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Seconds

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Seconds (1966)

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Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:20

Rotten:3

Average Rating:8.1/10

Consensus: 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.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: John Frankenheimer's chilling vision of middle-aged malaise concerns 50ish banker, Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph). Bored with his wife and comfortably retired life, Arthur happens to run into... John Frankenheimer's chilling vision of middle-aged malaise concerns 50ish banker, Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph). Bored with his wife and comfortably retired life, Arthur happens to run into Charlie Evans (Murray Hamilton), an old friend he believed to be dead. He gives Arthur a tip on a secret organization called The Company, run by the Old Man (Will Geer). For a hefty fee, they offer to provide the old with entirely new, vigorous bodies, through a mysterious form of plastic surgery, and with completely new identities. Arthur signs on and finds himself transformed into the much younger Anitochus "Tony" Wilson (Rock Hudson). After a suitably middle-aged corpse has been burned to cover his disappearance, Tony is relocated to an idyllic Malibu beach community, where he already has a reputation as an artist. He begins a relationship with the vivacious Norma Marcus (Salome Jens) and is happy for a time, before discovering that she's one of The Company's employees. As he peels back the layers from his other neighbors, he begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. This incisive twist on the Faust legend, a mordant commentary on the American obsession with youth, features Hudson in what is possibly his finest performance, as a man cast in a part he despises. Hudson's sense of irony, then necessarily private, is now public. The great cinematographer James Wong Howe creates a sense of quiet horror through a skillful variation of lenses. [More]

Starring: Rock Hudson, John Randolph, Salome Jens, Will Geer

Starring: Rock Hudson, John Randolph, Salome Jens, Will Geer, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Karl Swenson, Frances Reid

Director: John Frankenheimer

Director: John Frankenheimer
Screenwriter: Lewis John Carlino
Producer: Edward Lewis
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 8, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Seconds

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Creepy, Twilight Zone-type tale starring Rock Hudson, directed by John Frankenheimer.

comment Comment
03/02/08
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

US suburbia boredom is treated in an original manner in this cross between a sci-fi opus, a thriller, a suspense pic and a parable on certain aspects of American middle-class life.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/23/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film features a surprisingly good performance by Rock Hudson, an impeccable supporting cast and stunning cinematography by screen veteran James Wong Howe.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/29/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The screenplay ollapses into musty moralizing in the second half, and director John Frankenheimer throws in the towel.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/29/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Little wonder it flopped at the time, only to be cherished by a later generation.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
09/28/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/03/05
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

Frankenheimer directed, but cinematographer James Wong Howe set the tone and provided whatever's memorable. Which isn't much.

comment Comment
06/26/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Never has Oscar Wilde's caveat about being careful what you wish for been so chillingly portrayed.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
05/23/04
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Features some great technical credits, with rich black-and-white cinematography and deep-focus from James Wong Howe.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
03/09/04
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

No review available.

comment Comment
02/27/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Gets under your skin like a nightmare.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/12/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
10/02/03
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Criminally underseen sci-fi masterpiece.

comment Comment
06/02/03
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
02/19/03
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Doomed to remain a '60s curiosity.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/10/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

An ultimately terrifying thriller ... featuring Rock Hudson's lone great performance.

comment Comment
09/27/02
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

What really grabs you in Seconds is the unique visual style.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
01/22/02
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
 
 
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