The Day of the Locust (1975)
Runtime: 2 hrs 24 mins
Synopsis: Based on Nathanael West's satirical novel, John Schlesinger's THE DAY OF THE LOCUST is an absorbing look at the desperate characters who populate the Hollywood film industry. Idealistic young set designer Tod Hackett (William Atherton) travels to 1930s-era Hollywood to find fame and... Based on Nathanael West's satirical novel, John Schlesinger's THE DAY OF THE LOCUST is an absorbing look at the desperate characters who populate the Hollywood film industry. Idealistic young set designer Tod Hackett (William Atherton) travels to 1930s-era Hollywood to find fame and fortune but encounters a dismal world of broken people, shattered dreams, and phoney healers pandering to the lost. He soon falls in love with aspiring actress Faye Greener (Karen Black), a cruel, manipulative woman who lives with her drunken father (Burgess Meredith, in an Oscar-nominated performance) and loves the strange man-child Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland). Their passions collide at a disastrous Hollywood premiere that remains one of the most horrifying and tragic climaxes in film history. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, William Atherton, Geraldine Page
DVD Info
Release:
Jun 8, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Restored Mono - English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Dolby Surround - English
Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
- Interactive Menus
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Reviews
The casting choices are brilliant but the production is let down by a haphazard screenplay that misses the novel’s point, and weak direction.
Much has been made of the climactic riot scene, which may have seemed novel when Nathanael West first wrote it back in the '30s, but it's just plain goofy when viewed today


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