MovieChat Forums > Hickey & Boggs (1972) Discussion > Forgotten Classic

Forgotten Classic

posted 18 years ago by Gondorff4
4 replies | jump to latest

I just had the good fortune to see an excellent print of Hickey And Boggs at the Cinemateque in Los Angeles. The star/director Robert Culp was there to introduce the film and do a Q & A afterward. What a treat! This film is fantastic! A taut, serious L.A. noir with two phenomenal performances by Culp and Bill Cosby. What a tragedy that this picture has been off the radar for so long. A really great 70's detective/action film! We need a DVD of this pronto! Listening to Culp I understand why it has been difficult to get this one onto DVD but we need to start a campaign or something.
I urge everyone who loves gritty, urban 70's films to seek this one out. The interplay between Culp and Cosby is well known from I Spy, but, who knew they were capable of such depth and serious drama. I assumed it would be much lighter than it is, but, it's a very serious, adult film and Cosby just blows you away. He underplays so much and seemingly does so little, but, it is a deeply felt beautiful performance.
It's also a shame that Robert Culp has not directed more films, this one easily stands up to the great films of the genre. It's imaginatively shot, brilliantly edited and never loses it footing.
Cheers to the Cinemateque for getting this one up on the screen and for getting Culp to show up with it. He looks fantastic, is smart, funny and has obvious affection for the film and his co-star Cosby.
Again, I would reccomend that everyone try to get a look at this. Talk about a forgotten classic!

[–] h-ahmad-1 18 years ago

MGM should release this on DVD, seeing that they are now owned by Sony and Fox. They can do an excellent remastering job with this and they could include extras such as a trailer or audio commentaries from Culp, Cosby and Walter Hill.

I think it's probably not being released because it is too 'bleak'.

It was released on DVD three years ago, but the picture quality was supposedly bad.

[–] Doom 18 years ago

Not bad picture quality, HORRIBLE.

But so cool to hear it was shown in GOOD quality recently, ON SCREEN and (best of all) with uber cool Robert Culp actually there. God I'd love to meet him someday.

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Wait a minute... who am I here?

[–] Francoesque-2 17 years ago

This certainly is one of the great 70s films. Another MIA casualty on DVD with Richard Rush's Freebie and the Bean.

Plays with regularity in the UK, and recently in a pin-sharp widescreen (1.85:1) print.

I love how downbeat and dowdy the whole film is, with guys going about their business with the minimum fuss. Culp assays his part brilliantly, as does Cosby for that matter. How much of a shock must this have been for anyone going into a cinema expecting I-Spy: the movie!!

An action movie from back in days a fully automatic weapon was such a danger our heroes had no choice but to duck for cover and nothing like what the genre has become.

Just be thankful you got the chance to see it on the big screen!

[–] h-ahmad-1 17 years ago

The last time it was shown on BBC1 was back in June 1984 on a Saturday night. I would have been 5 back then and there's no way my mum would have let me watch it on our Sony Trinitron colour TV set.

In the late '90s, Five often showed it and it's also a TCM favourite.