MovieChat Forums > The Seven-Ups (1973) Discussion > Why does the movie fail?

Why does the movie fail?

posted 11 years ago by rrb
19 replies | jump to latest

There are so many elements TSU shares with The French Connection that comparison is inevitable. Yet it fails notably where TFC succeeded. One reason is the writing: Sonny Russo is no Oscar-winning Ernest Tidyman. The characters aren't sharply drawn: Scheider's a generic tough cop, the other 7-ups are indistinguishable from each other (except one's black), the villains are out-of-the-mold. Compare that to TRC's raunchy, brilliant Popeye; the put-upon, steadfast Cloudy; the polished Charnier; the overreaching Sal Boca. Also, unlike its complement, TSU's dialog is unmemorable. Even the plot itself, and final resolution, aren't compelling. We're not intrigued by the kidnapping story or by discovering who was behind it (as if we hadn't already figured it out). And the scenes aren't shaped by director D'Antoni. Even the chase lacks the tight sequencing of intense thrills that made TFC chase so heart-stopping. The one distinguishing thing about TSU is the unrelieved drabness of the settings. While TFC expertly weaved between the posh world of the druglords and the Orwellian environs of the junkies and cops, TSU seems to exist solely in the latter. Even the mob boss's mansion has a cheesey, Tony Soprano look to it (the scene of the wife in bed screaming is unintentionally hilarious). It's a colorless, industrial, depressing world of abandoned buildings, gray garages, overgrown grounds and garbage. It's the most hellish of the New York as Urban Hell movies that were made in the '70s. Not a great attribute, but a distinction nonetheless.

[–] ck427 11 years ago

From a critical POV, maybe. But as far as public reaction, I think the key is that The French Connection came out in 1971. There was some big films that year, but in 1973 (when SEVEN-UPS came out) you had 2 films over $100 MM when NO FILMS did that (THE STING and THE EXORCIST both hit the mark).

TFC came out in October 1971 whereas 7-Ups came out in mid-December 1973, a terrible time to premiere.

TFC did $50 MM in box office, outstanding for the time. 7-Ups did $4 million, barely covering the budget.

I think the market for well-written police/drug dramas like TFC is pretty limited. No way The 7-Ups would be able to keep most of that target audience. OTOH, the market for comedies, sci-fi movies, or thrillers (JAWS, OMEN) is pretty strong year-to-year.

If The 7-Ups had come out in 1971, it probably would have done $20-$30 MM.

[–] Slurrysback 9 years ago

The real reason it didn't do as well is it is inferior to The French Connection. The time it was released had nothing to do with it. It just didn't live up to the hype.

[–] yatzo376 10 years ago

I mostly agree, but still love TSU ,

Best car chase of all time...,IMO.

[–] jmsocool 10 years ago

The flaws seem to be in the writing. One scene that was unintentionally funny was when the reporters are asking the police commissioner (I think) a lot of questions, he mentions the 7 ups, "what are the 7 ups?" "A highly secret group of detectives." Well, they're not very secret now, are they?

I think the story should have focused on the rogue group of cops kidnapping gangsters for ransom. THAT was interesting, and if they had focused solely on that, and made the characters sharper, and more distinctive, it would have been a great movie.

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[–] urgeking 10 years ago

So TSU fails in comparison to TFC? Then don't compare them. Problem solved! ;)

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

i thought the same thing

[–] millsey72 (9560) 2 years ago

Really? There has been dozens of better car chases in the Fast and Furious franchise

[–] badcommand 10 years ago

The Seven-Ups had Roy Scheider.

The French Connection had Roy Scheider and Gene Hackman.

The Seven-Ups is a great film.

The French Connection is a brilliant film.

I think in reality, TFC had a more complex, intricate plot with deeper characters. TSU was a little more simplistic and to be honest, I lost track of who was who at times. Still, I enjoyed them both... gotta love those gritty, 70s police films.

[–] King_Of_Fuh 10 years ago

No violence. It was PG. People want violence in a cop movie, duh.

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[–] ck427 10 years ago

I think in reality, TFC had a more complex, intricate plot with deeper characters. TSU was a little more simplistic and to be honest, I lost track of who was who at times. Still, I enjoyed them both... gotta love those gritty, 70s police films.

I agree, BadC, I used to see this movie alot when babysitting in the 1970's on late-night NY TV. I always had trouble following the plot. At the end of TFC, you had a real big 'fake-out' and it all tied together.

In TSU, you really had a low-level guy playing off 2 sides and when it's revealed at the end and the movie ends with Buddy (Roy S.) walking away, you kind of said "Is that it ?"

[–] mandrake62 10 years ago

Check out the filmography of the director. He was primarily a producer. Produced French Connection, Bullitt and Seven-ups among others. This is the only film he directed and I think that may account for the problems with it. He just was not a good director and it shows. The chase is the best part of the film and that is probably due more to Bill Hickman who was stunt driver and coordinator for this film as well as Bullitt and French Connection.
After the success of Bullitt and French Connection, D'Antoni apparently thought he knew how to direct but this film shows otherwise. Every scene seems epsodic. Many scenes don't even make sense. Storyline and motivation are diifficult to follow. The acting is below the standards of a mostly talented cast.
Even a great chase scene could not save this tilm.

[–] SnoozeAlarm 9 years ago

>>> D'Antoni apparently thought he knew how to direct but this film shows otherwise.

I really disagree with this. I think the direction is great. I think the film's weak link in the chain is the script.

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[–] maxthepupp 10 years ago

Ok so I'm going to pretty much agree with the consensus of these posts. I think that it could have been a classic , truly great film of the genre had they fleshed out the characters more - ala The Untouchables-and tightened up the writing and plot devices.
I did like how Scheider and LoBianco sort of "method"d their relationship but felt the matter of fact way it ended could have had a little more gravitas.
A better director would have punched it up . Best car chase even ever for sure and Scheider has always been a personal favorite. Good to see this again...been years!

[–] jmix66 10 years ago

It was just sort of…dull.
Besides the car chase, nothing really happens in the film and it seems like it takes a long while not to happen.
Could have been better if the pacing was tighter and the writing was better.
As it was, it's an average film that really shows its age.

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[–] mobocracy 10 years ago

This.

It took too long to get to the car chase. The part before that lacked any kind of drama or build-up without being quite atmospheric enough to account for it.

Crisper pacing, better exposition of the broader conspiracy with more and snappier dialog would have helped.

The mono audio track didn't help any of this and it was unusually poor on the DVD I got from Netflix (and almost quaint double sided disk with a "full screen" version on one side).

It does succeed in painting a really gritty picture of 1970s New York City.

It's a good enough story that the right filmmaker could remake this into an excellent film.

[–] nameismike69 10 years ago

The movie unfortunately failed because the story was too lame. Acting was Hollywood top notch. French Connection it's not

[–] yatzo376 9 years ago

My favorite thing about TSU is the way NY looked in the early 70s.