Nickelodeon/The Last Picture Show DVD Release

Twin-Bill Features Director's Cuts of Bogdanovich Classic, Misfire

Apr 14, 2009

A new two-DVD set from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment pairs what is arguably director Peter Bogdanovich's best film with one of his weaker efforts.

The two-disc package features Nickelodeon, the 1976 salute to American film's silent era, and the still-magnificent The Last Picture Show, co-written by Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry (Terms of Endearment, Brokeback Mountain, Lonesome Dove), based on McMurtry's novel.

Like Nickelodeon, Last Picture is also a period piece -- about longing and loss in a dying Texas town in 1951.

This is a mixed bag -- the rich, evocative modern classic Last Picture with the well-intentioned misfire Nickelodeon, which plays predictable and nearly laughless.

Bogdanovich poured his heart into the film starring Ryan O'Neal and Burt Reynolds. The director, who famously began his career as a film critic and essayist, clearly loved the romance of the early years of American moviemaking. But the film, a dud in its initial release, still doesn't work -- even with some key changes for this DVD release.

The Nickelodeon disc includes both the original color release and, more importantly, a new black-and-white director's cut. "The big change," Bogdanovich told Suite 101, "was black-and-white. With about five minutes of (restored) material sprinkled throughout."

Bogdanovich originally wanted the film in black and white, to bring authenticity to a story about the silent days. But the releasing studio, Columbia, thought otherwise. "I had the clout (to make the movie)," the director rrecalled, "but they also had (the ability) to cancel the movie."

Ryan O'Neal's Role a Composite

Nickelodeon is based on actual events and the experiences of legendary directors Allan Dwan, Raoul Walsh, Leo McCarey and John Ford. O'Neal plays a composite of them, and students of the era will recognize many famous stories of those days.

Like Dwan's gunplay with Patents Trust operatives. And Ford's ripping out pages of a script to satisfy a studio lackey complaining about a shoot being behind schedule.

But sadly, Bogdanovich's thoughtful commentary may be more interesting than the film itself.

The new restoration can't hide the film's inherent weaknesses. Nickelodeon is surprisingly uninvolving, with a by-the-numbers feel, especially regarding some lame running gags that never rise above the cliches they are.

Slapstick Elements Ineffective

The script, by Bogdanovich and W.D. Richter (Slither, Big Trouble in Little China, Home for the Holidays), places the mostly true story in a real setting, yet undercuts it with slapstick that worked in real silent movies but here feels forced and unfunny.

Bland Ryan O'Neal overplays his deer-in-the-headlights role; Burt Reynolds is alternately precious and mannered; and newcomer Jane Hitchcock is a beautiful vacuum. Brian Keith squeezes few laughs out of his role as a bombastic, Sennett-like indie producer.

Conversely, Last Picture remains one of the great films of the 1970s, a decade now celebrated as a renaissance in American pictures. Just Bogdanovich's second feature -- after his impressive directorial debut with 1968's Targets -- The Last Picture Show is a sad, wistful elegy for what grizzled Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson) calls with understatement "the old days."

Last Picture established the careers of practically everyone in it -- excluding the Texas locals hired for the shoot in tiny Archer City itself. This included Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid, Eileen Brennan and Ellen Burstyn. Supporting Oscars went to veteran character actor (and former ranch hand/rodeo performer) Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman. In fact, during shooting Bogdanovich boldly told each they'd win -- brash predictions he now sheepishly admits were fairly reckless.

Bogdanovich Sought John Ford's Help

"When I thought of Ben to play the part," Bodganovich recalled, "I couldn't get it out of my mind. I did everything I could to get him to play it. Finally, I had (John) Ford call him." But Johnson was uncomfortable with what he felt was too much dialogue for his character. Ford couldn't budge Johnson either, although eventually the actor came around.

In his commentary, Bogdanovich speaks movingly of having to shoot the funeral scene for Johnson's character just days after burying his own father. "It helped me understand the scene better," he told Suite 101.

It's tidbits like this that make the commentary track a must for anyone interested in how real life can affect -- and reflect back onto -- the art of moviemaking.

The director's cut in this release was actually assembled in the 1990s and previously released on DVD. But here, the picture and sound were cleaned up. The results are terrific.

Jeff Bridges - Cybill Shepherd - Timothy Bottoms Love Triangle

Bridges and Timothy Bottoms are terrific as longtime pals just out of high school, in love with the same local rich girl -- the willowy, ambitious, sexually naive ice princess Jacy played by Cybill Shepherd. This, her film debut, may still be her best work on screen. (She and Bogdanovich's longtime relationship began on this picture.)

Perhaps the most affecting performance came from Cloris Leachman, until then a journeyman (journeywoman?) actor who later played a memorable role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the spinoff series Phyllis. Her May-September affair with Bottoms' character is truly heartbreaking.

This cut restores about six minutes of material from Bogdanovich's original pre-release cut, including several short scenes originally cut to get the movie to a two-hour running time but which Bogdanovich felt filled out character motivations and helped set up succeeding scenes.

Excellent Bonus Material in DVD Release

The bonus material really helps the viewer appreciate anew both the film and all of the last-minute, seat-of-the-pants decisions that shaped it during shooting.

The package is available Apr. 21, 2009, and has a suggested retail price of $24.95.

The copyright of the article Nickelodeon/The Last Picture Show DVD Release in Classic Films is owned by Barry M. Grey. Permission to republish Nickelodeon/The Last Picture Show DVD Release in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.