Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

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

Release Date:

15 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Pilgrim | Future | Dresden | Optometrist | Alien

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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.
Gilmer McCormick	...	Lily Rumfoord
Stan Gottlieb	...	Hobo
Karl-Otto Alberty	...	German Guard - Group Two
Henry Bumstead	...	Eliot Rosewater
Lucille Benson	...	Billy's Mother
John Wood	...	English Officer (as Tom Wood)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexander Allerson	...	German Propaganda Man (uncredited)
Robert Anthony	...	American Corporal (uncredited)
David Carlile	...	Billy's Father (uncredited)
Bill Cole	...	Singer (uncredited)
Harald Dietl	...	German Guard - Group Two (uncredited)
Ronnie Elliott	...	Machine Operator (uncredited)
Walter Feuchtenberg	...	German Guard - Group Two (uncredited)
Barbara Frey	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Warren Frost	...	Driver (uncredited)
John Goddard	...	Anesthesiologist (uncredited)
Paul Hansard	...	German Photographer (uncredited)
Bob Harks	...	Father at Swimming Pool (uncredited)
Bob 'Tiger' Hemond	...	Billy Pilgrim - Age 8 (uncredited)
Emil Iserle	...	Old Man in Street (uncredited)
Frank Jamus	...	Assistant Doctor (uncredited)
William Kanady	...	Singer (uncredited)
Otto Konrad	...	German Guard - Group Two (uncredited)
Bill Lee	...	Singer (uncredited)
Joshua Hill Lewis	...	Billy Pilgrim - Age 8 Underwater (uncredited)
Bryan Montgomery	...	Slave Boy (uncredited)
Kent O'Dell	...	Father at Swimming Pool (uncredited)
Hank Robinson	...	Father at Swimming Pool (uncredited)
George Skaff	...	Emergency Doctor (uncredited)
Richard Stahl	...	Army Doctor (uncredited)
Charles Stapley	...	English Officer (uncredited)
Joan Swift	...	O.R. Nurse (uncredited)
Werner Umberg	...	SS Officer (uncredited)
James Wheeler	...	Singer (uncredited)

Directed by
George Roy Hill

Writing credits
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.		(novel "Slaughterhouse-Five Or The Children's Crusade")
Stephen Geller		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jennings Lang	....	executive producer
Paul Monash	....	producer

Original Music by
Glenn Gould

Cinematography by
Miroslav Ondrícek

Film Editing by
Dede Allen

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
Henry Bumstead

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen
George C. Webb		(as George Webb)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.

Makeup Department
John Chambers	....	makeup artist
Mark Reedall	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lloyd Anderson	....	unit production manager
Ernest B. Wehmeyer	....	unit production manager (as Ernest Wehmeyer)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ray Gosnell Jr.	....	assistant director (as Ray Gosnell)
Tony Cech	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Harvey S. Laidman	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound (as James Alexander)
Vincent Connelly	....	sound effects editor
Andrew Kazdin	....	sound consultant: Glenn Gould
Milan Novotny	....	sound
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recordist (as Richard Vorisek)
Richard P. Cirincione	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Craig McKay	....	sound (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	matte supervisor

Stunts
Max Balchowsky	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Andy Arnautov	....	electrician (uncredited)
Johnny Walker	....	camera mechanic (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Stephen A. Rotter	....	assistant film editor (as Stephen Rotter)

Music Department
Glenn Gould	....	musician: piano
John Strauss	....	music editor

Other crew
Charlsie Bryant	....	script supervisor
Robert Crawford Jr.	....	production assistant (as Robert L. Crawford Jr.)
Nick Doob	....	production assistant
Enzo A. Martinelli	....	special photographic consultant (as Enzo Martinelli)
Mirek Lux	....	director's interpreter (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as Universal)
• Vanadas Productions (as Vanadas Productions Inc.)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1976) (USA) (TV)
• MCA Videocassette (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Koch Media (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

104 min | Canada:93 min (Ontario - edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Australia:M | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1988) | Iceland:16 | Canada:PA (Ontario - edited version) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade)

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Howard Campbell Jr. appears in the film and speaks to the American P.O.W.s before the bombing of Dresden. Vonnegut wrote an entire novel about this character called "Mother Night", later made into a film by Keith Gordon starring Nick Nolte as this same character.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the English soldiers are welcoming the American POWs to the mess hall, Paul Lazzaro is seen sitting down to eat, but in the next shot, he's standing up putting a safety razor in his jacket pocket.

Quotes:

Billy Pilgrim:-typing- I have become unstuck in time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Farscape: Crichton Kicks (#4.1)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Goldberg variations, BWV 988 - Variation No. 18 a 1 Clav. Canone alla Sesta

Pleasantly Surprised

Like most of those who have posted before me, I am an avid Vonnegut fan and went into this movie with a guarded optimism that it would just be decent.

But George Roy Hill did an excellent job conveying the overall feel of the book -- the time jumping was flawless and I didn't find it hard to follow at all. The actor who played Billy Pilgrim captured Billy's passive, calm and vaguely anti-social demeanor. Lazarro, Montana and Billy's wife are also well played.

George Roy Hill had a knack for directing movies made from great books -- e.g., "The World According to Garp" -- and in the end, I was pleasantly surprised how well this movie turned out.

As far as the Vonnegut adaptations go (I know of four -- this one, "Mother Night," "Breakfast of Champions" and the god-awful "Slapstick") this one is the best of the bunch.

I've always wanted to see a movie version of "Sirens of Titan," but it'll probably never happen -- so "Slaughterhouse Five" is my only chance to "see" Trafalmadore.

Recommended to any true Vonnegut fans. Other people probably won't appreciate it.