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It's about so much more than the visuals, though. It's more like a symphonic tone poem that's meant to be experienced more than analyzed—although it's certainly open to extensive analysis & always has been, of course.
Beautifully said. I'm reminded of the late R.D. Laing's premise that breakdown is sometimes breakthrough.
Well said!
All topical references eventually become "dated"—but the ideas that such references deal with don't necessarily become "dated" as well. The surface always changes, but the substance remains relevant. Andre's ideas & philosophy may well have become naive & simplistic to James Berardinelli over the years—and that's certainly fair. But ideas & philosophies often come into & then out & then back into fashion with regularity. And at the very least, Andre is still shying something of value. something to ponder ... especially in a world increasingly dominated by technology, the digital world, and AI. Where & how does basic humanity fit into such a world? Or does it? Andre's questions are even more urgent & pressing today, I would say. But that'd just me, of course.
Andre Gregory is still living.
Not showing it is so much more effective. Whatever the most horrifying thing is that you can imagine, that's what's happening. Brrr!
For me, it's depicting a nightmarish modern world where cultured, civilized people have little chance of survival, while brute force, sadism, and destruction are the reigning values. Mike Hammer is the best "hero" that such a world can offer, and there's very little to differentiate him from his enemies insofar as they regard the world & other human beings. The plot is a dizzying pursuit of a poisonous Grail that destroys rather than restoring & healing. And like a nightmare, it makes little logical, rational sense ... but emotionally, viscerally, it makes its killing point.
Agree completely! And it you watch one after the other, you'll see how many times Cameron has shot several scenes exactly as they were shot in <i>A Night to Remember</i> because there was simply no improving on the original.
No, it certainly touched on that metaphor, but it went far more deeply than that, which is what makes it such a powerful & relevant series to this day. Reducing people to numbers & metrics is just one of many examples of how human beings are controlled, programmed, imprisoned. The series isn't just about that one issue, but rather about the worldview, the mindset, that creates it in the first place.
Point well-made & taken. :)
Actually,. TV drama had begun to deal with spousal abuse in the early 1960s. Both <i>Naked City</i> and Route 66</i> featured quite serious stories about it. And even on a comedy show, you'll note that Rob & Laura are horrified when the truth about their neighbor emerges. Yes, Rob hastily locking the door after the neighbor leaves done to humorous effect, but the characters are clearly shown to be shocked, not amused.
Thanks for posting this, a delight to read.
I've always placed them with <i>The Swimmer</i) as a personal trilogy about the subject. Hope you'll enjoy them! Although "enjoy" may not quite be the word for <i>Second</i> in particular ... incredibly powerful, though.
I'd recommend <i>Seconds</i> & <i>Save the Tiger</i> as they also deal with American male midlife, the emptiness of the American Dream, and the despair of realizing that your life has been devoid of real meaning, that you bought into illusions that promised to make you happy but instead destroyed you.
There was always a thriving bohemian scene in California for decades before this film, and of course the Beats in California were the godfathers of the hippies.
I always liked her!
I don't think so at all. Midlife emptiness & despair was more than sufficient.
This, exactly. A beautifully bleak but honest look at midlife despair as the result of pursuing goals he was raised to desire & seek at the expense of his authentic self—a self he lost or surrendered long ago without truly realizing it until too late. The American Dream achieved & found to be a dull, drab, grey nightmare.
Agreed!
Agreed! Not unexpected, but still sad to hear, since Norman Lear & his work have been part of my life since I was a teenager at the end of the 1960s. Always thoughtful, insightful -and always funny before all else, finding the humor & absurdity in formerly taboo topics on TV. He had something worthwhile & important to say, but he never forgot that a TV show must be entertaining & gripping first & foremost. I never felt that I was being lectured by Norman Lear, it was more that he was simply depicting life as the viewers themselves were experiencing it, heightened just a bit for comedy, but finding the comedy in life itself.