Adapted from Larry McMurtry’s bittersweet 1966 novel of the same name by McMurtry and director Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show delineates the quiet, desperate lives of the citizens of Anarene, Texas, from November 1951 to October 1952. The film is a pure Janus-headed product of the New Hollywood. Bogdanovich pours the new wine of sexual frankness available to filmmakers after the inauguration of the MPAA ratings system into old bottles borrowed from the cellars of classic Hollywood cinema, namely those older films’ expressive visual grammar and obliquely suggestive dialogue.
As an erstwhile film critic and historian, Bogdanovich drew formal and technical inspiration from his years spent programming films from Hollywood’s Golden Age at MoMA. He also solicited advice from houseguest Orson Welles when it came to shooting the film in black and white, and employing long, unbroken takes rather than break up important scenes. As Welles reportedly put it:...
As an erstwhile film critic and historian, Bogdanovich drew formal and technical inspiration from his years spent programming films from Hollywood’s Golden Age at MoMA. He also solicited advice from houseguest Orson Welles when it came to shooting the film in black and white, and employing long, unbroken takes rather than break up important scenes. As Welles reportedly put it:...
- 11/15/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
On January 6, notable filmmaker and film historian Peter Bogdanovich died at the age of 82. One of the “New Hollywood” directors, Bogdanovich had great love and respect for older cinema, and established relationships with many of the major players from the Golden Age, most notably Orson Welles, which is reflected in his works. At the age of 32, he directed the film for which he will be best remembered. It was 50 years ago that he received his only Oscar nominations, for directing and writing that film — “The Last Picture Show,” a black and white ensemble coming-of-age drama set in a small Texas town in the 1950s.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Let’s flashback to the Academy Awards ceremony of 1972 to celebrate 50 years since that event.
“The Last Picture Show” tied for the most Oscar nominations that year with eight. The epic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and the crime thriller...
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Let’s flashback to the Academy Awards ceremony of 1972 to celebrate 50 years since that event.
“The Last Picture Show” tied for the most Oscar nominations that year with eight. The epic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and the crime thriller...
- 1/13/2022
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
The bleak 1971 drama is an enduring look at a dying small town that finds moments of humanity in among the sadness
As high-school senior Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) makes his way through main street in the north Texas town of Anarene in The Last Picture Show, the old-timers pelt him with complaints about his football team’s performance the night before, another in what appears to be a long line of embarrassing drubbings. The gentlest jab comes from Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), who owns the few remaining businesses in Anarene and put money on the game, surely for reasons more sentimental than rational. “A few football teams have had some luck with tackling,” Sam tells Sonny. “Keeps the other team from scoring too often.”
Sonny doesn’t take it to heart. He’s a multi-sport athlete, probably only because the school doesn’t have enough boys to fill out the rosters.
As high-school senior Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) makes his way through main street in the north Texas town of Anarene in The Last Picture Show, the old-timers pelt him with complaints about his football team’s performance the night before, another in what appears to be a long line of embarrassing drubbings. The gentlest jab comes from Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson), who owns the few remaining businesses in Anarene and put money on the game, surely for reasons more sentimental than rational. “A few football teams have had some luck with tackling,” Sam tells Sonny. “Keeps the other team from scoring too often.”
Sonny doesn’t take it to heart. He’s a multi-sport athlete, probably only because the school doesn’t have enough boys to fill out the rosters.
- 10/22/2021
- by Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
Though there were vestiges of traditional Hollywood in 1971 with the releases of big musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and an extravagant, albeit old-fashioned, historical epic “Nicholas & Alexander,” it was the untraditional fare that dominated the year with such films as Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” Alan J. Pakula’s “Klute,” Gordon Parks’ “Shaft” and John Schlesinger’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
Two of the most lauded and influential films of the 1970s made their debuts 50 years ago and earned places in Oscars history: Peter Bogdanovich’s black-and-white study of a dying Texas town “The Last Picture Show” and William Friedkin’s pulsating crime thriller “The French Connection.”
Both directors had made movies before, but these productions made them critics darlings and each film changed the careers of their stars. “The French Connection’ won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, director, and actor for Gene Hackman. “The Last Picture Show...
Two of the most lauded and influential films of the 1970s made their debuts 50 years ago and earned places in Oscars history: Peter Bogdanovich’s black-and-white study of a dying Texas town “The Last Picture Show” and William Friedkin’s pulsating crime thriller “The French Connection.”
Both directors had made movies before, but these productions made them critics darlings and each film changed the careers of their stars. “The French Connection’ won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, director, and actor for Gene Hackman. “The Last Picture Show...
- 9/29/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Cloris Leachman, who would have turned 95 on April 30, was already a seasoned performer before her impressive streak in film and television began in the early 1970s. In 1972, she pulled off a rare feat: She won the best supporting actress Oscar for Peter Bogdanovich’s “The Last Picture Show,” in a finely-drawn dramatic performance, and was nominated for an Emmy in comedy supporting actress for her role as the nutty Phyllis on CBS’ “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
The longtime stage, big screen and TV actress was in her mid-forties when two of her most memorable roles came along, followed just a few years later by her hilarious Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” for which she received a Golden Globe comedy acting nomination.
Bogdanovich recalled casting Leachman in “Last Picture Show” after her death in January. When she first entered the room, he said, he thought she seemed wrong for the part.
The longtime stage, big screen and TV actress was in her mid-forties when two of her most memorable roles came along, followed just a few years later by her hilarious Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” for which she received a Golden Globe comedy acting nomination.
Bogdanovich recalled casting Leachman in “Last Picture Show” after her death in January. When she first entered the room, he said, he thought she seemed wrong for the part.
- 4/30/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
The 1970s provided many older actors with their first Oscars, particularly in Best Supporting Actor. The decade also included what remains the only instance of an actor winning back-to-back Oscars in a supporting category. So which Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner of the 1970s do you like the best? Look back at each year’s winner and be sure to vote in the poll below!
John Mills, “Ryan’s Daughter” (1970) — Mills started the decade off with an Oscar win for playing the town fool Michael who uncovers a secret in “Ryan’s Daughter.” This was Mills’ only Oscar nomination and win, despite a very long career in film and television.
SEEJack Nicholson (‘Terms of Endearment’) blasts off after being voted top Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner of 1980s [Poll Results]
Ben Johnson, “The Last Picture Show” (1971) — Johnson would win his Oscar for “The Last Picture Show” in which he plays Sam the Lion,...
John Mills, “Ryan’s Daughter” (1970) — Mills started the decade off with an Oscar win for playing the town fool Michael who uncovers a secret in “Ryan’s Daughter.” This was Mills’ only Oscar nomination and win, despite a very long career in film and television.
SEEJack Nicholson (‘Terms of Endearment’) blasts off after being voted top Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner of 1980s [Poll Results]
Ben Johnson, “The Last Picture Show” (1971) — Johnson would win his Oscar for “The Last Picture Show” in which he plays Sam the Lion,...
- 7/5/2018
- by Kevin Jacobsen
- Gold Derby
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