The Last Picture Show

"I think one of the reasons younger people don't like older films, films made say before the '60s, is that they've never seen them on a big screen, ever. If you don't see a film on a big screen, you haven't really seen it. You've seen a version of it, but you haven't seen it. That's my feeling, but I'm old-fashioned." - Peter Bogdanovich

Recently, I was privileged to a uniquely cinematic experience - a screening of The Last Picture Show, projected from the original film stock.  The last film to be shown at this particular theater (Cable Car Cinema in Providence, RI, one of my favorite places) before the conversion to digital, the film is both emblematic of what could have happened, had Cable Car not been able to afford the digital conversion technology, and the very reason the cinema will not be closing any time soon. Movies are magic, and a good performance transcends the screen to manipulate your heartstrings as you might toy with a marionette.

The Last Picture Show is about Sonny Crawford, growing up in 1950s Texas, and how his declining small-town of Anarene becomes a ghost town. By the film's end, it's not just the town that feels haunted, it's the people of the town, but none more so than Sonny. It's ironic, to me, that the last film shown at the Anarene picture show is a western, because throughout the film, it occurred to me that the citizens of Anarene were a lot like cattle: grazing, bumping into one another, forming friendships, thinking little of monogamy, waiting for some excitement. It also made me think of a song currently playing on country radio, "Merry Go Round," by Kacey Musgraves... I'll link to the lyrics below.

Based on a book by Larry McMurtry, the film features some really strong performances from its cast. The Last Picture Show saw Oscar nominations for the acting alone: Ben Johnson (who won for his performance as Sam the Lion), Cloris Leachman (also won, for her performance as Ruth Popper), Jeff Bridges (in his screen debut as Duane Jackson), and Ellen Burstyn (as Lois Farrow). They are, of course, all great performances, but at the center of them all is Timothy Bottoms, in his first big role. He may not have been recognized by the Academy, but he is very good as Sonny, the not-quite-golden boy who has an affair with his coach's wife, goes along with the misadventures of his buddies, and is forced to grow up when his mentor and hero, Sam the Lion, dies suddenly.

The story is complicated, and I don't want to give too much away - but you should also know that The Last Picture Show was added by the Library of Congress to the National Film Registry. I think this helps to back up the things I feel, emotionally, are important about the film: the choice to shoot in black and white (to enforce a feeling of bleakness), the powerful acting, the cinematography, the representation of a shadowy period of history (rural America between World War II and the Korean War), and the overwhelming feelings evoked by the film.

While you may not be able to see The Last Picture Show in a theater, the DVD is a part of the acclaimed Criterion Collection, restored and enhanced... a different experience entirely. Perhaps I'll see it again, but I doubt it could top the experience of the original celluoid at Cable Car. All the same, at least the DVD means that we haven't missed the final showing.


Notes:
- Cable Car Cinema's official website
- Video for Kacey Musgrave's "Merry Go Round"
- Lyrics to Kacey Musgrave's "Merry Go Round"
- Bogdanovich shot the film in Larry McMurtry's hometown of Archer City, Texas.
- Ellen Burstyn had her pick of all three adult, female leads - Bogdanovich just wanted to work with her. She asked if she could play Lois, because she thought it the most interesting, and Bogdanovich agreed.
- I realized on my way home from the movie that The Last Picture Show doesn't have a score. The only music in the movie is from radios, record players - a very naturalistic style.
- The final scene with Sonny and Ruth was shot with no rehearsal, in one take.
- Randy Quaid makes his film debut as a wealthy kid from Wichita Falls, pursuing Jacey.
- The role of "Billy" is played by Sam Bottoms - Timothy Bottoms' brother.