THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN (1979) Grade: B 

First things first, it’s amazing that this movie came out only 4 years after the date of the break-in to the DNC headquarters.

IMDB has lots of fun trivia on this one: The furious volley of typewriter hammers striking paper in the opening scenes was created by layering the sounds of gunshots and whiplashes over the actual sounds of a typewriter, accentuating the film's theme of words as weapons. This is also why the closing scene has a teletypewriter printing headlines with the sound of cannon fire from a 21-gun salute in the background.

I have to admit, I found the sound alarming after a few moments of pure silence before it.

Anyway, going in a bit blind, but with a basic knowledge of the Watergate scandal, so this will be interesting to see.

Also some neat trivia: Frank Wills was the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate complex, and he plays himself in this film.

Also, one of the writers is William Goldman, and he wrote The Princess Bride.

Oh, hey! The director, Alan J. Pakula, also directed To Kill a Mockingbird.

“Follow the money.” Three words, but a brilliant line. I wonder if Lin-Manuel Miranda picked up on that phrase here first. I read in the trivia that this film coined the phrase. I don’t know. Just an interesting thought. I love drawing connections like this.

My god, this movie was definitely not made for me. I have no attention span for it. I’ve watched it all so far, but I’ve had to pause it several times because despite what practiced critics say about the thing, I, the average viewer, am finding it boring as. And it’s not that I don’t understand what’s happening. It’s not that I’m not interested in the Watergate scandal or not familiar. It’s that this film is not... exciting at all to me.

I do like the excitement of following the money and the leads and investigative journalism, but I’ve got to say... that only lasts so long. It doesn’t stay interesting for 2 hours and 18 minutes. I just can’t be bothered with it.

I have to be honest, I haven’t barely given this any scoring because I can’t find anything I love or hate about it. It just exists.

ESE: 70/100

From Acting and How to Be Good At It by Basil Hoffman. It reads as such:

Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Anne De Salvo and Basil Hoffman on the set of My Favorite Year / still

My Favorite Year (1982) directed by Richard Benjamin

Peter O'Toole as Alan Swann

Mark Linn-Baker as Benjy Stone

Anne De Salvo as Alice Miller

Ordinary People (1980) Review

A family struggling to cope with the tragic accidental death of the oldest son, as they must live on whilst not communicating with one another very well.

(more…)

Watch My Favorite Year

My Favorite Year: A dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show.

Genres:-Comedy

Actors:-Adolph Green,Anne De Salvo,Archie Hahn,Basil Hoffman,Bill Macy,Bob Terhune,Bob Windsor,Cady McClain,Cameron Mitchell,Corinne Bohrer,Denver Mattson,Fox Harris,George Fisher,George Marshall Ruge,George Wyner,Gloria Stuart,Howard George,Ilana Rapp,Jed Mills,Jenny…

At Long Last Love

Watch At Long Last Love

At Long Last Love: This film was Peter Bogdanovich s homage to musical comedies of the 1930s. A millionaire named Michael Oliver Pritchard III and a singer named Kitty O Kelly meet and fall in love. Meanwhile, an indigent woman named Brooke Carter and an Italian gambler named Johnny Spanish meet and fall in love. All four people meet each other and become friends…

At Long Last Love

Watch At Long Last Love

At Long Last Love: This film was Peter Bogdanovich s homage to musical comedies of the 1930s. A millionaire named Michael Oliver Pritchard III and a singer named Kitty O Kelly meet and fall in love. Meanwhile, an indigent woman named Brooke Carter and an Italian gambler named Johnny Spanish meet and fall in love. All four people meet each other and become friends…