Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

A man tells his story of how he became unstuck in time and abducted by aliens.

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (novel), Stephen Geller (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Sacks	...	Billy Pilgrim
Ron Leibman	...	Paul Lazzaro
Eugene Roche	...	Edgar Derby
Sharon Gans	...	Valencia Merble Pilgrim
Valerie Perrine	...	Montana Wildhack
Holly Near	...	Barbara Pilgrim
Perry King	...	Robert Pilgrim
Kevin Conway	...	Roland Weary
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	German Leader (as Friedrich Ledebur)
Ekkehardt Belle	...	Young German Guard (as Nick Belle)
Sorrell Booke	...	Lionel Merble
Roberts Blossom	...	Wild Bob Cody
John Dehner	...	Prof. Rumfoord
Gary Waynesmith	...	Stanley
Richard Schaal	...	Howard W. Campbell Jr.

Storyline

"Listen: Billie Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." The opening words of the famous novel are the quickest summary of this haunting, funny film. Director Hill faithfully renders for the screen Vonnegut's obsessive story of Pilgrim, who survives the 1945 firebombing of Dresden, then lives simultaneously in his past as a young American POW, in the future as a well-cared-for resident of a zoo on the planet Tralfamadore, and in the present as a middle-aged optometrist in Ilium, N.Y.

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Plot Keywords:

pilgrim | future | dresden | optometrist | alien | 

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Taglines:

A Man Becomes Unstuck In Time In The Film That Became A Classic.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 March 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Matadero cinco

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Vanadas Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 93 min (Ontario - edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Sacks, who plays Billy Pilgrim, is eleven months older than his on-screen daughter, played by Holly Near, and he is actually four months younger than Perry King, who plays his son.

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Goofs

At the beginning when Billy Pilgrim is typing in the house, the letter "A" in the word "what's" did not fully get typed onto the paper, but when it shows him typing the next line, the letter "A" is fully inked in without any trace of error correction.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Valencia Merble Pilgrim: I'm gonna lose weight. I'm really gonna lose weight.

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Connections

Followed by Breakfast of Champions (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Concerto No. 5 for Harpsichord in F minor, BWV 1056 - 2nd movement 'Largo'"
by J.S. Bach
Glenn Gould, Piano
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Vladimir Goldschmann, Conductor

User Reviews

Nearly as good as the book!

This is a very clever, thoughtful, well made movie. It succeeded in doing what I thought was nearly impossible, i.e. to put this amazing book on film. There are one or two small points that keep me from giving this picture anything higher than a 7, the main one being Ron Liebman playing the Paul Lazzaro role - highly irritating. Other than that, a brave and imaginative, clever, witty film that I would heartily recommend to anyone.