Simply Perfect

Purely Joyful 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.

I cannot jump on board the positive review bandwagon for "Seconds". Although the acting is good, Frankenheimer stretches scenes that just plain lack interest. One example would be the grape stomping orgy. It goes on and on without moving the story forward. The concept of leaving one life for another is nothing that hasn't been seen before, so to have the audience basically in neutral for what seems like at least ten minutes is unacceptable. In other words, let's get on with it, especially since the story is not unpredictable. Frankly I was disappointed, not with the acting, or the black and white photography, or even the musical score. I just thought the story played like nothing more than a "Twilight Zone" episode that had been padded with over long scenes. - MERK

John Frankenheimer's tense thriller is heavy on atmosphere and suspense and short on action and event, so if you're a fan of the former two, then this may just be the film for you. It's a very bleak movie with a downbeat and horrific ending, made all the more terrible through its subtlety. Throughout SECONDS themes of paranoia, identity, trust, isolation, and eternal youth are studied in a slow, sombre way. While not overtly horrific, the coldness and hopelessness of this movie is designed to remain in the viewer's mind after watching, and there is much to think about.While the plot itself - old people are "sold" new, young bodies to inhabit - seems like an old, clichéd sci-fi premise, this film couldn't be further from that. Indeed what makes SECONDS so coldly compelling is it's sheer matter-of-factness and feeling of reality, the way the story is filmed makes the premise seem plausible. Additional factors which add to the feel are an appropriate score from Jerry Goldsmith and some wonderful acting (especially on the part of Rock Hudson, who totally convinces as somebody trapped in somebody else's body).Also particularly good is John Randolph, who plays the older version of Hudson's character and transfixes us with his sad, doleful expression. Scattered throughout are a smattering of scenes which convey nausea and sickness (like the hippy gathering in the woods, or the drunk scene) in a realistic way, while the black and white photography really adds to the bleakness of things. Not one for the cheap thrills crowd, SECONDS instead is a minor classic in itself and worth watching for those who enjoy more psychological chills.

The movie that Rock Hudson considered to be a horror story and a big gamble for his otherwise steely screen persona, Seconds from 1966 is a stark black-and-white parable o the dangers of wishful thinking. A dark side to the same theme that made It's a Wonderful Life so potent a story for the working class, Seconds makes the same statement for the urban professional who after climbing the corporate ladder to succeed finds himself deplete of the very thing he was competing for, namely his vitality.Next in line for the top job at his bank, Antiochus 'Tony' Wilson (Rock Hudson) is disturbed when he gets a late night phone call from his old tennis buddy and school chum whom he thought was dead for many years. What he discovers is an organization that will give him a new youthful life and lifestyle for a fee, and he accepts after some coercion. Tony gets a new life but finds an empty existence inside him after he has left his wife and old comfortable surroundings. When he requests to return to his former life and start over he finds that those in charge demand an even higher sacrifice than he had imagined.This is one of those dark films that stand today as one of the landmarks of the sixties, when real disappointment was rising in the working class, and those dropouts from society who saw the formal institutions of home and family and career as vapid social constructs. It's a bold statement, a protest film in a way because it highlights how society functions on a base of empty values, yet the filmmakers offer no real alternative. When Tony attempts to recover his place and start again, the organization demands severe loyalty.There's also the supposedly "new" community that Tony enters. As an artist, he lives the free-spirited life admired by all his neighbors. The real test comes when he is required to follow though with his new identity, something in which he discovers is to demanding to support. Knowing what we know today about Rock Hudson, the layers of meaning in the film run deep making this one of those quintessential Hudson vehicles for any academics classroom.The stark imagery highlights the noir qualities of the film. This is certainly film noir at it's most existential, as the fantasy-like atmosphere of the world of the film contains enough everyday trappings to keep us identifying with the characters, even as the action veers off kilter and meta-horror situations occur.

A fantastic existential nightmare. A middle aged man (John Randolph) is contacted by an old friend whom he thought dead. The friend offers him an opportunity to escape his ho-hum life and start a new one. For a hefty sum, an underground company gives him plastic surgery (turning him into Rock Hudson) and set him up with a new identity, faking his old identity's death. What the man quickly learns is that you might be able to change your face, but you can never change who you are. Unfortunately, the company that has provided him this opportunity isn't too keen on that discovery, and is secretly watching his every move. I feel like the second part of this film maybe needed to be a bit longer, because there are some narrative progressions that didn't quite work for me (I'm interested in reading the original novel to see if it's more fully developed). It doesn't matter too much, though, because, as cinema, this is just tremendous. It's most notable element is James Wong Howe's revolutionary black and white cinematography, which is amongst the best ever done. It really heightens the paranoia of the film. Jerry Goldsmith's subtle and sad score is also masterful. And enough credit can't be given to Frankenheimer himself! I'm woefully unfamiliar with his work, I now realize, despite being a huge fan of The Manchurian Candidate. I need to rectify that mistake immediately! The performances are also great. It's probably Hudson's best work ever. The rest of the cast is uniformly terrific, as well. A great movie.