93
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertUsing period songs and decor to create nostalgia is familiar enough, but to tunnel down to the visual level and get that right, too, and in a way that will affect audiences even if they aren't aware how, is one hell of a directing accomplishment.
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawPeter Bogdanovich's 1971 ode to a Texan small town is still a masterpiece whichever way you look at it.
- 100Slant MagazineSlant MagazineDelineates the quiet, desperate lives of the citizens of Anarene, Texas over the course of one year in the early 1950s.
- 100Time OutTom HuddlestonTime OutTom HuddlestonThe scene where Sam imparts his wisdom to young buck Bottoms may be the saddest, loveliest moment in 1970s American cinema. And that’s saying something.
- It's a snapshot of a small Texas town in the 1950s that's ostensibly filled with bighearted, god-fearing real Americans. But this exceedingly sad film spits in the eye of such homespun niceties: This is an Eisenhower-era world riddled with directionless teens, bored housewives and disenfranchised citizens who can't escape the futility around them.
- 80EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanBogdanovichs perfect recreation of the sense of time and place, and his ability to mix wit with poignancy that make this such a charming, timeless film.
- 75Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrIt's an intimate psychological story laced with references to Hollywood movies.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelIt’s plain and uncondescending in its re-creation of what it means to be a high-school athlete, of what a country dance hall is like, of the necking in cars and movie houses, and of the desolation that follows high-school graduation.