Monday 31 July 2023

Point Blank (1967 John Boorman)

Interesting thriller notable for inventive use of flashbacks and complex time structure, thus quite influential, certainly to Steven Soderbergh, whose The Limey was a sort of homage.

Lee Marvin is double-crossed at a heist which takes place in Alcatraz - comes to get his revenge (though all he claims he wants is his money) against The Organization. With John Vernon, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn (Song of the Thin Man), Caroll O'Connor.

Written by Alexander Jacobs, David and Rafe Newhouse, from Richard Westlake novel. Photographed by Philip Lathrop in Panavision, edited by Henry Berman, music by Johnny Mandel.


The 'special photographic effect' shot of John Vernon falling is not very successful - quite funny. Overall though I love the feeling, the texture, of 1960s American film.

I reliably informed myself that there's a Hergé edit (see here) at 1:05:44.

Boorman had only made one movie in England, Catch Us If You Can, before being snapped up in America, where after this he made Hell In The Pacific, again with Marvin; then the great Deliverance was bookended by two interesting failures, Leo the Last and Zardoz. Later good films were Excalibur, Hope and Glory, The Emerald Forest, The General, The Tailor of Panama.

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