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The Last Picture Show
U.S., 1971, 118 min, Dir. Peter Bogdanovich, Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language
The picture that put director Peter Bogdanovich on the map (and his marriage on the rocks) is, in the words of Roger Ebert, "... above all, an evocation of mood. It is about a town with no reason to exist, and people with no reason to live there. The only hope is in transgression." At the beginning of the fifties, time is standing still in the fictional Texas town of Anarene, but there's plenty of transgression going on - sexual and otherwise - behind closed doors. Larry McMurtry adapted his semi-biographical novel. Cybill Shepherd became a star as did Jeff Bridges. Audiences took note of Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman, the latter taking home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The veteran Ben Johnson had to be convinced (by John Ford) to accept his role. Like Ms. Leachman, he too received an Oscar for his effort. Evoking the black-and-white American classics that he loved, Bogdanovich went on to make one of his own.
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