Author: thehorsesheadblog

#316) Star Wars (1977)

OR “Monomyth….In….Spaaaaace!”

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Class of 1989

NOTE: This post is about the original 1977 version of “Star Wars”. No “A New Hope” here.

The Plot: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a civil war rages between the indestructible Galactic Empire and the oppressed Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) has stolen the technical plans for the Empire’s secret “Death Star”, but her attempt to give them to the Rebels is thwarted by the dark lord Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones). Leia hides the plans with droids C-3PO & R2-D2 (Anthony Daniels & Kenny Baker) and sends them to the desert planet of Tatooine. The two droids encounter farmhand Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who stumbles upon a hidden message from the princess. Aided by reclusive Jedi Knight Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi (Alec Guinness), rogue smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his furry co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Luke ventures into space to save the princess, learn about the mystical Force, and restore freedom to the galaxy.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “legendarily expansive and ambitious”, praises Lucas, and calls the special effects “effective and intelligently integrated with the story.”

But Does It Really?: There are two eras of filmmaking: pre-“Star Wars” and post-“Star Wars”. A lot of movies on this list were game-changers, but “Star Wars” may be THE game changer. The movie inspired several generations of filmmakers, and its technical breakthroughs changed how movies are made (and marketed). But at its core, “Star Wars” is still a fun, exciting, imaginative film, the perfect blend of every great fairy tale, sci-fi story, and classic movie. The ensuing fandom can be a bit nauseating, but never forget that it all stems from two hours in the ‘70s that ignited the collective imaginations of filmgoers around the world.

Shout Outs: No direct references, but among the countless movies alluded to throughout are NFR entries “The Wizard of Oz”, “Twelve O’Clock High”, “The Searchers”, “Psycho”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “2001: A Space Odyssey”, Lucas’ own “THX 1138”, and of course, “Flash Gordon”.

Everybody Gets One: Most of the team will return for “The Empire Strikes Back”, but this is the only NFR entry for Peter Cushing. A veteran of Britain’s Hammer horror films, Cushing was cast as the evil Grand Moff Tarkin due to his “lean features”. Cushing enjoyed being in “Star Wars”, though admitted he never understood what a “Grand Moff” was.

Wow, That’s Dated: Luke’s Farrah Fawcett-ian hair is your first clue. And while some of the optical effects have not aged well, I’ll take them over disruptive CG tweaking any day.

Seriously, Oscars?: By the time the 50^th Oscars rolled around in 1978, “Star Wars” had already surpassed “Jaws” as the most successful movie of all time. “Star Wars” received ten Oscar nominations (second to the 11 scored by more traditional Oscar fare “Julia” and “The Turning Point”) and won six awards, plus a special Oscar for Ben Burtt’s sound design. “Star Wars” received the most Oscars that year, but the winner in all the major categories was fellow NFR entry “Annie Hall”.

Other notes

• Now that’s an intro! John Williams hits you over the head with the fanfare, the expository text scrolls by, and suddenly giant spaceships are flying over your head. The beauty of this whole opening sequence is that it gives you just enough information without feeling overwhelmed, and fills in the rest with music and effective imagery.

• I’ve watched a great deal of ‘70s films for this blog already, and with that context, what a refreshing oddity “Star Wars” must have been in 1977. There really was nothing like this film in the cultural landscape of “Rocky” and “The Godfather”.
• I miss Carrie Fisher. Not Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher. Rare is the Hollywood star that could be articulate and insightful about their own life, and hilarious to boot.
• One of the things that sequels inevitably do is remove some of the mystery of the first film. It must have been fun theorizing what was under Darth Vader’s helmet before it turned out to be charbroiled Hayden Christensen.
• Say what you will about Lucas’ clunky dialogue (and I will), but he is a master world-builder. Even the arid landscape of Tatooine is fun to explore.
• Mark Hamill never gets the credit he deserves as an actor. Sure, Luke whines a lot, but Hamill gives him a clear character arc and always plays Luke with complete sincerity.
• Why do 3PO and R2 scream when they’re in danger? Are droids being programmed to emote? What scientific purpose does that serve?
• I won’t get into it here, but the Obi-Wan scenes are ripe with future continuity errors derived from the prequels. “I don’t seem to remember ever owning a droid.”
• Speaking of Obi-Wan, stories of Alec Guinness’ displeasure with “Star Wars” are legendary. Yes, he hated the shoot, but according to his voluminous biography, he always hated shooting a film, even “River Kwai”. This all being said, ever the professional, Guinness gives an unsurprisingly nuanced performance.
• So many Imperial officers in this movie aren’t British. When did Vader change that hiring policy?
• The Cantina sequence takes the world building to a whole other level. We get all kinds of crazy looking aliens, Harrison Ford gives Han Solo an extra cocky introduction, and the tempo of the film really starts to pick up. My one question: Did Ben and Luke pay their tab?

• Han shoots alien Greedo to avoid an encounter with crime lord Jabba. What a great demonstration of Han’s character that needs no further meddling.**
• I do love the grandiose reveal of the Millennium Falcon, followed by Luke’s “What a piece of junk.”

• While meeting with Tarkin, Leia shows off her disappearing-reappearing British accent. Apparently this was Carrie Fisher’s first day of filming, and the accent was quickly dropped.

• Man, Cushing’s great in this too. That’s a performance by an actor who knows exactly how his character serves the story.
• Obi-Wan knows a surprising amount about TIE Fighters for someone who’s been exiled on a desert planet for 20 years. Maybe the Force has great wifi?
• For me, the film picks up once we get to the Death Star. The first hour is set-up, and now we can watch these strongly defined characters play off each other without rattling off sci-fi mumbo-jumbo.
• “The Force will be with you. Always.” “And also with you. I mean, and with your spirit”.

• Once Luke and Han rescue Leia, the dialogue begins to sound fun and natural. I detect the uncredited assistance of “American Graffiti” writers Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck.
• We have a Wilhelm scream! That stormtrooper did not die in vain.

• Luke and Leia both handle the deaths of loved ones very quickly. I guess the last stage of grief in this galaxy is shootin’ space Nazis.

• Somewhat appropriate that the most complex relationship in all of these movies is between two robots.
• The final battle sequence is a ramped-up variation of every WWII dogfight, and brings the film to a satisfying climax. I still get a chill when Han shows up at the end.

• Why make Chewbacca take part in the closing ceremony if you’re not going to give him a medal? Did he decline the medal for religious reasons? Is this somehow tied in with Life Day?

The never-ending legacy and impact of “Star Wars” deserves its own post. In fact, this one!

**2019 Update: WHO THE FUCK IS MACLUNKY!!?

#315) Hearts and Minds (1974)

Directed by Peter Davis

Class of 2018

A modern trailer

As with all the documentaries I’ve covered, this post is a massive over-simplification of the events surrounding the Vietnam War. There is so much information out there about Vietnam, and “Hearts and Minds” is a good starting point, but don’t let this blog be where you get your information.

The Plot: There is no way one movie could distill the complexities of the Vietnam War into two hours. That being said, “Hearts and Minds” makes the best effort by highlighting the viewpoints of as many participants as possible, juxtaposed with footage from the frontlines. Among those interviewed are ex-POW Lt. George Coker, America’s Commander General William Westmoreland, army deserter Edward Sodwers, and the countless Vietnamese citizens whose lives were permanently damaged by the war.

Why It Matters: The NFR quotes praise from authors Frances FitzGerald and David Halberstam, but conversely mentions critics “from both ends of the political spectrum [who] chided [“Hearts and Minds”] as manipulative propaganda that oversimplified complexities.”

But Does It Really?: Manipulative? Sure, but what documentary isn’t to a degree? “Hearts and Minds” will never satisfy everyone’s opinion on Vietnam, but the film succeeds as a document of the moment. What unfolds is a war with no end in sight, but whose participants have enough hindsight to recognize the errors made by America. As a film, “Hearts and Minds” is equal parts captivating and sobering. Those of us who weren’t there will never understand what it was like to live in the chaotic mess of the Vietnam War, but “Hearts and Minds” permanently reminds us of one of the 20^th century’s most horrific events. The film’s reportage, as well as its continued controversy, makes it unquestionably qualified for NFR inclusion.

Everybody Gets One: Peter Davis started as a writer/producer for CBS News’ documentary division. He was inspired by the release of the Pentagon Papers (which exposed our decades-long involvement with Vietnam) to make “Hearts and Minds”, his sole directorial effort. Fun Fact: Davis is the son of screenwriters Frank Davis and Tess Slesinger, who wrote the scripts for two NFR entries: “Dance, Girl, Dance” and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”.

Take a Shot: The film gets its title from Lyndon Johnson, who said of the Vietnam War, “The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.”

Seriously, Oscars?: “Hearts and Minds” almost didn’t get released when Columbia Pictures got cold feet. Producer Bert Schneider purchased the film back from Columbia, and secured a one-week Oscar qualifying run in L.A. in December 1974. Just three weeks before the Fall of Saigon, “Hearts and Minds” won the Oscar for Best Documentary. While accepting the award, Schneider read a telegram from Viet Cong Ambassador Dinh Ba Thi that praised the anti-war movement. Later that evening, Oscar co-host Frank Sinatra read a statement from the Academy saying they were “not responsible for any political references on this program”.

Other notes

• Long story short, America started aiding South Vietnam (then French Indochina) during the first Indochina War in the ‘50s to prevent the spread of Communism. Once Kennedy took office in 1961 he escalated our presence in the war, which Johnson completed in reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin incident of 1964, which may have been exaggerated as an excuse to send more troops. Thanks to an effective montage in the film, we see every U.S. President from Eisenhower to Nixon try to downplay our involvement in Vietnam.
• Despite his 6-½ years as a POW, Lt. George Coker states several times in the film that he would return to Vietnam to serve his country if asked. As of this writing, Coker is still with us, aiding fellow ex-POWs, and occasionally discussing his time in Vietnam.
• In a nice little bit of political foreshadowing, Ronald Reagan appears during the montage of Red Scare film clips. There’s also a scene from “My Son John” starting Robert Walker and Helen Hayes, both of whom have yet to make the NFR.
• One of the things that fascinated me was listening to soldiers and pilots discussing the thrill of fighting and the rush of energy that occurs in the midst of war. It’s a side we rarely hear about from our troops, possibly because we the public don’t want to acknowledge the shades of gray that come with war. This segment is immediately followed by Vo Thi Hue and Vo Thi Tu, two elderly Vietnamese sisters who lost their family and their jobs in the bombings.
• If nothing else, this film helps illuminate the Vietnamese perspective of the war, especially for us “ugly Americans” who only know the war’s main bullet points. Interviewee Diem Chau refers to Vietnam as not only a civil war, but also “a war against American imperialists.”
• And now a montage of Hollywood’s horrible mistreatment of Asians and Asian stereotypes. The shrewdest clip is from “Road to Hong Kong” featuring Bob Hope, who shows up later in the film making a tasteless joke during a gala dinner for rescued POWs.
• Davis not so subtly suggests that American football culture is responsible for our over-enthusiastic pro-war mentality. No amount of verbose John Facenda narration can spin that one.
• Another gray area: war-profiteers in Vietnam. I did not realize how many American corporations opened branches in Vietnam during the war.
• Among the anti-war vets interviewed is Robert Muller (no, different spelling), who was left paralyzed during the war. He later founded the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
• Production of “Hearts and Minds” took place while Nixon was still in office, but released a few months after his resignation in August 1974. I’m sure this gave the film an additional layer during its initial run.
• I think what I’ll take away from “Hearts and Minds” are the images of the Vietnamese effected by the war: the innocent bystander getting shot in the head by an American soldier, the father clinging to his dead daughter’s shirt, the grieving woman trying to be buried along with a soldier, and actual footage of Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the nine-year-old girl made famous by this intense photo of her being burned by napalm. Miraculously, she survived this, and is still alive, albeit permanently traumatized by those events.
• Among those credited as part of the film’s sound team is Barbara Kopple, just a few years away from her Oscar-winning, NFR-inducted documentary “Harlan County U.S.A.”

#314) HE Who Gets Slapped (1924)

OR “Clown-trodden”

Directed by Victor Sjöström

Written by Sjöström and Carey Wilson. Based on the play by Leonid Andreyev.

Class of 2017

No trailer, but here is a clip of HE getting slapped. That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?

The Plot: Scientist Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) is betrayed when his donor Baron Regnard (Marc McDermott) claims Paul’s proven theories as his own. A confrontation at the Academy of the Sciences ends with the Baron slapping Paul in front of the distinguished academics, and then running off with Paul’s wife Marie (Ruth King). Paul takes her cries of “clown” literally, and five years later has become the successful circus clown “HE” with his “HE Who Gets Slapped” routine. HE develops feelings for the show’s new horse rider Consuelo (Norma Shearer), who is in love with fellow performer Bezano (John Gilbert). When the Baron happens upon the circus with his eye on marrying Consuelo, HE/Paul must confront his past and why he has chosen to mask his pain with pratfalls and makeup.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up lists the film’s historical significance, and praises Chaney, Sjöström, and the film’s “nightmarish vignettes”. They also call the film “[o]ne of the earliest ‘creepy clown’ movies”. I suspect the 2017 NFR board had just come back from a showing of “It” before inducting this film.

But Does It Really?: I don’t know. I enjoyed “HE Who Gets Slapped” quite a bit. It’s a wonderfully weird movie unlike anything else the silent era produced. That being said, its historical significance is more trivial than pivotal (see “Other notes” below), and the film has no real lasting cultural impact. But on the plus side, “Slapped” has aged very well for a 95-year-old movie, and hopefully will get rediscovered by film lovers and clown-fearing citizens alike. The slightest of passes for NFR inclusion.

Wow, That’s Dated: Traveling circuses, as well as a time when clowns were commonly accepted as an embodiment of joy and not, you know, nightmare-inducing.

Take a Shot: The title is actually mentioned once in the intertitles as the name of Paul’s act. And yes, both letters in “HE” are capitalized. Take that, God!

Other notes

• What is the historical significance of “HE Who Gets Slapped”? It was the very first film produced entirely by MGM following the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. It’s also the first MGM movie to open with Leo the Lion, played by Slats, the only Leo that doesn’t roar.

• Yes, the movie is a bit on the bizarre side, but once you learn it’s an adaptation of a Russian play, suddenly it all makes more sense. What I wouldn’t give to see that production.
• This is one of several American films where Swedish-born director Victor Sjöström is credited as the Anglicized “Victor Seastrom”. I guess early film typeface didn’t have umlauts.
• The first shot is a clown spinning a globe while laughing into the camera. Fasten your seatbelts, kids.

• It quickly occurred to me that I’m only familiar with Lon Chaney as “The Phantom of the Opera”. I had no idea what he actually looked like. Why would you want to hide that face under so much makeup?
• Is this what the Academy of the Sciences did before the Oscars?
• Oh I didn’t realize the clowns are here for scene transitions. This is trippy. Visually impressive, but still trippy.
• Canadian-American actor Norma Shearer is many things, Italian is not one of them.
• Consuelo takes the time to re-sew the heart on HE’s costume. She’s mending his heart. Get it?
• How does one get the title “The World’s Quaintest Clown”? Additionally, why would one want said title?
• “I’m wrong again – the earth is HARD” Rare is the intertitle that actually makes me snort.
• The nice thing about silent movies is that any modern-day musical type can rescore them. Can you imagine this subject matter set to more experimental music?
• John Gilbert looks a little like Douglas Fairbanks at times. Is that natural or was it a requirement of every man in the mid ‘20s?
• Lon Chaney’s performance is an interesting balance of subtle and deranged. HE is so close to being the Joker.
• Speaking of MGM, this movie features what may be Leo the Lion’s only dramatic role. Slats earned his paycheck that week.
• The good news about a clown getting hurt: everyone can fit inside the ambulance.
• The intertitles get real philosophical near the end: “What is Death –? What is Life –? What is Love –?” I can only answer the third question with an obvious “Night at the Roxbury” joke.
• I don’t mean to nitpick a particularly downer film, but I feel like any other scientist would have just gone back to square one and tried a new thesis. But that’s a far less interesting movie.

Legacy

• “HE Who Gets Slapped” was a big hit in its day, and helped boost MGM’s standing as a major studio player.
• I’ll disagree with the NFR: while HE may be a “creepy clown”, I would label this film as the first in the “sad clown” subgenre (aka the “Pagliacci” films). Sometimes they’re about actual clowns, but most of the time they’re biopics about the depressing lives your favorite comedians lived.

• All of the major creatives behind “Slapped” benefited from this film’s popularity. Victor Sjöström would go on to direct several other successful silent films, including future NFR entry “The Wind”, Norma Shearer became a leading lady almost overnight, and John Gilbert was a little over a year away from his first of many pairings with Greta Garbo.
• Even Leo the Lion is still going strong almost 100 years later.

• As for Lon Chaney, he continued his run of a thousand faces, with his most iconic role just around the corner…

#313) Blackboard Jungle (1955)

OR “Stand and Deliver – ‘50s Style”

Directed & Written by Richard Brooks. Based on the novel by Evan Hunter.

Class of 2016

The Plot: Veteran Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) takes a job as a high school English teacher to support himself and his pregnant wife Anne (Anne Francis). His class is populated with unruly teenage boys, including gang leader Artie West (Vic Morrow) and the rebellious Gregory Miller (Sidney Poitier). His students attack him, both verbally and physically, but Dadier stands firm, hoping against hope he can get these kids to actually apply themselves. But who can pay attention to all this when you have the hep sounds of Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” playing over the credits?

Why It Matters: The NFR states that the film “effectively dramatizes the social issues at hand” and praises Poitier and Morrow, but mostly focuses on the film’s use of “Rock Around the Clock”.

But Does It Really?: “Blackboard Jungle” is the movie that gave us “Rock Around the Clock” and started Sidney Poitier on his road to fame, but that may be it. The film can still startle with its risqué subject matter, but its take on juvenile delinquency doesn’t pack the punch of a “Rebel Without a Cause” or “The Wild One”. Perhaps its focus on Glenn Ford – and therefore the older generation – prevents the film from reaching its maximum potential. Regardless, “Blackboard Jungle” has enough of a legacy for NFR inclusion, and gets a pass from me.

Everybody Gets One: Actors Vic Morrow and Paul Mazursky, the latter of whom would go on to write and direct a successful run of ‘70s character studies that have yet to make the Registry. Also on hand is Jameel Farah, who eventually changed his stage name to Jamie Farr and played Klinger on “M*A*S*H”.

Wow, That’s Dated: Two words: juvenile delinquency. Throw in some hip slang and frequent sexism and you got yourself 1955, Daddy-O!

Seriously, Oscars?: One of the biggest hits of 1955, “Blackboard Jungle” received four Oscar nominations: Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Editing. The film lost to Best Picture nominees “The Rose Tattoo” and “Picnic”, as well as Best Picture winner “Marty”.

Other notes

• Is a Blackboard Jungle any relation to an Asphalt Jungle?
• Accounts vary on who exactly selected “Rock Around the Clock” for the film’s opening credits. Most sources cite Richard Brooks, while others say Glenn Ford’s 10-year-old son Peter was responsible. Regardless, it heralded the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll into mainstream America.

• Fun Fact: “Rock Around the Clock” was the B-side. How different would “Blackboard Jungle” have been if Richard Brooks had opted for the A-side, “Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)”?

• Among the actors playing the faculty are stage legend Louis Calhern, future stage legend Richard Kiley, model/Scarlet O’Hara contender Margaret Hayes, and a young uncredited Richard Deacon!
• Anne Francis is Glenn Ford’s wife? She looks like she’s 12! Did I accidentally rent “Baby Doll”?
• Speaking of, that’s a 14-year age-gap between Ford and Francis. Another major readout on the Michael Douglas scale.
• And then we get Sidney Poitier. Right from the start Poitier has the star quality that compels you to watch him, even when you’re supposed to be watching Glenn Ford. It’s also fun to see Poitier playing a character who is a complete 180 from the distinguished, sophisticated persona he would later craft for himself.

• It appears Miller and Dadier are playing the first ever round of “Please Stop Calling Me Chief!”
• Among the taboo topics covered in this film are gang violence, bigotry, miscarriages, and sexual assault. Very edgy, though there’s still some work in terms of handling these subjects delicately. Anne Francis says Ms. Hammond probably provoked the students by “dress[ing] sexy”. Yikes.

• Why would you ever bring your prized record collection to a school with a well-known discipline problem? According to Richard Kiley, he continued to get jazz records from concerned fans for the rest of his life.
• Sidney Poitier was always open about his lack of musical abilities, and his singing is dubbed for this film. I guess the “Porgy and Bess” producers didn’t notice.
• Dadier shows his students a UPA-esque cartoon of “Jack and the Beanstalk”. This leads to analysis by the students that would make Bruno Bettelheim proud.
• Did they just censor Poitier saying “damn”? There are enough ethnic slurs in this film to make Quentin Tarantino blush, but heaven forbid these teenagers hear the word “damn”.
• Thanks to the Christmas pageant, this is another movie for my “Die Hard” Not-Christmas list. And why did no one ask Calhern or Kiley to direct?
• Dadier makes two dollars an hour!? Even adjusted for inflation that’s not much (roughly $19 an hour). Good thing we pay our public teachers well now, right? ….right?
• A whole movie about ‘50s teenage gangs and not a single Jerome Robbins dance number? What a rip-off!

Legacy

• The main takeaway from “Blackboard Jungle” is “Rock Around the Clock”. The film and the song helped each other achieve success, though the song quickly eclipsed the film in popularity. Teen audiences would jump out of their seats at the beginning of the film to dance to this song, though this did occasionally lead to rowdy behavior, with some theaters opting to mute the opening credits.
• Sidney Poitier would take on the role of inspirational teacher to his own troubled students in 1967’s “To Sir, with Love”. Like its predecessor, the best thing about the film may be the song.

• The film was spoofed in the 1957 MGM cartoon “Blackboard Jumble”, starring Droopy (well, three rowdy children who look like Droopy).

Listen to This: I still can’t believe “Rock Around the Clock” was only added to the National Recording Registry this last go-round. Learn more about the history of the song with this essay by music scholar David Deacon-Joyner (which sides with Team Richard Brooks on its “Blackboard Jungle” inclusion).

#312) Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

OR “The Dailies Show”

 

There’s a better subtitle out there – something more meta – but we’ll keep this for now.

 

Directed & Written by William Greaves

Class of 2015

No trailer, but this clip gives you a sense of the movie. Or not.

The Plot: Alice and Teddy (Patricia Ree Gilbert and Don Fellows) are a couple whose marriage is rapidly falling apart. Their confrontation in Central Park is actually a scene being filmed by William Greaves for a movie called “Over the Cliff”. A second film crew is documenting the interaction between Greaves, the actors, and the crew. A third camera crew is covering Greaves, the actors, the crew, the second crew, and anyone who happens by the shoot. And a film blogger (Tony Cirimele) is observing the final film some 50 years later for a review. Well, they’re not really reviews. These posts are more like observations. I guess it’s easier to observe than to critique.

Why It Matters: This movie gets a very long write-up by the NFR, which calls it, among other things, a “unique 1960s’ time capsule”. Portions of the write-up are lifted from the accompanying essay by film professor Maria San Filippo.

But Does It Really?: “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One” is one of the rare Registry entries that is absolutely one-of-a-kind. The whole process, as well as the process on top of the process, fascinated me. There are labyrinthine depths to this film, though I never quite seem to get the extra layers on films like these. Am I being too soft on these movies? Do I just give them a pass because I acknowledge that they’re complicated? And I just threw out the word “labyrinthine” like the kind of film snob I detest. But hey, with 750 of these I’m bound to repeat myself, right? Anyway, a pass to “Symbio” and William Greaves.

You know, I’ve always wanted to do a post that falls apart midway through. Maybe this is the film that will allow me to do that.

Everybody Gets One: After a stint at the Actors Studio, William Greaves pursued a performance career, but grew increasingly frustrated with the African-American stereotypes he was forced to play. Greaves studied film at the National Film Board of Canada and started a prolific career as a documentarian. While working on the TV Show “Black Journal” in his native New York, Greaves had the idea of combining his loves of acting and film into what he coined “a feature-length we-don’t-know-what”.

Wow, That’s Dated: References to then-current political figures former Governor George Wallace and New York City Mayor John Lindsay. But unfortunately, this being 1968 and all, the term “faggot” is thrown around a lot. A. Lot.

Take a Shot: Greaves explains his reasoning behind the title in the sequel: “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take 2 ½”. Oh wait; I shouldn’t be mentioning the sequel this early. I’ll hold off until later. Forget I said anything. Anyway, it’s a variation on “symbiotaxiplasm”, a concept that is essentially a microcosm where everything affects everything else.

Other notes

• Don Fellows was a stage actor who is best remembered for his performance as Col. Musgrove, co-provider of exposition in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Very little is known about Patricia Ree Gilbert, and this is her only film. That’s a shame: Gilbert is the more natural film actor of the two. Fellows never quite tones down his natural stage presence.
• “You’ve got me foxed”? Who says foxed anymore? Or ever?
• How many of the couples being filmed during the opening credits actually signed a release form?
• While not the only film on the Registry that blurs the line between fiction and reality, this is definitely an improvement over “David Holzman’s Diary”.
• Maybe it’s staged, but I eat up artists discussing how to approach a scene like caviar. That’s an expression, right?
• The crew gets together each night after the shoot to vent, as well as to question Greaves’ motivations. Arguments of creative control are never fun, especially when you’re stuck in the middle.
• Alice is Ellen Burstyn-esque. Make that, Alice has an Ellen Burstyn quality to her. Better.
• Does anyone else notice that most of my “Other notes” are from the first half of these films?
• Whoa, what got bleeped? All other language goes uncensored, but Don is bleeped while discussing his character’s sexuality, apparently comparing Teddy to a real person. Did he accidentally out someone as bi?
• Speaking of, Don (intentionally or not) gets more theatrical as the film progresses, and he always seems to be “on” for the cameras. I think we found this movie’s Michael Scott.
• Hang on, there’s a work email I need to read. To be honest, sometimes I check my phone during these viewings. It’s not that I’m bored; sometimes I just can’t focus.
• All of this discussion about the movie from Greaves and the crew begs the question: Can you analyze an unfinished piece of art?
• They’re devoting a lot of screentime at the end to this homeless drunk. It’s a grating voice with no end in sight, why is this the climax of any movie?
• I try to end the “Other notes” section with something that either comments on the ending or sums up my feelings on the film. But sometimes that doesn’t happen.

Legacy

This movie doesn’t really have a legacy, per se.

An Epilogue

“Symbiopsychotaxiplasm” didn’t get a distribution deal, but Greaves would show the film at festivals and schools across the country. One of the audience members at its 1993 Sundance screening was Steve Buscemi, who helped raise funding for a theatrical release. Thanks to Buscemi and Steven Soderbergh, “Symbio” finally got released in 2001, and four years later received the first of its four proposed sequels. “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 ½” (the one I didn’t mention earlier) reunites Greaves and several of his crew members to shoot another film, while commenting on the original film’s newfound cult following. It’s a film within a film that is a follow-up to a film within a film within a film, and comments on the original film within a film, as well as the film itself.

Well, it didn’t quite “fall apart” the way I wanted it to, but it’s definitely different from the other posts. And I guess that’s all I really wanted in the first place. Of course I could stop all of this any time I want to. No one’s holding a gun to my head. It’s just a nice motivator to keep writing. But perhaps that’s a discussion for another day. And… “Publish”.