Under-rated - The Squeeze (1977) Discussion

[–] dasterly2007 16 years ago

i agree..it's a very underrated movie..first seen this back in 1984 when it was released on video..and i've got the old warner home video copy..but wish it would get a dvd release..especially when they put out any old crap on dvd these days.

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[–] dan-leonard 16 years ago

I remember watching this probably about 10-15 years ago on TV late one night. I was absolutely fascinated by it.

As I type this, I'm currently transferring my battered old Warner Home Video of it onto DVD.

A great film with some wonderful lines. For some reason, the one that always sticks in my head is "I'd like a bottle of very fine, very dry, Cyprus sherry". It seems like such an odd thing for someone to buy in an off-licence, but then that's the character for you - fortified wine doesn't count as drinking.

A great, underrated, overlooked film.

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[–] enneagram 16 years ago

Under-rated is just the start.

The Squeeze is (in my own opinion) one of the greatest movies ever made.

The cast is amazing - Stacy Keach puts in a brilliant performance as Naboth (from the first shot of him on the London Underground with a cigarette stuck in his mouth under a no smoking sign!) - Stephen Boyd, David Hemmings, Edward Fox, Carol White and Freddie Starr do likewise.

The script is so subtle and manages within the confines of a brit-gangster movie to get itself round topics like alcoholism and synchronicity.

The soundtrack is something else - have searched everywhere for a copy - David Hentschel is the principal composer and I understand he produced a couple of Genesis albums.

Michael Apted who directed is now directing the latest Chronicles of Narnia and has also directed a James Bond movie.

Mix all that in and what a pedigree for a movie

Just an amazing film - hope it gets a proper DVD release - have picked up a copy of the VHS transfer - hey I would want a double disc packed with extras!

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[–] DeathToPigs 16 years ago

It's priceless for the scenes of London in the late seventies, alone.

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[–] teejay6682 15 years ago

i agree, very underrated. stacy keach is awesome in the lead role. love the gritty look and atmospheric slightly prog-ish soundtrack.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] pablo-taylor 12 years ago

Like Donald Sutherland, Keach spent the formative years of his career on the London stage which probably means that he was accustomed to hearing British people speaking in an everyday context - most Americans only experience us through films and therefore seem to think that we're all either Upper Class or Cockney's which is why their attempts at accents so often fail (they also seem to be tone-deaf in this respect and hear all regional dialects in the same way - I've got an educated northern accent but most Americans of my acquittance insist that I sound like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins...).

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[–] TheAnimalMother 8 years ago

Definitely under-rated on here and yes, it is a shame. Less than 400 people have rated it, wow, unbelievable considering how good the film is. Michael Apted is an under-rated director in general I'd say. I also feel that Thunderheart from the early 90's is a very good and under seen film. Though it is certainly more remembered than The Squeeze seems to be.

My body's a cage, it's been used and abused...and I...LIKE IT!!

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