What is a great movie? Is it The third Man or Citizen Kane because they are "Great"? Classics because of their technique and artistry.Certainly. Some Like It Hot, Duck Soup, 2001, The Shawshank Redemption and Taxi Driver all are great movies for obvious reasons.But there are movies that are personal classics for different reasons. This is one of mine. Some movies, like some songs, have so many personal memories attached that they transcend artistic or dramatic reason. This movie encapsulates all the angst and fun of those oh so brief years of my youth. Forget all those smart ass, know it all films of today, this movie shows how it really was. I recently discovered a video of this movie that I had taped from TV some years ago. Today I watched it. Oh man, where did the time go?
Ok, I'm going to be objective. This is not a great movie in the same way that Citizen Kane is. The acting is, for the most part, pretty awful. The storyline is, by clasic standards, laughable. But that is not important to me. Judy Geeson, Angela Scoula and Vanessa Howard are so beautiful in this movie, British beautiful that is, I have moments of rapture when I watch them. The music, and I have the soundtrack album on vinyl, is '60's British psychedelia. Whenever I hear Andy Ellison sing 'It's been a long time' or the title song, I timeslip back to the days of my youth.
It doesn't really matter to me what anybody else says about this movie, I love it. I just wish I could do it again. Oh yesterday leave me alone. I have no regrets except for those times that slipped by so fast. The seed of memory will grow into a great tree of life as we lived it.Forgive my reminiscences.
It's Been A Long Time.
