The last performance

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Movie
German title The last performance
Original title The Last Picture Show
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1971
length 118 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Peter Bogdanovich
script Larry McMurtry
Peter Bogdanovich
production Stephen J. Friedman
music Hank Williams
camera Robert Surtees
cut Peter Bogdanovich
occupation
synchronization
chronology

Successor  →
Texasville

The last performance of Peter Bogdanovich is considered one of the most important and influential films in American cinema. Shot in 1971 , it was one of the highlights of New Hollywood cinema. The plot is based on Larry McMurtry 's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name from 1966. The writer and Bogdanovich also wrote the script, which did not always follow the original.

action

The small town of Anarene in North Texas , November 1951: Since the American football team at the local high school had suffered a heavy defeat the night before, teammate Sonny Crawford received all sorts of criticism during his morning visit to the billiards saloon. When meeting his best friend Duane Jackson, the use of a pick-up in the evening is agreed in an equally traditional routine , because thanks to this vehicle, both of them can drive their respective friends to the nearby water basin for sexual advances during or after the cinema. The billiards room, the café and the cinema belong to the aging Sam, known as “the lion”, who makes a kind of father figure for the young people in the monotonous place. The former cowboy seems to be one of the few happy people in the village. As is so often the case, Duane is allowed to be the first to use the wheelchair on this evening, as Sonny is improving his pocket money with a few delivery jobs. When he arrives at the movie theater - where Vincente Minnelli's father of the bride is shown - girlfriend Charlene Duggs grumbles, especially since Sonny had forgotten the one-year anniversary of their get-together and a gift associated with it. As she later in the pickup rejects his advances, Sonny breaks up with her completely. Sonny and Duane are completing their final year at Anarene Highschool, but their eagerness to learn tends to zero: they only have their flirtations and the associated visits to the cinema in their heads. Duane even more than the reserved Sonny - he goes out with class beauty Jacy Farrow, who is also one of the few wealthy families from Anarene, since her father runs an oil company. Duane firmly believes that he will marry her later. Jacy's mother Lois naturally wants to prevent this, especially since Duane comes from a very poor background despite his dashing appearance. Lois herself has an extramarital affair with the oil worker Abilene, an employee of her husband.

At a Christmas dance, Sonny's first rapprochement with Ruth Popper, the demure-looking wife of his high school sports teacher. Both had met when Sonny, at the request of his trainer, had chauffeured his wife to a medical examination. Her husband is rarely at home because of his many sports activities, which is why the depressed woman from forties quickly felt attracted to Sonny, who himself hardly appeared daring. With the kiss on the fringes of the party, an affair begins - unnoticed by the apparently homosexual sports teacher - that lasts for several months. Lester Marlow, who comes from a wealthy background and knows Jacy from a country club , appears at the Christmas dance and lures her to a pool party in the house of the wealthy Bobby Sheen from neighboring Wichita Falls . To the great displeasure of Duane, Jacy lets herself be driven by Lester to Bobby's property, where she is only taken in among the naked people gathered around a pool if she exposes herself in front of everyone's eyes. She also succeeds in doing so slightly ashamed; it hardly bothered her that the watch that Duane had just given her breaks when jumping into the water. Meanwhile, the bitter Duane drowns his grief in alcohol. In the midst of his pitying buddies, it is decided to offer the idiot Billy a sex experience - Billy is a mentally retarded, moreover mute adolescent, whose favorite pastime is sweeping the main street, which is dirtied by the many sandstorms. They drive to an occasional whore taker who beats Billy during the act because of his clumsiness. When the gang then delivered the blood-stained boy to the billiard saloon, the horrified Sam immediately banned everyone involved in the outrage from his facilities (with the exception of Duane, who was cowardly hiding in the back seat of her car).

Sonny now spends even more time with Ruth, whose squeaky bed admittedly limits the enjoyment of sex considerably. One day, despite the ban, he was invited by the friendly café waitress Genevieve to linger over a cheeseburger breakfast, and he was reconciled with Sam. A little later he takes Sonny and Billy with him to fish at a water basin near the city, where he surprises Sonny with all sorts of childhood memories, including a 22-year-old with whom he was madly in love. Some time later Sonny and Duane decide to escape the boredom in Anarene by spending a weekend in Mexico . On departure, Sam gives them a few dollars in addition to well-intentioned advice. When the completely hungover returnees returned to Anarene on Monday, they learned that Sam had unexpectedly died of a heart attack the day before. Sam made a few surprising arrangements for his inheritance: he left the cinema to his cashier Miss Mosey, the billiards room goes to Sonny, and even the often teased pastor's son Joe Bob Blanton receives a not inconsiderable amount of money. From then on, Sonny runs the billiard saloon, but it is not very profitable.

As high school draws to a close, Jacy has fun in Wichita Falls again. Escaping clumsily fumbling Lester, she is rejected by the far more attractive Bobby because she is still a virgin. Jacy wants to get the defloration over as quickly as possible and therefore drives Duane to a motel near Wichita Falls, but her boyfriend fails to have sex. Only a second attempt in the same "Cactus Motel" is crowned with success. Shortly afterwards, the snappy blonde ends her relationship with Duane, only to learn that Bobby, who is much more interesting to her, is now married. The disappointed Duane packs his bags and wants to look for work in Odessa , which is much further west . Jacy, in turn, embarks on a sex adventure with Abilene, her mother's lover. After the sex act performed on a pool table, the oil worker rejects any further caresses. Then Anarene gets into an uproar because pastor's son Joe Bob Blanton allegedly kidnapped a little girl. The affair turns out to be relatively harmless after Sonny and Duane's classmate was briefly detained, but Joe Bob is struck by the village's hatred. In front of the local prison, Sonny is suddenly invited by Jacy to take a trip, because after her disappointments with the other men she now wants to try Sonny. During a visit from Duane - now the proud owner of his own car - there is a violent fight between him and Sonny because he has learned of Jacy's love affairs with Sonny and she does not want to give up despite the breakup. During the fight, Sonny is hit in the eye by Duane.

Sonny cancels Ruth, who is visiting him in the hospital, and instead agrees to a lightning marriage of Jacys in nearby Oklahoma after his release . But because she had informed her parents of the planned runaway, the young couple is stopped by the police on their way to their honeymoon and ordered back to Anarene. On the way back there was a little exchange of ideas between Sonny and "short-term mother-in-law" Lois, who reveals to him that she was the 22-year-old Sam, "the lion", was once in love with (which was based on mutuality) . Duane, who reported on the Korean War after the argument with Sonny , visits his mother again shortly before he leaves. The resentful Sonny invites him to visit the last screening of the cinema. The business inexperienced Miss Mosey is forced to close, not least because of the noticeable advance in TV convenience in the Texas province - the famous Howard Hawks - Western Red River is shown . When they say goodbye on the bus, Duane learns from Sonny that Jacy is now looking for happiness in the city of Dallas . When Anarene is hit by a sandstorm again, a truck runs over Billy, who is once again sweeping the street, but has since been neglected by Sonny. Plagued by emotional pain, the boy, who is now standing completely alone, wants to leave Anarene, but turns around after passing the sign for the entrance to the town and looks for Ruth. She is angry because of his relationship with Jacy, but since she too is still suffering from the cruel loneliness of her marriage, she finally extends a reuniting hand to Sonny.

Production history

Peter Bogdanovich began his career in Hollywood as a stage actor and film critic. In 1968 he had made two B-movies , Targets and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women . The success of Targets made it possible for Bogdanovich to start an independent film project for the first time. His wife Polly Platt and the actor friend Sal Mineo made him aware of the 1966 book The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry , in which he autobiographically processed his youth in a village in Texas.

Ben Johnson , who received an Oscar for his supporting role , was initially reluctant to work on the film. Allegedly the nude scenes and the depicted morality opposed him; Even more, of course, the experienced riding expert - until then (and later) only entrusted with very rare leading roles - was shocked by the scope of the text intended for him. Director Bogdanovich finally asked his famous colleague John Ford to intercede with the actor he wanted so much. Johnson, who during the filming of the cavalry western Rio Grande with Ford allegedly because of an anti-Indian statement (but in reality more because of a demand for more salary and most certainly because of the financial failure of the previous western West St. Louis with Johnson as the protagonist ) had only actually been "pardoned" by Ford in 1964 with a mini-part in Cheyenne , but had since proven his ability to be a character actor through his appearances in the two Peckinpah classics Sierra Chariba and The Wild Bunch . Johnson is said to have taken over the role of Sam only after a call from Ford and a further consultation with Bogdanovich. Originally, the renowned country singer Tex Ritter was also in discussion because his acting son John was supposed to play one of the two youthful heroes. The fact that Bogdanovich stuck to Johnson so much has to do with the overall idea of The Last Picture Show : The director, who is well versed in film history, saw the McMurtry novel, which was already badly modified for the cinema, an ideal model, his weakness for the western genre (with Johnson as a concise representative) as well as paying homage to his cinematic role models, including Ford, Howard Hawks , Orson Welles , Allan Dwan and others. Ben Johnson had shot innumerable westerns and his name was associated with the genre in public, making this cast function on more than one level.

Based on these films, Bogdanovich shot The Last Performance in black and white, which was long considered obsolete in the early 1970s. This was done on the advice of his friend Orson Welles.

A remarkable fact is that the strips shown in Anarene cinema - to acknowledge posters or advertising over the entrance - all older release date are: father of the bride , Wagon Master (with Ben Johnson in the title role) and Winchester 73 are from 1950, Dwans Sands of Iwo Jima from 1949, and Red River from 1948 (even shot in 1946, with Ben Johnson as a stuntman). Whether this arose from Bogdanovich's own preferences or whether such (rather implausible) delays actually occurred in the American province cannot be precisely determined. It was definitely Bogdanovich's will that Red River was the film of the last screening; In the novel, the lower-level Audie Murphy- Western The Cimarron Kid was chosen by Budd Boetticher . Bogdanovich later stated that he used the Red River cattle-hauling scene "because this scene exudes optimism and a thirst for adventure, in contrast to the neglect that was rampant among Texans". That was by far not the only change to the literary model: Bogdanovich et al. a. the name of the setting, which was still called Thalia by McMurtry; Anarene (a village that really existed, but never had more than 100 inhabitants and is now a ghost town) was supposed to create a mental bridge to Abilene, the location of the Red River finale .

The film was his acting debut for Randy Quaid , as well as for Sam Bottoms , the younger brother of the lead actor Timothy Bottoms . The film also made her debut for the then twenty-year-old model Cybill Shepherd . During the production, Shepherd began a relationship with the then thirty-one year old Bogdanovich, who then separated from his wife Polly Platt . The connection lasted until mid-1978. Two other films together were made during this time. Many Texan amateur actors can also be seen in smaller roles.

The film was shot in Archer City , Texas and near Wichita Falls , both the birthplace and hometown of the writer McMurtry. Filming began on October 19, 1970. The film was first shown on September 28, 1971 at the New York Film Festival Screening before it premiered on October 3, 1971 in New York. It is a BBS production by Columbia Pictures . In the Federal Republic of Germany the film was released for the first time on May 25, 1973, in the GDR on October 1, 1976. On August 6, 1977 the last screening was shown for the first time in the DFF program .

According to his own statements, Peter Bogdanovich assembled the film in around six months. But he did not want to be named as a film editor, as he was already mentioned in the credits as a director and with Larry McMurtry as a screenwriter. According to the rules of the film union, an editor had to be named. Since Donn Cambern was working in the editing room next door on Film Drive, he said , he decided to mention him as editor in the credits. Cambern partially contradicted these representations and stated that he had supported Bogdanovich in the assembly of the film in a significant way.

Film music

While The Last Performance does without the usual film music, contemporary country songs are built into the film. Hank Williams and Tony Bennett are represented with several songs.

synchronization

The first German dubbed version was created in 1973 in Munich by Arnold & Richter KG for the West German publishing house. Conrad von Molo took over the dubbing , while his wife Beate von Molo wrote the dialogue book and daughter Elisabeth played the role of Jacy Farrow. A second dubbed version was made in 1976 in the GDR at DEFA Studios in Berlin, with dubbing directed by Margot Spielvogel based on a dialogue book by Wolfgang Krüger.

role actor BRD dubbed version (1973) GDR dubbed version (1976)
Sonny Crawford Timothy Bottoms Jürgen Clausen Walter Plathe
Duane Jackson Jeff Bridges Tommi Piper Kaspar Eichel
Jacy Farrow Cybill Shepherd Elisabeth of Molo Ursula Werner
Sam the lion Ben Johnson Heinz Engelmann Helmut Müller-Lankow
Ruth Popper Cloris Leachman Maddalena Kerrh Evamaria Bath
Mrs. Lois Farrow Ellen Burstyn Marianne Wischmann Lissy Tempelhof
Genevieve, waitress Eileen Brennan Anna Seifert Katja Paryla
Abilene, foreman Clu Gulager Manfred Seipold Karl Sturm
Charlene Duggs Sharon Ullrick Sybil Hebert Olga Strub
Lester Marlowe Randy Quaid Rainer Basedow Holger Mahlich
Bobby Sheen Gary Brockette Fred Klaus
Coach Popper Bill Thurman Klaus Schwarzkopf
Miss Mosey Jessie Lee Fulton Alice Franz
Andy Fanner Charles Seybert Leo Bardischewski
Chester Noble Willingham Erich Ebert
Leroy, youth Lloyd Catlett Ivar Combrinck
Johnny, youth Mike Hosford Axel Scholtz
sheriff Joe Heathcock Klaus Mertens

criticism

The last performance has received very good reviews and praise since its premiere in 1971. It is considered to be one of the "key films of the American cinema renaissance in the 1970s". With its reflection on the inner life of the people and the realistic description of their behavior and their surroundings, their feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness, it is considered a classic of New Hollywood . Newsweek wrote : "It is not only the best American film in a rather dreary year of cinema, but the most impressive work by a young American director since ' Citizen Kane '". Many critics recognized in Bogdanovich's work an intensive study synonymous with the admiration for classic American directors like John Ford , Orson Welles and Howard Hawks .

“ In simple black and white, with unknown actors [...] [Bogdanovich] staged a game full of Weltschmerz and resignation. “- Der Spiegel , Hamburg, 1973

“ The topography of a time, an age, a region and a Hollywood era is evoked, Howard Hawks is emphatically honored, the atmosphere of the early 1950s is reconstructed realistically and unsentimentally. A beautiful, sensitive, melancholy film. “- Die Zeit , Hamburg, 1973

“ Bogdanovich carefully reconstructs the atmosphere of those years, stylistically imitating the cinematic narrative forms of that era. Without external drama, but with strong internal tension, his film also conveys something of the self-image of the early 1970s in the USA, despite nostalgic reflections. “- Lexicon of international film (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1997

Awards

Academy Awards

Oscar winner

Oscar nominations:

British Academy Film Award

New York Film Critics Circle Award

Further

Later honors

The film has been listed as a Cultural Property of Conservation on the United States' National Film Registry since 1998 . In the updated edition of a list published by the American Film Institute of the "100 best American films of all time" it is a new entry in 2007 at number 95.

continuation

In 1990 Peter Bogdanovich made a late sequel with Texasville . Again the submission came from Larry McMurtry. With the exception of Ellen Burstyn and Ben Johnson, who died in his film role, all of the actors named above slipped into their old roles.

DVD

On November 6, 2001, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a DVD of the film The Last Performance (Special Edition), playing time 121 minutes.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e The Last Picture Show (1971) - Notes. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Information in the DVD booklet of "The Last Performance"
  3. ↑ James Steffen: The Last Picture Show (1971) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ "The Last Picture Show" in Slant Magazine
  5. ^ Peter Bogdanovich: Volume 1. Haffmans Verlag, Zurich 2000, p. 307.
  6. ↑ a b The Last Picture Show (1971) - Original Print Information. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  7. ↑ The last performance at zweiausendeins.de. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ The last performance. In: synchronous database. Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  9. ↑ The last performance (new). In: synchronous database. Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  10. ↑ The last performance at Criterion Collection
  11. ↑ happiness in the cinema . In: Der Spiegel . No. 25 , 1973 ( online ).
  12. ↑ Film tips . In: Die Zeit , No. 24/1973
  13. ^ The Last Picture Show (1971) - Miscellaneous Notes. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved December 28, 2019 .
  14. ↑ The last performance at heise.de (DVD)