MovieChat Forums > Shanks (1974) Discussion > SO MANY, MANY THANX, TCM!!!

SO MANY, MANY THANX, TCM!!!


Ho

ly

Crap!!!

I have been waiting over twenty years, over half my life, to see this film, and TMC showed it last night!

It was well worth the wait -- what a wonderful film with which to wrap up Castle's directing career.

And what an absolutely bizarre film. Yet, in a weird sort of way it was classic Castle: a horror film (sorta... yeah) with a gimmick (largely without dialog, most major performances by mimes, and it was sortakinda an "arty" film, too... which for Castle, is definitely a gimmick!)

It's interesting... I had so many years to build up thoughts, expectations, inevitable concepts of the nature of the film; especially since I tried to not read anything very specific, detailed about the film in order to not spoil the viewing of it for me! So, I think because of Castle producing Rosemary's Baby, Shanks to me was a very *urban* story, with muddier, gloomier photography and vastly different (and, actually, almost no) music -- and the female lead looked like Celeste Yarnell in my mind!!!

But, tho very different from what I expected, it was incredibly unique and special. Extremely well-made and acted.

Plus, Helena ("I don't wanna talk about it") KaliantoIcan'tspellitonis!!! Yay!!!

Matthew

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[deleted]

I'd never heard of this film before I saw it in TCM's listing...but I've found so many gems on "TCM Underground" I wanted to watch.

That was the strangest and/or sickest thing I've ever seen in my life. And I'm not using "sick" in a good way.

First, can I say it was very ironic to see the guy who played the Hit Man in Weekend At Bernie's playing one of the motorcycle gang. Two "corpse" movies in the same career...

I was fine all the way through the birthday party although I found it very odd that a girl who looked around 14 would 1) be hanging around a 40 year old man with no one finding it odd and 2) be so okay with the idea of dead bodies so quickly - no matter how they died - it was an intriguing black comedy...

But then this motorcycle gang shows up at the party. Why there? Because, I guess.

And then with two dead bodies under his control to try to fight them off, Shanks does nothing at all until his friend gets attacked and it's too late. She ends raped - probably gang raped - and dead...happy birthday.

Hard to feel empathy for a character who is supposedly so clever one time and so idiotic the next. There were ways to have the same ending without that.

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Last night, I was lying back looking at the stars and I thought...where the *beep* is my ceiling???

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Like others I've been waiting for YEARS to see this movie and I'm glad TCM showed it. Unfortunately it's slow, dull and pointless. It's a weird film alright but that doesn't make it a classic. The horrific aspects are completely downplayed and (aside from Marceau who's brilliant) the acting sucked! Also Celia looked like she was 14 and her attracrion to Shanks was just creepy. When the motorcycle gang showed up for no reason at the end I gave up on the film. It tries something different but just doesn't work.

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agree with preppy-3, it was a disaster... And yet Alex North got an Oscar nod for his music! I'll bet he was a little bit sheepish and embarrassed going to the Oscars that night!

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LOL If I were North I would have skipped the Oscars that night:) He probably knew he wouldn't win. But he could have been wrong. One composer was nominated for "The Milagro Beanfield War" but figured he wouldn't win so he didn't go. However he DID win and says he's been kicking himself ever since:)

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LOL!! If I were North I would've gone to the ceremony soused to the gills!

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Hey--he wouldn't have been alone! Have you seen some of the acceptance speeches over the years??? Some of those people HAVE to be drunk! Only Jack Nicholson came up to accept and award and made it clear that he just had a Valium!!!! And when Irene Cara accepted the award for Best Song (for "Fame") she was clearly stoned or drunk:)

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