MovieChat Forums > R.P.M. (1971) Discussion > Just saw this recently on TCM...

Just saw this recently on TCM...

posted 13 years ago by EloiTate7
10 replies | jump to latest

... And I'm wondering how a movie like this has been buried, and nearly non-existent in documentation or discussion on the 'net?

I am reminded of something Peter Fonda said about making Easy Rider. Paraphrasing, he wanted to make a film that finally spoke to the experiences of the 60s: radicals, free love, music, and hippies; a movie that had cannabis use in a context other than a B-movie with knife-wielding maniac nurses.

I wasn't alive in the 60s (far from it), but it seems a shame that there are hardly any movies of that era that try to portray a common radical cross country experience of students rising up and demanding more than just the same old shtick from the Man and the System; old stuffed shirts that sent the youth off to Vietnam, and exploited minorities in the ghettos, all the while maintaining the guise of a prestigious liberal university.

RPM isn't a masterpiece, but it is a quality film with some excellent performances, (interesting wardrobe choices) and some stunning scenes that stick with you, like the student/police riot. 8 out of 10

[–] daris89 13 years ago

I'll be buying this DVD soon, never seen it before but from the actors in the movie, I know i'll enjoy it. I love movies made during that time period that reflect the political movement in the USA. So much more real than any movie made today reflecting that time.

I agree with you about Vietnam. I would never want to send anyone off to war if they didn't choose to. I'm not against the war per se or the soldiers, but no one should be forced to die if they didn't even have the right to choose to fight in the first place. It sucks how the war was handled and that it really didn't go anywhere.

I admire Ann-Margret for going to Vietnam and supporting our troops back in the 60's, and she still supports them today. This is her most political role in a movie and I can't wait to actually see this film and see what it has to offer. :)

[–] edsonc-1 13 years ago

Funny you should mention Easy Rider. Burt Schneider, the Producer of Easy Rider had his offices at Columbia Pictures where he also made The Monkees series and the movie, Head.
Stanley Kramer's offices were next door.
See Kramer's Bless The Beasts & Children. This small budget film was made shortly after Easy Rider.

During the 60's until Columbia Pictures moved to Warner Bros., the main building housed such film makers as Stanley Kramer, William Wyler, Richard Brooks, Harold Hecht, Jack Lemmon's Jalem Producions,Burt Schneider, Jerry Lewis, Sam Spiegel, Stanley Kubrick, Melvin Van Peebles,Harry Joe Brown,Stanley Shapiro, and Dick Rush,
On the same lot, which was actually the smallest major studio, many memorable tv series were made:
Donna Reed, I Dream Of Jeannie, The Farmer's Daughter, Hazel, The Flying Nun, The Monkees,
The Wackiest Ship In The Army, Iron Horse and Here Come The Brides. Jackie Cooper was the Vp of production for Screen Gems, the TV arm of Columbia Pictures.

[–] jaysea2 11 years ago

The movie is on today on TCM. I've never seen it and really want to for one basic reason...part of it (and I have no idea how much) was filmed in my home town. I still remember all the hubbub of Anthony Quinn and Ann Margaret being here. I'm honestly sad by the low rating and bad reviews...so I'll see for myself later today. But I'd really like to see if I recognize any of the film locations. I know some of it was filmed at UOP. It's such a beautiful campus - always was - and I've been there several times through the years. FYI - Janet Leigh attended college there when it was still COP.

[–] ilovetennis3 11 years ago

So - what did you think of the film?

[–] gamay9 11 years ago

I graduated from liberal UW-Madison in 1962, began a successful career, got drafted and served in Vietnam. I returned unscathed and think all men should serve in the military...it helps them grow up.

Please read my review. I like the film because it is a precursor of today, i.e. nothing has changed...all that choas for nothing. Kind of sounds like our current government.

[–] first-things-first 11 years ago

I was thinking that the young become assimilated and the ideas change. Very few are strong enough to follow their convictions throughout their lives, and spare some consideration for others. Power seduces, but it should protect.
Real change comes in small steps, or by force. But a lot has changed. Violence isn't the first choice for change. There are isolated cases, but we accept differences better now. We consider different opinions, and sometimes we listen.

If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world

[–] montrossboc-1 11 years ago

I loved this movie when I first saw it back in the 70's. I had just dropped out of college, meaning I'm old. 63 years old.

Seems to try to make the viewer understand both sides of the situations.

I am DVRing it right now. Can't wait to watch it again.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

[–] edsonc-1 11 years ago

RPM was one of three films made about the student revolution of the 60's.
Although the most successful film was Gettting Straight with Elliot Gould, RPM said the most about the time.
The third was Strawberry Statement.

[–] mwmtampa 10 years ago

I thought the students were too inflexible and arrogant regarding their demands. And thus the impasse and the violence. They were much more to blame.

[–] chicago85 9 years ago

I think their aim or the aim of their leader was to provoke a violent reaction on purpose. Just before the police crackdown, the leader ordered computer tapes thrown from the second story window. Those were probably records from the registrar's office since they were occupying administration offices. He knew that wasn't going to be tolerated.

They had only main frame computers back then and most departments didn't have access to one.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else