I can't remember when I first saw this film. It was probably in the cinema and I thought it was a nostalgia flick, a fad then. 'Chinatown', 'Play It Again Sam' and 'Summer of 42' came out around the same time. And Bogdanovich had done 'The Last Picture Show' in B&W. Look, the US was coming out of the revolutionary Sixties - romanticism was in order.
I saw this film again recently on DVD. It's a gem. Taken from its 1970s context, it's obvious that Bogdanovich had talent like Polanski. There are so many scenes in the film that work because Bogdanovich made them work. This film suggests simple humanity. What went wrong for Bogdanovich? Why didn't this guy get the chance to settle down and do more? Kubrick got the chance - and then produced machinistic, technical schlock. 'Paper Moon' has more warmth -despite its austerity- than all of Kubrick's films combined.
Last points? Gotta daughter? Watch it with her. I predict that in 2123, people will watch this film, laugh, and simply believe that it comes from a previous century - as we today confuse the novels of Emile Zola and Victor Hugo.
I saw this film again recently on DVD. It's a gem. Taken from its 1970s context, it's obvious that Bogdanovich had talent like Polanski. There are so many scenes in the film that work because Bogdanovich made them work. This film suggests simple humanity. What went wrong for Bogdanovich? Why didn't this guy get the chance to settle down and do more? Kubrick got the chance - and then produced machinistic, technical schlock. 'Paper Moon' has more warmth -despite its austerity- than all of Kubrick's films combined.
Last points? Gotta daughter? Watch it with her. I predict that in 2123, people will watch this film, laugh, and simply believe that it comes from a previous century - as we today confuse the novels of Emile Zola and Victor Hugo.