Saint Jack (1979 Peter Bogdanovich & co-scr)

Funny that I first watched the film with my father (8th March 1983), who I spent much of the day retrieving from hospital. This is the glorious Blu-Ray version, of which Scorpion released only 1500 copies - why? It won the Critics' Prize at the Venice Film Festival but is another in the 'who the hell's seen it?' category with three reviews on Amazon (just 21 on IMDB). Now that we have a great copy no doubt we'll watch it over and over.

Ben Gazzara is the Saint of the title - what will become of him? And ex-pat Denholm Elliott (always great at lending seedy charm to things - only here he isn't at all seedy) takes to him at once - a cut above his horrendous countrymen James Villiers, Rodney Bewes and Joss Ackland. Apart from these (OK and Lazenby, and Peter himself) there isn't a professional in the cast, and many of the crew are clearly local.

In many ways a companion piece of They All Laughed - in that Robby Muller shot both in a sort of guerilla style, and that they are very much of a time and place (much of this Singapore is now gone, making the final shot all the more telling) and that the music is all naturally occurring. Only despite Jack seemingly knowing and liking everyone, unlike the later film there's no romance.

Based on Paul Theroux novel, originally screenwritten by Cybill Shepherd, then Howard Sackler (playwright) with Peter adding in local colour and on-the-spot ideas. It's consistently amusing and interesting and funny - origins of Singapore and Hooker, for example. And political (whorehouses for servicemen; blackmail plot).

We love the way that Peter does two things at once in a scene (or shot) - near the end with himself, Ben and Monica Subramanian it's actually three things at once.

A Roger Corman New World picture.