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One of the first, and often surprisingly gritty for its times. The scene where Martin comes across the dead woman in the tall grass & realizes what happened to her ... brrrr!
It's a film that continues to change & grow as the viewer does, and as such always has something new to say.
I also totally disagree with the OP. It's not only about what they talk about, but how they talk about it—the give-&-take between them—the willingness to really listen & hear what the other is saying, rather than just waiting for the chance to attack & refute. There's the humor in it, as Andre is just as much gently poking fun at himself & some of his ideas, as he is seriously expounding on them. There's the strong relationship of two friends parted for several years & rediscovering each other, and what they have in common despite coming from two very different worldviews.
And what they talk about itself is meaningful & moving, as it invariably returns to death—and in doing so, asks the viewer to consider what his or her life is about, what meaning they find in it or make for it. Neither pretends to have any real answers in the end, other than the asking of still more questions—which especially includes questioning one's own life & beliefs as that life is lived forward. And that's not just for them, but for the viewers as well.
But this film either connects with & resonates for you, or it doesn't. Obviously it doesn't for you. That's fine, I'm not going to slag you for it, or tell you that you just don't get it. If it doesn't work for you, then it doesn't work for you. For me, and for many others, it does work—and it works so well that we can return to to over the years & always find something new in it.
It's excellent, but surprisingly less known than many of his other fine films.
Agreed, it is a powerful film, and John Heard gives a furiously intense, no-holds-barred, driven performance—and yet is also strangely vulnerable & yearning for some sense of justice. That scene near the end where he's on the white horse (like a tarnished knight riding to battle) is breathtaking all by itself. And the entire film, with its continually shifting story & nakedly quiet character study, ties everything together in one tight emotional knot.
I remember seeing episodes of this series a few years back, and enjoying all of them. Glad it's on YouTube, but if someone put it out on DVD, I'd buy it.
And you're right, serious TV in the early 1960s really explored ideas & issues in depth, while always been gripping & entertaining as well. For all of the network restrictions then—or maybe even because of them?—those were intelligent, literate, passionate series. And you're especially right about such series being written by & for adults.
This is a perfect response to the sadly short-sighted OP.
I think we have to consider the mental & emotional state Fred is in after returning home. Physically, he's home, even though it can't be as it was before—but psychologically, he's still back in the war, still carrying the brutal toll it took on him. His brief marriage is a sham & has come apart; he's filled with resentment that younger people are getting jobs & doing better than he is; he's got despair creeping after him as if it's his own shadow; he's wondering if the risks he took & the sacrifices he made for his country even matter to anyone any more—how can he talk himself up, if he doesn't even believe in himself any longer?
Kino Lorber is about to release it on both DVD & Blu-Ray.
Still saddens me to this day.
Yes, the attitude of the times ... but also Mick encouraging Ron to set aside his wounded pride & go after Cary, just as Cary's doctor advises her to go after Ron. In a way, it's coming full circle: just as Ron helped Mick at his low point in life, simply by being an example of a better approach to life, now Mick is trying to help Ron at his low point.
The key word is "seemed"—he's been so absorbed in their conversation that he's lost track of the time, the world has just slipped by as he & Andre dig ever more deeply into their lives & thoughts. So it does seem like hours ago, and that they're the only ones present.
Absolutely! :)
No, but he definitely went there to fight.
One of the first publicly-scandalous-and-loving-every-minute-of-it celebrities, in addition to being a brilliantly gifted poet. :)
Also pretty much a Hollywoodized version/ripoff of the better Argentinean film <i>Man Facing Southeast</i>.
Another one of those indispensable actors who always made anything he was in a little better whenever he appeared onscreen.
I wish that were the case, but given the entirety of the film, I don't think so. Harry has returned to the place of beauty from his childhood, baseball in his case. But as another character says, the place of beauty is where creatures go to die. He's at the end of his tether, swallowed up by despair at the loss of meaning in his life. Everything that once mattered to him is in the irretrievable past. The kid says, "Mister, you can't play with us" because Harry isn't a kid any more. He never can be. He's already sold or given away too much of himself, and he knows that his anguish is of his own making in the end. There are no more hiding places for him.
For me, it's Venus. It's always a pleasure to see him in anything, and I particularly loved his unjustly neglected & forgotten Frank's Place (a true gem of a show) ... but it's Venus who'll always come to mind first.
A wonderful, thoughtful comment!