He is provided with a new home, a new identity as wilson. This is the last scene of seconds, a really chilling ending to a creepy masterpiece of a movie. Hudson gives a firstrate performance as the new identity of a man lured with the offer of a new idenity. Mash 30th anniversary reunion special full episode may 2002 duration. Frankenheimer acknowledged this potential difficulty. Mae west rock hudson 1957 award show by mann george. Seconds is a 1966 american sciencefiction drama film directed by john frankenheimer and starring rock hudson. Rock hudson born roy harold scherer jr november 17, 1925 october 2, 1985 was an american actor. For beach boy brian wilson it allegedly even sparked a full on mental break down. By far rock hudson s best performance with the eventual exception of,in a diametrically opposite style, all that heaven allowsand his other sirk melodramas, seconds is what we can call a movie ahead of its time. A second life for seconds, the 1966 cult classic that made. The screenplay by lewis john carlino was based on seconds, a novel by david ely.
Rock hudson, cast against his usual lightromantic type, gave an often strikingly intense performance requiring. But as he struggles with his own sense of identity, he begins to have second thoughts. Hudson was not frankenheimers first choicehe was, in fact, imposed by the studiobut his. Seconds certainly has its weaknesses and has been criticized over the years for trying to convince audiences that john randolph as arthur hamilton could emerge after plastic surgery in the guise of rock hudson as tony wilson. An unhappy middleaged banker agrees to a procedure that will fake his death and give him a completely new look and identity one that comes with its own price. Feeling his way into his newlypurchased identity, wilson rock hudson meets the similarly untethered nora salome jens on a malibu beach, in john frankenheimers seconds, 1966 view the tcmdb entry for seconds 1966. John frankenheimers nightmarish thriller seconds 1966 opens on john randolph as a businessman who has lost all interest in his life and tries an experimental program which promises a new, exciting existence. Seconds became known for its connection to the beach boys brian wilson.
The weakness some users are complaining of the lack of psychological depth is intentional. Aug, 20 in playing the increasingly selfloathing wilson, hudson seems to be laying his soul naked onscreen for all to see. Instead of simply waving off a movie in which he appears, i wait until ive actually watched it to judge. Julie andrews darling lili, full scene part 1 by mil colores. Rock hudson is outstanding and should have won an oscar for his portrayal od the man who has everything and nothing. Rock hudson is a revelation in this sinister, sciencefictioninflected dispatch. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, hudsons screen career spanned five decades. The patriotism of world war ii had faded by the 1970s and the public demonstrations against viet nam were gaining force when hornets nest was released.
Fiftyish arthur hamilton john randolph is approached by a. Seconds dvd, 2002, widescreen for sale online ebay. A second life for seconds, the 1966 cult classic that made audiences sick. Seconds is een amerikaanse sciencefictionfilm uit 1966 onder regie van john. Featuring dazzling, disorienting cinematography from the great james wong howe and a strong lead performance by rock hudson, seconds is a compellingly paranoid take on. Rock hudson full list of movies and tv shows in theaters, in production and upcoming films. A prominent heartthrob of the hollywood golden age, he achieved stardom with his role in magnificent obsession 1954, followed by all that heaven allows 1955 and giant 1956, for which he. Saul basss openingcredit sequence establishes the thematic implications of seconds s scifi premise, with images of parts of the human face stretched in and out visually suggesting the elasticity of identity arthur hamilton john randolph experiences when he undergoes a daring operation that turns him into antiochus wilson rock hudson. He was making money, sure, lotsa money, he was box office mint but he was just doing the same damned thing over and over and over again. Film historians generally acknowledge that the transformation from the hollywood studio system to the american new wave occurred with the 1969 release of easy rider.
When he wakes up from the first step, he discovers hes turned into rock hudson. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. The film was released by universal studios and shot in eastman color in mexico. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title seconds. Saul basss openingcredit sequence establishes the thematic implications of secondss scifi premise, with images of parts of the human face stretched in and out visually suggesting the elasticity of identity arthur hamilton john randolph experiences when he undergoes a daring operation that turns him into antiochus wilson rock hudson. Rock hudson is a revelation in this sinister, sciencefictioninflected dispatch from the fractured 1960s. Rock hudson s ex wife on the larry king live, 2003. The ending is as horrifying as it gets seconds is one of the finest movies ever made it flopped on release. The screenplay by dalton trumbo was adapted from howard rigsbys 1957 novel sundown at. During the original take, hudson went full method, got.
Seconds 1966 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Rock hudson is outstanding and should have won an oscar for his portrayal od the man who has everything and nothing be prepared as this movie is not an easy watch. Rock hudson was an american actor who gained recognition for lead roles in films such as magnificent obsession 1954, all that heaven allows 1955 and giant 1956, the last of which earned him an academy award nomination for best actor. We knew we were going to have a terrible problem getting.
Given rock hudson s double life as a hollywood macho man who. Rock hudsons true love says they werent allowed to be. Film seconds, in which his character undergoes a complete physical. Rock hudson, cast against his usual lightromantic type, gave an. Finally, the seconds script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the movie directed by john frankenheimer and starring rock hudson this script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of seconds. Rock hudson in seconds 1966 rock hudson and richard anderson in seconds 1966 seconds. Seconds script transcript from the screenplay andor rock. Seconds is the final movie in frankenheimer paranoia trilogy and its by far the bleakest and horrifying i dont know of another movie that makes such a bleak impact that resonates to the foundations of the soul. Rock hudson, cast against his usual lightromantic type, gave an often. In time, seconds found an audience and developed a cult following. Along giant, seconds remained one of rocks favorite of his movies. Rock hudson never gave a better performance than he did in seconds.
Featuring dazzling, disorienting cinematography from the great james wong howe and a strong lead performance by rock hudson, seconds is a compellingly paranoid take on the legend of faust. Seconds by john frankenheimer john frankenheimer, rock. The movie has an interesting and entertaining plot, easy to comprehend. The film was very well directed by the usually competent john frankenheimer. It should have been the start of a new career, a greater more brilliant career as a serious dramatic actor. In the video above, a chronological analysis of john frankenheimers seconds by wickham flannagan.
Seconds, american psychological thriller film, released in 1966, that was. Seconds comics, a 2014 graphic novel by bryan lee omalley. Jerry fielding once upon a dead man 1971 by soundtracksarchives. Over the years, rock hudson received awards and praise from film societies and universities. Tony wilson, a reborn as he and other subjects like him are called in seconds, can be read as a metaphor for actors playing a new part, sometimes immersing themselves in the kind of hobbies and lifestyle they believe would best delineate their role until their roles become.
Quotes in the early 1980s, before his sickness was publicly known i always consider my job just as someone working in an office. The film dramatically changed my view of rock hudson. Rock comments the making of the movie filmed in new york southern california and scarsdale. But ask even the most avid film buff if theyve seen the movie and you usually get something along the lines of, i keep meaning to, but i just havent gotten to it yet. The surreal images of seconds the american society of. One day, he gets contacted by an old friend of his whom he thought was dead, and this friend urges hamilton to contact an organization simply. But to view seconds as a film about rock hudson is to underrate and misinterpret one of the most original thrillers of the 1960s. By far rock hudsons best performance with the eventual exception of,in a diametrically opposite style, all that heaven allowsand his other sirk melodramas,seconds is what we can call a movie ahead of its time. Rock hudson has seconds on amazon prime video and kanopy. Aug 22, 20 a second life for seconds, the 1966 cult classic that made audiences sick. Though its reputation has grown steadily since it bombed at the box office upon release, seconds is one of those movies that has somehow held on to permanent cult status, a talisman passed between. That time rock hudson staked his talent on a bleak scifi. Seconds, directed by john frankenheimer, concerns a middleaged banker who, dissatisfied with his suburban existence, elects to undergo a strange and elaborate procedure that will grant him a new life.
One of the most popular movie stars of his time, hudson s screen career spanned five decades. Given what we now know about rock hudson s personal life, it would be easy to read a great deal into his performance in seconds. It was seen as a glorification of war and a fading star like rock hudson could not save it. Criterion collection edition of seconds, directed by john.
It turns out that the friend is not a ghost, but was simply faking all along, and was placed into a. Rock hudson was killing time waiting for that one big role to come along to change it all. He said those who wanted to see a rock hudson film didnt want to see him in this kind of film and those who liked dark science fiction and morality plays werent interested in seeing a movie with rock hudson in it, leaving about an audience on 6 people remaining. Most of his films are quality and seconds stands as one of his best. With rock hudson, frank campanella, john randolph, frances reid. He was often invited to college cinema classes and enjoyed talking to students about the film. Banker arthur hamilton john randolph gets a call one day from a friend he thought was dead. Through extensive plastic surgery and psychoanalysis, hamilton is transformed into tony wilson rock hudson. The last sunset is a 1961 american western film directed by robert aldrich and starring rock hudson, kirk douglas, and dorothy malone. Released november 25th, 1992, seconds stars rock hudson, salome jens, john randolph, will geer the r movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 46 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic. Seconds is a 1966 science fiction film directed by john frankenheimer, starring rock hudson, john randolph, will geer, jeff corey, murray hamilton and salome jens arthur hamilton is a middleaged banker who is restless with his job and his marriage.
I encourage you to read kennys post in full, but i want to zero in on this thought. The film was entered into the 1966 cannes film festival and released by paramount pictures. Hudson and garlington dated from 1962 to 1965, during a time when the american actor was one of hollywoods most soughtafter stars. I suspect it was just too close to the bone for comfort.
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