IMDb > The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Last Picture Show
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The Last Picture Show (1971) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 5)
The Last Picture Show (1971) -- HV Trailer
The Last Picture Show (1971) -- The coming of age of a youth named Sonny in a small Texas town in the 1950s.
The Last Picture Show (1971) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   13,631 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Larry McMurtry (novel)
Larry McMurtry (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Last Picture Show on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 October 1971 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Anarene, Texas, 1951. Nothing much has changed... more
Plot:
The coming of age of a youth named Sonny in a small Texas town in the 1950s. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 16 nominations more
User Comments:
The lost art of American Cinema more (124 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language.
Runtime:
118 min | 126 min (director's cut)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
All the film's music (except for the closing credits and the live band at the Christmas party) is played in the background on radios, jukeboxes or, at the swim party, on a portable record player. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Just before Jacy goes off with Lester to the pool party, she and Duane are making out in the car. She moves her legs across the seat of the car and is clearly wearing light colored, flat soled shoes with bows on the top. When she takes her shoes off at the pool party, she is wearing shoes with no bows. more
Quotes:
[Telephone Conversation]
Duane Jackson: Hi Jacy, it's Duane.
Jacy Farrow: What's on your feeble mind Duane?
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
You Belong To Me more

FAQ

Why did Sam the Lion leave the preacher's boy $1000?
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41 out of 47 people found the following comment useful.
The lost art of American Cinema, 24 April 1999
Author: Jasper Sharp from London, England

Adapted with director Bogdanovich by Larry McMurtry from his own novel, this film remains true to its source. A modern adaptation would no doubt have adopted the voice-over approach of narrative, but here each scene is played out from a more objective point of view. The book consists of a series of events played out over a protracted period of time, with McMurtry's sparse but effective prose acting as a bridging device between scenes. The translation to the screen loses these links, giving the film a slightly episodic feel which runs counter to modern Hollywood film making practice. This is no bad thing, and in every other aspect the film follows the book almost literally, but watching it now does highlight the difference between the formulaic approach we are now accustomed to, with mise en scene, plot turning points and climaxes crudely and obviously spelt out, as opposed to that of Hollywood's final golden age, where the director was given more of a free reign to stamp his own identity on the film, and audiences were more receptive to different styles. Here the spirit of the novel is captured perfectly; that of the desperation and claustrophobia of small town life, where generation after generation undergo the same rites of passage, living out the same lives of frustration and unrealised dreams. The films strength is that it never forces us to identify with any one character, evenly distributing the amount of screen time over the different generations and, almost like a fly on the wall documentary (though heavily stylised in its powerfully expressive monochrome cinematography). Coupled with some sturdy performances from all of the members of the cast, and some memorable images, ‘The Last Picture' comes across as an enchanting, evocative and accessible portrayal of a lifestyle most of us have never and will never experience. Now surely this is what the art of cinema is all about?

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