The Last Picture Show UHD

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Screenplay: Larry McMurty
Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn
Country: US
Running Time: 118 minutes
Year: 1971
BBFC Certificate: 15

When Peter Bogdanovich passed away in January 2022, we lost cinema’s finest raconteur. He’d started his career profiling old Hollywood stalwarts, great figures some of whom would be his close friends. And he could work a name drop into every interview; Orson (Welles), John (Ford), etc, but he was always to be forgiven because he earned it. HIs books, even today, are superb chronicles of a time when cinema was awkwardly shifting from the studio system, as are his frequent contributions to commentaries and documentaries.

Bogdanovich continued this mode of work until he passed away and while his own directorial career was brief, The Last Picture Show at least captured and bottled that same sentiment, wrapped into a coming-of-age story set in a run-down Texas oil town. Released in a beautifully presented 4K package this month by Criterion, it’s worth revisiting this masterpiece from one of Hollywood’s strongest voices.

Filmed in gorgeous, earthy black and white, it opens on a deserted street to the sounds of Hank Williams (he features a lot; this isn’t a rock ‘n’ roll kind of town), in front of a dilapidated cinema. It’s run by Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson, in an Oscar winning role), who also owns the beat-up pool hall and the knackered cafe. Johnson represents a dying generation and I think it’s no accident that Bogdanovich lobbied for one of Hollywood’s finest character actors to play the role (legend has it the director got John Ford to twist Johnson’s arm into playing it). The teenagers in the dead-end town include the voices of 70s film, ushering in new styles. Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd and Randy Quaid.

Adapted from the book by Larry McMurtry, the plot free-wheels to some extent, driven by the kids’ hormones and itchy feet. The dialogue is fabulous from the first happy-go-lucky scenes through to the sombre No Country For Old Men-style monologues from Johnson, Cloris Leachman and Ellen Burstyn. From the younger crowd, Timothy Bottoms is excellent, though Jeff Bridges is already showing some of the spark that would carry him into an iconic career (nepotism is the big-bad at the moment for some reason, but Bridges is an example of talent that should be nurtured, regardless of who his dad is).

However, it is Cybill Shepherd who really excels in her first role, a challenging and controversial part. Despite her arc being expertly and sympathetically handled, despite her rising to the challenge, it still asked a lot of Shepherd. In retrospect, this was a more layered role than what she did in Taxi Driver and both are at least more powerful than typical parts for women during the studio system. Hollywood’s growing pains are right there on the screen.

There’s a sense of time shifting. The film in some senses has connective tissue between American Graffiti and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. Coming of age tales often feature kids finally realising they need to do something else to get out of their town, but in this case, the town is gasping its last breath. The closing shots might mourn that passing of time and innocence, but there is a hope for the future. Not unlike the director’s own view.

VIDEO

Robert Surtees grainy cinematography comes alive in this fabulous transfer. Bogdanovich’s tight compositions respond well in a consistent representation throughout. He may have had one foot in the maverick 70s, but you can see the influence of Welles and others. HIs was a classical style, something always moving in the frame which benefits the fine detail.

EXTRA FEATURES

I said earlier that Peter Bogdanovich was an excellent and valued contributor to many interviews and commentaries. In this excellent package from Criterion, we get him talking about his own work and it’s wonderful stuff. Also, another director’s director, François Truffaut features in an archive interview, forming an excellent study piece for anyone interested in film history.

• • Two audio commentaries, featuring Bogdanovich and actors Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid, Cloris Leachman, and Frank Marshall
  • Three documentaries about the making of the film
  • Screen tests and location footage
  • Excerpts from a 1972 television interview with filmmaker François Truffaut about the New Hollywood