The Believers : A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

That this film was directed by the same man who gave the world Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday less than twenty years before.

But the same can be said of Franklin Schaffner, Francis Coppola, William Friedkin, and others in the late 1980s.

Thoughts?




I am in a blissful state, so don't bug me.

Re: A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

I personally think that this film is a cinematic masterpiece. I think it's a crowning achievement to a long, distinguished career. Malick Bowen's performance alone is bold, highly innovative and engaging. Roger Ebert disliked the films subject and, on that basis, dismissed it as irrelevant. In his review, Ebert attributed the wrong actor to an important scene. This guy makes a living reviewing films and can't even get important facts straight.

Re: A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

Actually, the sad end the Schlesinger's career was that horrible Madonna stinker The Next Best Thing.

I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy.

Re: A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

I think this movie holds up real well, especially compared to the drivel, the bad remakes and the endless inane sequels that are released these days. It was original and suspenseful. Only occasionally getting into "Omen" territory. And the ending was appropriately creepy. I agree with other posters here that this movie has stayed with me over the years, and just having watched it again, still feel the same. A worthy effort, to say the least. My only real complaint was the score. It just didn't seem to fit.

The Christian Left - there's more of us than you think.

Re: A Sad Monument to the End of Schlesinger's Career

This isn't a great film, but it has some interesting things going for, chiefly Robby Müller's cinematography and the general late 1980's New York ambience. The problem is that Schlesinger isn't really suited to this kind of schlock and tries to give it a seriousness that clashes against the more ridiculous elements towards the end.

He made much worse films than this one though, specifically Eye for an Eye and The Next Best Thing.

Top