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The Day of the Locust

6.5

542

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Original title

The Day of the Locust

Year

1975

Running time

144 min.

Country

United States

Director

John Schlesinger

Screenwriter

Waldo Salt. Novel: Nathanael West

Cast

Music

John Barry

Cinematography

Conrad L. Hall

Producer

Paramount Pictures

Genre

Drama | 1930s. Film In Film. Satire

Synopsis

Tod Hackett, fresh out of Yale, wants to make it as an art director in late 1930's Hollywood - but he finds himself increasingly distracted by his new neighbor Faye, a would-be starlet with possible designs of her own on a lonely, morose accountant. As Tod is drawn deeper into the lurid private lives of studio bosses and film industry workers, he gradually becomes desperate to know if Faye - or anyone - is capable of real love.

Awards: 1975: Oscar: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Burgess Meredith) & Cinematography

1975: Golden Globes: Nominated for Actress (Black) - Drama & Supp. Actor (Meredith)

1975: Premios BAFTA: Mejor diseño de vestuario. 3 Nominations

1975: Cannes Film Festival: Official Selection (Out Of Competition)

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Critics' reviews

"'Day Of The Locust' exudes authenticity, from the costuming to the cars, from the exotic clothes to the marcelled hair styles."

TV Guide
"Magnificent production, combined with excellent casting and direction, make The Day of the Locust as fine a film (in a professional sense) as the basic material lets it be."

Variety Staff: Variety
"The movie finally becomes just an exercise, then: a brilliant one at times, and with a wealth of sharp-edged performances, but without people for its things to happen to. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"A mosaic that never comes together."

Pauline Kael: The New Yorker
"Exquisitely painful look at how Hollywood turns its hopefuls into whores."

Matthew Gilbert: Boston Globe
"Obvious and mushy beneath its dazzling surface, the film fails on its own terms."

Newsweek
"A tale of the losers and chancers rattling around Hollywood's fringe, the film fatally lacks the black humour and nightmarish edge of Nathanael West's source novel"

The Guardian

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User history

The Day of the Locust

1975

John Schlesinger

6.5

(542)