Winter Kills

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Wow! How did this one slip into obscurity? It’s a seriocomic critique of the American power structure in the form of a paranoid political thriller. Dave Kehr explains: “Jeff Bridges, the scion of a very Kennedy-ish clan, sets out to investigate the assassination of his president brother, but becomes entangled in a web of darkly comic paranoia.” It’s a difficult film to grasp; the off-kilter cinematography and impossibly labyrinthine plot establish this as a dark comedy-fantasy, but that doesn’t stop it from veering off into serious (and seriously frightening) territory. Plus, the supporting cast is to die for: John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, Eli Wallach, Toshiru Mifune. Anyone seen it?

Anthony (Anthony F), Friday, 10 September 2004 02:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Lest you think y're alone... it's great, yeah.

Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Sunday, 12 September 2004 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

fifteen years pass...

JFK for not-dummies.

Rewatched last night to remind me who runs it all.

brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 4 March 2020 12:43 (five years ago)

five years pass...

Not sure what it felt like to see this when it came out, but I think it's all too familar by now to shock, or surprise, or even have much resonance. (Even today--actually, the world today may diminish a film like this.) Also--I saw it once ages ago, remembered nothing going in--you know where it's all headed very early on. The most surprising thing for me was how relatively subdued the pacing and performances are. The pull quote on the original poster, from celebrity reviewer Rex Reed, says it's "bursting with a crazy vitality"--in 1979, maybe, but in 2026, it's practically like watching an Eric Rohmer film. It even looks good (Vilmos Zgismond shot it). Inexplicably faded from view: Belinda Bauer.

clemenza, Sunday, 25 January 2026 02:36 (two weeks ago)


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