Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. —Henry Fielding

09 August 2007

The Last Picture Show

I guess I don't write too much about movies I've seen before. I don't really re-visit movies that often. But I am participating in the Supporting Actress Smackdown this month over at Stinkylulu's place, so that means I'm screening all of the Oscar nominees from 1971 for Best Supporting Actress. This means I needed to revisit The Last Picture Show, a movie I first saw in October of 2000. I'm sure glad I did, too. Seven years ago means most of my focus was on the young hero of the film (Timothy Bottoms) and my love for the very-cute-at-that-age Jeff Bridges, who is second-billed. The film is about sexual awakening in a lot of ways, so I'm sure that was drawing most of my attention back then.

But The Last Picture Show is a quiet epic of sadness and ennui. Larry McMurtry's script is a beautifully crafted thing and the black and white photography gives this film about the 1950s an air of something already forgotten even while it's being shot. It's a sad, lovely, movie with some absolutely brilliant performances. Ben Johnson in particular is just perfect as the town's lifeblood Sam the Lion. Check this flick out if you haven't seen it. It's worth the re-watch.

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