Overrated

Absolutely the worst movie.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Electra Glide in Blue is a Palme D'Or nominated film and the only one directed by James William Guercio who used to be the manager of the rock group Chicago. Several band members have small appearances in this film and the band's then lead singer provides a memorable song in the end credits after a fatalistic conclusion. (The song was reused for the final episode of the television series, Miami Vice.)Recent accounts suggests that the filming was chaotic due to Guercio's inexperience and a lot of work was done by Cinematographer Conrad Hall and star Robert Blake.From the long opening shot you can see that this film benefits from Hall's cinematography who makes good use of the location in Monument Valley in Arizona. Robert Blake deliver a wry, offbeat performance as John Wintergreen the diminutive by the book motorcycle cop who wants to be a detective. When he comes across a homicide which others first thin is a suicide he gets his chance to partner with a more experienced detective. His enthusiasm soon changes when he realises that the detective is not all who he seems to be and prepared to fit up a hippie for the crime.The film has been viewed as the establishment's response to Easy Rider.That is an incorrect view in my opinion. Wintergreen is an affable, honest guy who tries to see the good in people and the film highlights issues on both sides, the counterculture and the cops. Here the cops are not seen as squeaky clean and film portrays cops in a rather sceptical light.The film is more of a character study that a crime thriller. The plot after a promising set up starts to meander, we even end up in a music concert at one point and I never really understood who really killed the victim and why.This is Blake's film, he plays Wintergreen in a low key way and brings out a lot of humour such as dancing with his cowboy hat, stetson but no pants or chatting up ladies who are much taller than him by likening himself to Alan Ladd.The Electra Glide is a motorcycle from Harley Davidson and there is a wild and violence chase scene when the cops chase a bunch of motorcyclists.Electra Glide in Blue is an uneven film that has acquired a cult reputation. It is a lot better than the vastly overrated Easy Rider.

What a quirky thing this film is, and mostly in an irritating way. Best parts first. The scenery and filming are excellent, especially the hypnotic ending with mesas receding in the background. Robert Blake is as endearing and eager here as he was playing Little Beaver in the Red Ryder films. His extended monologues are often great, and point towards his role in Baretta. But there's no sensible dialog, and the supporting cast - barfly, mentally disturbed desert wanderer, and police detective - aren't as good as Blake with their monologues. They chew a lot of scenery and are painful to watch. The whole thing gives off a whiff of Chicago, with the Guercio score and and even band members Cetera and Kath in the cast. When the film was made in 1973 Chicago was rapidly becoming a pop hit machine. Their energetic performances from the late 60's were receding from memory as fast as the hippies/communes/psychedelia shown in the film. Easy Rider was made in the 60's and captures the feel. Compared to it Electraglide in Blue seems like a wannabe that arrived 5 years too late.

Electra Glide in Blue, a 1973 film notable for being director James William Guercio's debut film, stars Robert Blake and Billy "Green" Bush as two cops who attempt to fulfill their own dreams: John (Blake) - a promotion; Zipper (Bush) - a bike. This film has recently gained critical praise, despite the original derision towards it and the dismal box office numbers for a film of this caliber. It's also notable for being the beginning of the short-lived acting careers of many Chicago members (all four of them play minor-role hippies).For the plot: in a nutshell, John wants to get a promotion while Zipper wants the best bike in the world. John gets his promotion (to detective's driver), but with an added price: either conform to what detective Harve says or to write tickets on a motorcycle. John, seeing what Harve does for confessions and to solve murder cases quick, gives up his dream to find another one, leading to his own death. As for Zipper, he steals something viable towards the case and buys his dream bike out of his childlike naivete.For the actual critique itself: the film has some of the most inspired cinematography I have ever seen. Using wide shots to show how isolated John, Zipper, and Harve are, it also uses zoom outs to show how the soul leaves the body, not caring about its former life. With that, it overshadows the hokey acting and the deliberately loose plot (patterned after "Easy Rider") - making Guercio seem like a master of the camera on his first try.The sound quality varies on the copy I watched: at points, the film seems so crystal clear while at other points, Zipper sounds muffled (1970s muffle) whenever he speaks his innermost fears. Is that deliberate on the sound crew's behalf, knowing Guercio's production work with Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire? As for other parts of the film, it worked good as a clash between the real and the fake, while being a tale against being a manchild.Overall, I give the film an A- for trying so hard and working about 95% of the time. This film has to be seen - due to its obscurity, nobody gets why too much freedom can make somebody fake or make somebody real due to loneliness. Oh, and there's some good dry humor in here: Bob Zemko playing the man who doesn't know who Bob Zemko is; John displaying his skills as a conservative-really-liberal cop; and Zipper's obsession with comic books, especially "Pogo". It, to me, predicted the rise of Chicago's mediocrity (John is Guercio, Zipper is Chicago - as Zipper becomes dumber to get his dream, John matures astoundingly - and he's killed by Terry, who killed himself in 1978). Yeah, after some bad things, this film becomes quite symbolic of many things.

I always wanted to see ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE for a very long time. I've always been intrigued by the title, the star and the desert but for some (now pretty clear) reason, this film is never shown on TV or I've happen to miss it if it's ever shown. Well, after watching the DVD, I now know why the movie is rarely shown: it's because it's not that good. In fact, I'd say it's pretty much of a mess.ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE was made by a first time director and it shows. The film is mainly a series of vignettes with absolutely nothing holding it together. More like a collection of short movies haphazardly strung together. The movie can be boiled down to this: intro (murder); cop and girlfriend together; intro credits; cops going to work; crazy guy tells story; cop finds dead body; cop and chief and girlfriend at bar; chase scene; etc. The scenes just don't flow together. They're very distinctively independent from each other and because of this the characterization is weak, borderline amateurish. The scene at the bar with the girlfriend, the scene at the farm with the hippies, the scene with Big John and the Chief yelling at each other were cringe worthy. I almost stopped the film during those (awful) moments.The film-maker's lack of experience is in evidence throughout the film. The style, like the 1970s, is all over the map. The intro credit scene makes the movie look like a commercial for law enforcement. Then it tries to be a buddy film (Big John and Zipper) then a murder mystery; then a melodramatic love story; etc. A film doesn't have to have one particular style in order to be successful but I'm afraid the style in ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE was confused. You can clearly see that the director had no idea what he was doing or where he was going with it.The film is not a complete disaster. While the content of ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE is almost amateurish, the look of it is extremely (and deceptively) professional. The cinematography is stunning. Every frame is worthy of an exhibition at an art gallery. Or, because the first (and last) time director was involved in the music business, worthy of an album cover. The beautiful look of the film gives more credence to the finish product than it really deserves. And thanks to Robert Blake's acting (of a really badly written character), the film maintains a certain level of realism, even though nothing else makes much sense. What's remarkable about the look and composition of the film is that it's been copied and duplicated a million times over. The intro credits reminded me of something like TOP GUN, which was made 13 years later. Scenes of Johnny dressing up, with his clothes on the bed, reminded me of American Gigolo. Strangely enough, ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE has a very contemporary feel to it, due to the stunning visuals, even if the story and the philosophy behind it are hopelessly outdated.So, ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE is, on one hand, a remarkably underrated and overlooked film because it obviously influenced a lot of future filmmakers out there when it comes to the look and composition. Very few films can claim to have achieved this and legendary cinematographer Conrad Hall should take full credit. But, on the other hand, EGIB is also deservedly forgotten because the poor characters, confusing story, and muddled direction, none of which are worth of remembering.