree is a joy to behold -- as he gazes on old photos of himself (clever cut-and-pastes using the young Jack Nicholson we know, placed in photos ... him with his Vietnam buddies, him getting a police medal), we see the evolution of Jack Nicholson, who puts his all into the very wise and flawed Detective Black.

Starting with a formula idea, -- that the conventional wisdom of who-did-it is wrong, --- and that even in retirement, Det. Black is continuing the hunt for the real killer, -- the film leads you down a conventional path and then jumps the track in Act 3, becoming a study in how things derail in real life, and how in real life tidy storybook endings may be the exception.

The ending is a dark and disquieting one, satisfying only in that the killer is stopped (although by an unexpected means). It *is* worth discussing the specifics of the ending, so if you don't want the ending spoiled for you, READ NO FURTHER.

Det. Black discovers that the killer goes after 7 year old blonde girls wearing red dresses. The killer's m.o. is that he first establishes a relationship with the victim (as a magical "Wizard"), and gives them little gifts, and gains their confidence over time, and then finally ritualistically sexually assaulting them and butchering them. The killer is tall and drives a dark station wagon.

Det. Black, a fisherman, foregoes buying a lakeside cabin, and instead buys a gas station (to track local vehicles, and tall guys). By happenstance, he takes in a battered wife and her 7 year old blonde girl. Without letting them in on his plans, he sets up a swing-set at roadside for the girl to play on (to attract the killer), and says nothing when the girl picks out a red dress at a clothing store. Without the mothers' consent, he thus sets up the girl as bait. By luck, the killer makes contact (the girl announces to Black, chillingly, "I've met the Wizard"), and sets up a meeting with the girl at a local park. Black then convinces his Reno swat team buddies to set up a surveillance, and they all wait for the killer to show.

Right here, the off-beat ending starts: The killer, unbeknownst to all, has a head-on collision on the highway, on the way to the park, and is dead. The swat team leaves, in disgust, believing that Black has led them on an insane goose chase. The girl's mother show up and breaks off her relationship with Black, rightly accusing him of manipulating her and her daughter into being unknowing bait. Black descends into an alcoholic insanity, and the ending shows him jabbering incoherently at the sky, his life in ruins.

So this ending is way unsatisfying for formula viewers -- if I was at the movies and wanted to feel good upon departure, I'd feel cheated. However, the acting throughout is superb, and is the movie's salvation:

Patricia Clarkson is intense as the mother of the first dead girl who extracts Jack's/Black's pledge to find the killer. Mickey Rourke is intense as a dead girl's father who fully explains the intensity with which he misses his dead daughter. Aaron Eckhart plays Det. Stan Krolak (Black's last partner) with a beautiful intensity. Eckhart has a gift for playing intense and not-so-bright characters (he was great as sleezy Del Sizemore in Nurse Betty), and his finger countdown from "3", boasting how fast he will extract a confession from a "slow" Indian (B. Del Toro), is a classic moment of bravado.

So even though the script trashes a feel good ending, the acting is wonderful, -- on balance, this is a great film (buy it!), but if (especially after 9-11-01) you want a feel-good ending, you will be let down.

The other let down is that the DVD is minimal -- no special features other than the trailer (I would have loved to hear a director's commentary with Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson) -- but the tranfer to DVD is crisp, both video and audio quality is excellent.

Here is what happened: Roger Corman finished shooting "The Raven" two days ahead of schedule and since he had already paid for the sets he decided to knock off a movie in 48 hours. So what if there was not a script? As Karloff later explained, Corman was running around filming things two steps ahead of the wreckers tearing down the sets from "The Raven." However, for some time "The Terror" has enjoyed the reputation as being the cinematic low point of Jack Nicholson's distinguished film career. Nicholson plays Andre Duvalier, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars who finds himself on the shore of a strange land where he is bewitched by the sight of a beautiful woman, played by Sandra Knight (who was then married to Nicholson). At the ancient castle of Baron von Leppe (Karloff), Andre notices the picture of the Baron's deceased wife looks a lot like the woman he keeps seeing. If only Andre could get the Old Woman (Dorothy Neumann) to tell him the dark secrets of the Baron and his beloved Helene.

"The Terror" is another one of those gloriously bad movies that some of us grew up with on late night television in the dark days and long nights before cable. Certainly Nicholson is given more to do in this film than he did in "The Raven," but he does look painfully out of place in all nonsense. Actually, the scenes with Karloff were shot on the sets in two days, while a lot of the Nicholson and Knight shots were down over the next three months. But the 48-hour bit has clearly become part of the legend of this film. The only way to watch "The Terror" is after having seen "The Raven."

The history of the movie is far more interesting than the movie, itself. Corman had three extra days after his prematurely wrapped The Raven shoot, and tossed this thing together off the top of his (and everybody else's) head to end up making two features for the price of one. Considering the circumstances, the thing is a masterpiece.

Of course, the finished product neither knows nor cares about the circumstances, which is why this movie is doubly entertaining. The mix of costuming and acting styles, the endless anachronisms throwing the audience out of suspension of disbelief that they are in Napoleonic era Germany (or is it supposed to be Spain? and if so, why so many German names? and if not, where does one get a seaside cliff in Germany?) - not to mention the genuinely really bad acting from pretty much everyone involved (including Karloff, who almost certainly didn't take it seriously), and the grossly mixed accents of the cast - make this one endlessly entertaining, in that drop-your-jaw, I-can't-believe-adult-human-beings-actually-got-together-and-made-this-thing kind of way.

It actually has a plot, which if you're really attentive and diligent you can pick out in the last five minutes of the movie, and if you do, it's terribly clever and grossly improbable, which just makes it all that much more fun.

But you won't care about that. What you really want to see is Jack Nicholson performing flatter than a block of wood, his then-wife Sandra Knight with an accent and acting style flatter still (though she is quite beautiful), Dorothy Neumann as a cackling revenge-driven old witch, Bronx-accented Dick Miller as a supposedly very German manservant, and Karloff struggling to keep a straight face given all the preceding impediments.

Nicholson happily confesses in interviews that they all had a ball making this wonderfully absurd movie, and it actually shows. Interestingly enough, if you're in the right mood, you can even see the horror movie this almost was, if they'd had more time to make it really work. There are some good gore effects - a man's eyes gouged out by a killer hawk, and an incredibly goopy melting woman, topping the list - and it's pretty handsomely produced, even with a decently eerie musical soundtrack throughout.

Don't watch it because it's good - watch it because it's FUN.

I have watched this movie twice on TV in the past, and I enjoyed it. Even though it's called "The Terror", it doesn't seem like a terror movie, but it is still entertaining. Jack Nicholson starred in this one (he was young then, just like in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" he was in before this one), and he played a Napoleon soldier. His then-wife, Sandra Knight, played Helene who was a "ghost" in the movie, and Boris Karloff, a famous horror movie actor, played the Baron.
This movie is a little phony, like the "witch" in the movie...and how she died. I never dreamed that lightning can burn a witch to a crisp like in this movie, just because she saw the hawk flying in the sky! Same thing at the ending when Nicholson kissed the beautiful Helene, who then melted on the ground, revealing her skeleton. Nice special effects in the 1960s...I give them (and Roger Corman) credit for that.
This is a good movie, although not Oscar-winning, to watch on a rainy day for fun.

Here is what happened: Roger Corman finished shooting "The Raven" two days ahead of schedule and since he had already paid for the sets he decided to knock off a movie in 48 hours. So what if there was not a script? As Karloff later explained, Corman was running around filming things two steps ahead of the wreckers tearing down the sets from "The Raven." However, for some time "The Terror" has enjoyed the reputation as being the cinematic low point of Jack Nicholson's distinguished film career. Nicholson plays Andre Duvalier, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars who finds himself on the shore of a strange land where he is bewitched by the sight of a beautiful woman, played by Sandra Knight (who was then married to Nicholson). At the ancient castle of Baron von Leppe (Karloff), Andre notices the picture of the Baron's deceased wife looks a lot like the woman he keeps seeing. If only Andre could get the Old Woman (Dorothy Neumann) to tell him the dark secrets of the Baron and his beloved Helene.

"The Terror" is another one of those gloriously bad movies that some of us grew up with on late night television in the dark days and long nights before cable. Certainly Nicholson is given more to do in this film than he did in "The Raven," but he does look painfully out of place in all nonsense. Actually, the scenes with Karloff were shot on the sets in two days, while a lot of the Nicholson and Knight shots were down over the next three months. But the 48-hour bit has clearly become part of the legend of this film. The only way to watch "The Terror" is after having seen "The Raven."

The history of the movie is far more interesting than the movie, itself. Corman had three extra days after his prematurely wrapped The Raven shoot, and tossed this thing together off the top of his (and everybody else's) head to end up making two features for the price of one. Considering the circumstances, the thing is a masterpiece.

Of course, the finished product neither knows nor cares about the circumstances, which is why this movie is doubly entertaining. The mix of costuming and acting styles, the endless anachronisms throwing the audience out of suspension of disbelief that they are in Napoleonic era Germany (or is it supposed to be Spain? and if so, why so many German names? and if not, where does one get a seaside cliff in Germany?) - not to mention the genuinely really bad acting from pretty much everyone involved (including Karloff, who almost certainly didn't take it seriously), and the grossly mixed accents of the cast - make this one endlessly entertaining, in that drop-your-jaw, I-can't-believe-adult-human-beings-actually-got-together-and-made-this-thing kind of way.

It actually has a plot, which if you're really attentive and diligent you can pick out in the last five minutes of the movie, and if you do, it's terribly clever and grossly improbable, which just makes it all that much more fun.

But you won't care about that. What you really want to see is Jack Nicholson performing flatter than a block of wood, his then-wife Sandra Knight with an accent and acting style flatter still (though she is quite beautiful), Dorothy Neumann as a cackling revenge-driven old witch, Bronx-accented Dick Miller as a supposedly very German manservant, and Karloff struggling to keep a straight face given all the preceding impediments.

Nicholson happily confesses in interviews that they all had a ball making this wonderfully absurd movie, and it actually shows. Interestingly enough, if you're in the right mood, you can even see the horror movie this almost was, if they'd had more time to make it really work. There are some good gore effects - a man's eyes gouged out by a killer hawk, and an incredibly goopy melting woman, topping the list - and it's pretty handsomely produced, even with a decently eerie musical soundtrack throughout.

Don't watch it because it's good - watch it because it's FUN.

I have watched this movie twice on TV in the past, and I enjoyed it. Even though it's called "The Terror", it doesn't seem like a terror movie, but it is still entertaining. Jack Nicholson starred in this one (he was young then, just like in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" he was in before this one), and he played a Napoleon soldier. His then-wife, Sandra Knight, played Helene who was a "ghost" in the movie, and Boris Karloff, a famous horror movie actor, played the Baron.
This movie is a little phony, like the "witch" in the movie...and how she died. I never dreamed that lightning can burn a witch to a crisp like in this movie, just because she saw the hawk flying in the sky! Same thing at the ending when Nicholson kissed the beautiful Helene, who then melted on the ground, revealing her skeleton. Nice special effects in the 1960s...I give them (and Roger Corman) credit for that.
This is a good movie, although not Oscar-winning, to watch on a rainy day for fun.