1971 film by Peter Bogdanovich
The Last Picture Show
is a 1971 American
coming-of-age
drama film
directed and co-written by
Peter Bogdanovich
, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel
The Last Picture Show
by
Larry McMurtry
. The film's
ensemble cast
includes
Timothy Bottoms
,
Jeff Bridges
,
Ellen Burstyn
,
Ben Johnson
,
Cloris Leachman
, and
Cybill Shepherd
. Set in a small town in northern
Texas
from November 1951 to October 1952, it is a story of two high-school seniors and long-time friends, Sonny Crawford (Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Bridges).
The Last Picture Show
was theatrically released on October 22, 1971, by
Columbia Pictures
. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $29 million on a $1.3 million budget, and was nominated for eight
Academy Awards
, including
Best Picture
,
Best Director
,
Best Supporting Actor
for Johnson and Bridges, and
Best Supporting Actress
for Burstyn and Leachman, with Johnson and Leachman winning.
Bogdanovich directed a 1990 sequel,
Texasville
, based on McMurtry's 1987 novel of the same name and featuring much of the original film's cast reprising their roles;
Texasville
failed to match the critical or commercial success of its predecessor. In 1998, the
Library of Congress
selected
The Last Picture Show
for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry
for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
[2]
[3]
Plot
[
edit
]
In 1951, Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson are high-school seniors and friends in
Anarene
, an oil town in Texas. Duane is dating Jacy Farrow, the richest girl in town. Sonny breaks up with his girlfriend Charlene Duggs. He is secretly in love with Jacy.
At a Christmas dance, Jacy is invited by Lester Marlow to a
skinny-dipping
party at the home of Bobby Sheen, a wealthy young man who seems to be a better prospect than Duane. At the same dance, Sonny kisses Ruth Popper, the depressed middle-aged wife of his high-school coach. Jacy goes to the skinny-dipping party where Bobby makes an advance on her, but then says he will not have sex with girls who are still virgins.
Duane, Sonny and others take their young, mentally disabled friend, Billy, to a prostitute to lose his virginity. When the group takes Billy home, local businessman Sam "The Lion" is angered by the group’s treatment of Billy. Sam forbids the group from entering any of his businesses, the only entertainment sources of Anarene: the pool hall, the movie theater, and the cafe. Later, Sam notices that Sonny actually takes good care of Billy and accepts Sonny back into the cafeteria.
During the weekend of New Year's Eve, Duane and Sonny go on a road trip to Mexico. Before they drive off, Sam wistfully wishes he still had the stamina to join them and gives them some extra money so they can enjoy themselves. The boys return two days later, hung over and tired, and learn that Sam has died suddenly of a stroke. Sam’s will leaves the pool hall to Sonny.
Jacy invites Duane to a motel room to have sex, because she wants Bobby to accept her into his libertine circle, but Duane is unable to get an erection. She gets angry at Duane and later breaks up with Duane by telephone. Jacy learns that Bobby has already married another girl. Out of boredom and a sense of rejection, Jacy has sex with Abilene, a roughneck foreman who works for her father and is her mother's lover. Abilene leaves Jacy at home and is brutally cold towards her. After entering the house, Jacy is caught by her mother Lois and starts crying. They both complain about the brutality of men.
Sad and angry because of the breakup, Duane starts working as a roughneck on an oil well in Odessa. Jacy sets her sights on Sonny, who drops Ruth and starts dreaming of marrying Jacy. Duane returns home on leave, driving a brand-new Mercury; he fights with Sonny over Jacy, smashing a beer bottle into Sonny's eyebrow. Sonny is hospitalized. During his recovery, he pretends to be asleep when Ruth visits him.
Jacy and Sonny elope and are married in
Oklahoma
. While driving to their honeymoon, Jacy reveals that she left a note to her parents explaining the entire plan. They are stopped by a state trooper who takes them to a police station where the Farrows await. Gene dismisses Sonny completely, taking Jacy home in his car. Sonny rides back with Lois and Lois reveals that Sam the Lion was her one true love when she was young. Lois tells Sonny that he would be much better off with Ruth than with Jacy. The marriage is annulled and a short time passes.
On Duane's last night of leave, Sonny goes to Duane's house for a last chance of reconciliation. The two friends make amends and Sonny reveals that Jacy went to college in Dallas and never returned to Anarene. They go to the movies because the theater is going to close due to a lack of customers. The last picture show is the
Red River
.
The next morning, Sonny sees Duane off on the bus. Duane asks Sonny to take care of his Mercury after Sonny reveals that he and Jacy "never made it to the motel." Sonny opens the pool hall and hears a truck braking in the street nearby. The truck has killed Billy. He approaches the local townsmen surrounding Billy's corpse; they blame the dead boy for being stupid and careless. Sonny berates the men for their behavior and carefully carries Billy's body to the top of a staircase, covering Billy’s face with his letterman jacket.
Angry and depressed with his current life, Sonny drives to the city limits. He slowly changes his mind and drives back, parking his truck near Ruth's home and asking her if she could have a cup of coffee with him. She looks depressed and has shuttered herself in her house. After Ruth explodes in hurt and anger, breaking the coffee cup, she notices that Sonny is completely devastated. She demands that he look at her. He does and gently touches her hand. Still spent, she seems to forget her anger, takes pity on the boy, and starts to comfort him.
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Going into
The Last Picture Show
Peter Bogdanovich was a 31-year-old stage actor, film essayist, and critic. Bogdanovich had directed one film,
Targets
(also known as
Before I Die
), working with his wife and collaborator,
Polly Platt
. As Bogdanovich later explained to
The Hollywood Reporter
, while waiting in a cashier's line in a drugstore, he happened to look at the rack of paperbacks and his eye fell on an interesting title,
The Last Picture Show
. The back of the book said it was about "kids growing up in Texas" and Bogdanovich decided that it did not interest him and put it back. A few weeks later, actor
Sal Mineo
handed Platt a copy of the book.
[4]
"I always wanted to be in this", he said, "but I'm a little too old now", said Mineo, who recommended that Platt and Bogdanovich make it into a film.
[4]
According to Bogdanovich, Platt said, "I don't know how you make it into a picture, but it's a good book."
[5]
Bogdanovich, McMurtry, and Platt adapted the novel into the film of the same name.
[6]
Stephen Friedman
was a lawyer with Columbia Pictures but keen to break into film production as he had bought the film rights to the book, so Bogdanovich hired him as producer.
[7]
After discussing the proposed film with
Orson Welles
, his houseguest at the time, Bogdanovich agreed with him that shooting the film in black and white would work aesthetically, which by then was an unusual choice.
[5]
The film was shot in Larry McMurtry's small hometown of
Archer City
located in north-central Texas near the Oklahoma state line. McMurtry had renamed the town
Thalia
in his book; Bogdanovich dubbed it
Anarene
(for a
ghost town
eight miles (13 km) south of Archer City). The similarity to famed
cowtown
Abilene, Kansas
, in
Howard Hawks
'
Red River
(1948) was intentional.
[8]
Red River
again is tied in as "the last picture show", which Sonny and Duane watch at the end of the film.
[9]
After shooting wrapped, Bogdanovich went back to Los Angeles to edit the film footage on a
Moviola
. Bogdanovich has said that he edited the entire film himself but refused to credit himself as editor, reasoning that director and co-writer were enough.
[5]
When informed that the
Motion Picture Editors Guild
required an editor credit, he suggested
Donn Cambern
, who had been editing another film,
Drive, He Said
(1971), in the next office and had helped Bogdanovich with some purchasing paperwork concerning the film's opticals.
[5]
Cambern disputes this, stating that Bogdanovich did do an edit of the film, which he screened for a selection of guests, including
Jack Nicholson
,
Bob Rafelson
and himself.
[
who?
]
The consensus was the film was going to be great, but needed further editing to achieve its full potential. Cambern claims Bogdanovich invited him to do so, during which he made significant contributions to the film's final form.
Bogdanovich obtained a rare waiver from the
Directors Guild of America
to have his name appear only at the end of the film, after the actors' credits, as he felt it was more meaningful for the audience to see their names after their performances.
[10]
[11]
[
who?
]
Music
[
edit
]
The film features entirely
diegetic music
, including many songs of
Hank Williams Sr.
and other
country and western
and 1950s popular music recording artists.
Reception and legacy
[
edit
]
Box office
[
edit
]
The film earned $13.1 million in
domestic rentals
in North America.
[12]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
Chicago Sun-Times
critic
Roger Ebert
gave the film four out of four stars in his original review and named it the best film of 1971. He later added it to his "Great Movies" list, writing that "the film is above all an evocation of mood. It is about a town with no reason to exist, and people with no reason to live there. The only hope is in transgression."
[13]
Vincent Canby
of
The New York Times
called it a "lovely film" that "rediscovers a time, a place, a film form?and a small but important part of the American experience."
[14]
Gene Siskel
of the
Chicago Tribune
gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, "Like few films in recent years, Peter Bogdanovich's
The Last Picture Show
ends with us wanting to see more of the people who occupy the small town world that is Anarene, Tex. in 1951. This emotion is not easily achieved. It is a result of a thoro [
sic
] Peyton Place investigation into Anarene's bedrooms, parked cars, football games, movie theater, restaurant, and pool hall."
[15]
Charles Champlin
of the
Los Angeles Times
called the film "the most considered, craftsmanlike and elaborate tribute we have yet had to what the movies were and how they figured in our lives."
[16]
Gary Arnold of
The Washington Post
called it "an exceedingly well-made and involving narrative film with decent aims, encouraging us to understand and care about its characters, though not to emulate them."
[17]
As of October 2023
[update]
, review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
displays an approval rating of 98% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Making excellent use of its period and setting, Peter Bogdanovich's small town coming-of-age story is a sad but moving classic filled with impressive performances."
[18]
According to
Metacritic
, which assigned a
weighted average score
of 93 out of 100 based on 15 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".
[19]
The film and its poster are refenced in the title of the 1975 album
The Last Record Album
by American rock band
Little Feat
and in the cover illustration by
Neon Park
.
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
It ranked No. 19 on
Entertainment Weekly'
s
list of the 50 Best High School Movies.
[29]
In 2007, the film was ranked No. 95 on the
American Film Institute
's
10th Anniversary Edition
of the 100 greatest American films of all time.
[30]
In April 2011,
The Last Picture Show
was re-released in UK and Irish cinemas, distributed by
Park Circus
.
Total Film
magazine gave the film a five-star review, stating: "Peter Bogdanovich's desolate Texan drama is still as stunning now as it was in 1971."
[31]
Home media
[
edit
]
The film was released by
The Criterion Collection
in November 2010 as part of its box set
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
. It included a high-definition digital transfer of Peter Bogdanovich's director's cut, two audio commentaries, one from 1991, featuring Bogdanovich and actors Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid, Cloris Leachman, and Frank Marshall; the other from 2009, featuring Bogdanovich
"The Last Picture Show": A Look Back
, (1999) and
Picture This
(1990), documentaries about the making of the film,
A Discussion with Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
, a 2009 Q&A, screen tests and location footage, and excerpts from a 1972 television interview with director
Francois Truffaut
about the New Hollywood.
[32]
Director's cut
[
edit
]
Bogdanovich re-edited the film in 1992 to create a "
director's cut
". This version restores seven minutes of footage that Bogdanovich trimmed from the 1971 release because
Columbia
had imposed a firm 119-minute limit.
[5]
[
clarification needed
]
With this requirement removed in the 1990s, Bogdanovich used the 127-minute cut on laserdisc, VHS and DVD releases.
[33]
The original 1971 cut was never released on DVD or blu-ray for years, though it was released on VHS and laserdisc through Columbia Tristar Home Video. The 4K UHD release however, has the theatrical cut along with the more known director's cut. It's included as a part of Sony's Columbia Classics 4K Volume 3 set.
[34]
There are two substantial scenes restored in the director's cut. The first is a sex scene between Jacy and Abilene that plays in the poolhall after it has closed for the night; it precedes the exterior scene where he drops her off home and she says "What a night. I never thought
this
would happen." The other major insertion is a scene that plays in Sam's cafe, where Genevieve watches while an amiable Sonny and a revved-up Duane decide to take their road trip to Mexico; it precedes the exterior scene outside the pool hall when they tell Sam of their plans, the last time they will ever see him.
Several shorter scenes were also restored. One comes between basketball practice in the gym and the exterior at The Rig-Wam drive-in; it has Jacy, Duane and Sonny riding along in her convertible (and being chased by an enthusiastic little dog), singing an uptempo rendition of the more solemn school song sung later at the football game. Another finds Sonny cruising the town streets in the pick-up, gazing longingly into Sam's poolhall, cafe and theater, from which he has been banished. Finally, there is an exterior scene of the auto caravan on its way to the Senior Picnic; as it passes the fishing tank where he had fished with Sam and Billy, Sonny sheds a tear for his departed friend and his lost youth.
Two scenes got slightly longer treatments: Ruth's and Sonny's return from the doctor, and the boys' returning Billy to Sam after his encounter with Jemmie Sue?both had added dialogue. Also, a number of individual shots were put back in, most notably a
Gregg Toland
-style
deep focus
shot in front of the Royal Theatre as everyone gets in their cars.
[5]
Sequel
[
edit
]
Texasville
, the 1990 sequel to
The Last Picture Show
, based on McMurtry's 1987 novel of the same name, was also directed by Bogdanovich, from his own screenplay, without McMurtry this time. The film reunites actors Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Eileen Brennan, Randy Quaid, Sharon Ullrick (nee Taggart) and Barc Doyle.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Last Picture Show, Box Office Information"
.
Box Office Mojo
. Retrieved
January 30,
2012
.
- ^
"Hooray for Hollywood (December 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin"
.
www.loc.gov
. Retrieved
November 19,
2020
.
- ^
"Complete National Film Registry Listing"
.
Library of Congress
. Retrieved
November 19,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Peter Bogdanovich: 'The Last Picture Show'
"
.
It Happened in Hollywood
(Podcast). The Hollywood Reporter. January 25, 2020
. Retrieved
June 7,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Peter Bogdanovich (2001)
The Last Picture Show: A Look Back
[DVD]
- ^
Young, Neil (14 December 2002).
The Last Picture Show
Jigsaw Lounge
- ^
"Stephen J. Friedman"
.
Kings Road Entertainment
. Archived from
the original
on May 2, 2009.
- ^
Dirks, Tim.
"Filmsite Movie Review:
The Last Picture Show
"
. Filmsite.org.
- ^
French, Philip
(October 27, 2013).
"Red River"
.
The Guardian
.
eISSN
1756-3224
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
January 29,
2021
.
- ^
Young, Paul (January 4, 1994). "Credit 'Kane' With Another Film Trend".
Daily Variety
. p. 24.
- ^
The Last Picture Show
at the
AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^
"All-time Film Rental Champs".
Variety
. January 7, 1976. p. 20.
- ^
Ebert, Roger
(July 4, 2004).
"Great Movie Reviews -
The Last Picture Show
"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
. Retrieved
February 25,
2016
– via RogerEbert.com.
- ^
Canby, Vincent (October 17, 1971). "
A Lovely 'Last Picture Show'
".
The New York Times
. D1.
- ^
Siskel, Gene (December 21, 1971).
"
'Last Picture Show'
"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Section 2, p. 13.
- ^
Champlin, Charles (November 14, 1971). "Movies Were Better Than Ever in 'Picture'".
Los Angeles Times
. Calendar, p. 1.
- ^
Arnold, Gary (December 25, 1971). "The Last Picture Show".
The Washington Post
. D1.
- ^
The Last Picture Show
at
Rotten Tomatoes
- ^
"
The Last Picture Show Reviews
"
.
Metacritic
.
Fandom, Inc.
Retrieved
May 23,
2021
.
- ^
"1972 Academy Awards"
.
www.oscars.org
. October 5, 2014
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Film in 1973 | BAFTA Awards"
.
awards.bafta.org
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Awards / History / 1971"
.
www.dga.org
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Last Picture Show, The"
.
Golden Globes
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"1971 Archives"
.
National Board of Review
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"
'Easy Rider' now listed on National Film Registry"
.
www.cnn.com
. November 17, 1998
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Thompson, Howard (December 30, 1971).
"
'Claire's Knee,' Jane Fonda and Finch Picked by National Critics"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Weiler, A. H. (December 29, 1971).
"
'Clockwork Orange' Wins Critics' Prize"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Film Hall of Fame: Productions"
.
Online Film & Television Association
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"50 best high school movies"
.
EW.com
. August 28, 2015.
Archived
from the original on September 5, 2008.
- ^
"AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies ? 10th Anniversary Edition"
.
American Film Institute
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Kemp, Philip (March 31, 2011).
"The Last Picture Show Review"
.
Total Film
. Archived from
the original
on April 2, 2011
. Retrieved
April 5,
2011
.
- ^
"The Last Picture Show"
.
The Criterion Collection
.
- ^
Saltzman, Barbara (August 12, 1991).
"Bogdanovich's 'Last Picture Show' as He Intended It : The director has added and re-edited scenes to deliver the film he wanted in 1971. He also explains many of its technical and artistic components"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"The Last Picture Show 4K Blu-ray"
.
Blu-ray.com
. Retrieved
November 2,
2022
.
External links
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