The Visitors (1972) User Reviews

Stark winterly scenes on a frozen landscape

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 2 December 2008]

***SPOILERS*** Very personal movie directed by the late great Elia Kazan with the screenplay written by his #1 Son Chris involving naming names or testifying against fellow GI's and the consequences that result from it to the person who felt obligated to do so.

The movie "The Visitors" takes place in early January 1969, judging the New York Jet Baltimore Colt Superbowl Game shown on TV, in snowy Newton Connecticut. It's there where young Vietnam vet Bill Schmidt is living a quite and peaceful existence with his live in girlfriend Martha Wayne and the couples out of wedlock two year old boy Hal. Bill trying the make ends meet with his job at a local helicopter plant is in luck in both him & Martha being allowed to live in Martha's dad's, Harry Wayne, home rent free.

Wayne is anything but impressed with Bill's very in your face pacifism even though he served as a combat infantryman in Vietnam with honors. Harry himself being a combat vet from the Pacific Theater in WWII and damn proud of it can't understand Bill's misguided attitude towards those Vietcong Commies who, in Harry's mind, are a threat to everything America stands for. Wayne also feels that there's something loose upstairs in Bill's head, besides his pacifism, in his refusing to as much as go out raccoon or rabbit hunting with him!

Writing 19th Century American Western novels and getting heavily drunk while doing it Wayne makes more then enough money to support himself as well as his daughter Martha together with Bill and little Hal. Still Wayne has no use for Bill at all and lets him known it, especially when he's smashed out of his head, at every opportunity.

It's on one cold & snowy morning that Bill's fellow Vietnam vets Mike Nickerson & Tony Rodrigues show up unexpectedly at the Wayne home that the past suddenly catches up with him. It was some three years ago that Bill testified against both Mike and Tony in a brutal rape and murder that they committed in Vietnam which he was an eye witness to.

Like a spider spinning a web for its intended victim both Mike & Tony begin to set Bill up for the kill with his girlfriend-Martha-having at first no idea of what their planning to do! Bill ashamed and feeling like a turncoat in, by testifying against them, having sent Mike & Tony away for two years at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary kept what he did from Martha, as well as Harry, all this time! But now all that was about to come out in the wash with Martha, besides Bill, being the one to end up paying for it.

James Woods in his movie debut is both touching and tragic as the troubled Vietnam vet Bill Schmidt a man with a conscience that never goes away. Troubled in what he was involved with, in doing nothing to stop it, in the Vietnam War Bill turned evidence against Mike and Tony at their court-martial trial that has now come back-like a boomerang- to haunt him. Now out of prison on a technicality the two after a evening of heavy drinking decided to pay Bill, who's home address they found out from their court appointed lawyer, a visit. It turned out to be a visit straight out of hell!

Violence comes knocking

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 28 May 2020]

Really wanted to like 'The Visitors' so much more. Am a great admirer of Elia Kazan, really like to love almost all his films (his best work being iconic classics and even lesser work is watchable) and deeply respect his directing of actors, of which he is rightly considered one of the best at and it is obvious in almost all his films. Also have often gotten a lot of fun out of James Woods', in his debut here, ability to steal every scene he is in in most of his films, regardless of my negative feelings of him as a person he is always a lot of fun to watch.

'The Visitors' just didn't do it for me, though it does have its moments. It is Kazan's penultimate film and is the only one to actually properly not feel like it was directed by him, this could easily have passed for being mistaken for a film from somebody else entirely. The subject was really intriguing and difficult and could have made for a hard-hitting and emotional experience, but not near enough is done with it despite the promising start. Being somebody that dislikes concept-wastes, that did frustrate me. As far as Kazan's work goes, 'The Visitors' to me is one of his worst.

As said, 'The Visitors' has good points. The scenery is both beautiful and unforgiving, which suited the subject brilliantly. The music is suitably ominous, again fitting. The film starts off very suspensefully and intriguingly, and has moments that are quite shocking. The best scenes are actually the ones that are the hardest to watch.

Scenes that will be too upsetting for some. The dog murder and the rape being the most memorable. 'The Visitors' sees Woods at his most vulnerable, subtle and touching without showing signs of inexperience, words not usually commonly associated with Woods' performances generally. Not a bad thing just to say, just an observation. Steve Railsback plays his even meatier role with steely intensity. Patricia Joyce and Patrick McVey are also very good, McVey being the most experienced of the four and that experience shows.

Kazan's usual directorial brilliance unfortunately doesn't really come through here in 'The Visitors'. Here it was like he was uninterested in the material or not at ease with it, all his other films were far more engagingly, intensely and tastefully directed, whereas this just didn't feel like a Kazan film visually or tonally. 'The Visitors' is also perhaps his least accomplished film visually, scenery aside. Despite having serious problems with 'The Sea of Grass' and from memory 'The Last Tycoon', at least they were well made, visually this was uncharacteristically amateurish work. Very sloppy and disorganised, which cannot be said about Kazan usually.

Despite the promising start, 'The Visitors' badly under-explores the great idea it has. The hard-hitting and emotion only come in spurts, most of the time it's dreary and meandering furthermore done in bad taste. The pace is at its worst interminably dull and there is far too much talk. None of it really that interesting. The story lacks atmosphere and the complex subject matter could have done with a far more pull no punches and nuanced approach, as it comes over as indifferent and bland generally apart from some good moments. There is not really that much interesting about the characters, the only character to get some development is Nickerson.

On the whole, watchable for curiosity and completest sake but not a great or good representation of Kazan. 5/10

Undeservedly obscure, tense time capsule

[ofumalow · 7/10 · 26 August 2020]

This Kazan family project shot at their own home was poorly received at the time, no doubt because no one was ready for a bleakly negative fictional portrait of returning Vietnam vets yet, when the war was still going on. (Hollywood wouldn't really start dealing with the war until a few years after it was over, with "Coming Home," "Deer Hunter," "Hamburger Hill," "Boys From Company C" and other films starting around 1978.) But now it's stripped-down unpleasantness can be appreciated as potent, and adventuresome in its low-budget indie style production (with then-unknown actors) coming from such a fabled mainstream filmmaker.

There's a very long buildup that is successfully tense, as veteran James Woods' old army "buddies" (Steve Railsback, Chico Martinez) turn up uninvited at his rural home, or rather the house of his well-off writer father-in-law (Patrick McVey), who's letting his daughter (Patricia Joyce) live there with Woods and their baby son. It's a tense reunion, because Woods had testified against his fellow soldiers after they'd abducted, raped and killed a young Vietnamese woman, and the visitors just finished a prison stint as a result. It's made worse by the father-in-law, a blowhard who quickly gets drunk, "bonding" with the newcomers at the expense of the son-in-law he thinks is a "damn hippie" or something.

Could could see this as a sort of sequel to "Casualties of War," even if that movie was made 16 years later, in that both were loosely based on the same real-life incident, and this film takes place after the events of "War"-when the perps had been convicted, and Sean Penn's glint-eyed sergeant has promised some kind of revenge against Michael J. Fox's "squealer." Penn is really chilling in that film, and so is Railsback here as basically the same character, though he also gets some dialogue that provides some psychological depth-the movie isn't black & white in moral terms, painting the visitors as simple villains. All the actors here are very good, and every character (except the baby of course) is allowed a degree of weakness or flaw that keeps its dynamics from becoming that of a crude home-invasion-style thriller.

Basically it's a "nothing happening" movie for most of its runtime, but all the while gradually pulling the tension tighter and tighter until it seems inevitable that the worst will happen. Probably the reason "The Visitors" was so disliked at the time wasn't just because it was unpleasant politically and otherwise, but because when the worst does happen, it's not cathartic-it just rubs in the general air of no-win negativity--a rub-your-face-in-it quality underlined by the lack of any musical scoring whatsoever. American movies had mostly been dealing with Vietnam war guilt in roundabout ways via revisionist westerns ("Soldier Blue," "Little Big Man"), counterculture dramas ("Billy Jack") and so forth, but this was a discomfitingly more direct statement. Not sure if it's a great movie, but it's certainly an underrated one that reflects the uneasy mood of its time as well as any.

tense and believable

[Sleepy-17 · 21 August 2003]

If you look at this in terms of Kazan's career and the way he puts his own experience in every film (even though I'm sure he'd rather not, but he just can't help himself), this is a masterpiece. If you look at it in terms of commercial cinema, you might describe it as an interesting failure. (Leonard Maltin's book describes it as a BOMB.) All I know is that I was on the edge of my seat screaming at the television, it must have had something going for it.

The filming has a "Night of the Living Dead" kind of quality, and is just as harrowing. I wish I didn't relate to Kazan's misanthropic view of humanity, but I do. If you think you're an expert on what makes a good movie, skip this, it's not for you. If you're interested in looking at the dark and fascinating side of people who do evil things, don't miss it. A depressing but great movie. At least someone knows enough about this stuff to put it in a film; the bad part is when we have to live through it.

Kazan's last good movie--to date

[JohnSeal · 6/10 · 9 February 2001]

Slow and creepy, The Visitors is a very low budget story about two Army buddies, newly released from the stockade after serving their terms for rape, who drop in on the comrade responsible for their conviction. Very slow, but rewarding, and definitely worth a look as an unsung classic of 70s cinema.

Worth seeing for Woods and Railsback.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 10 May 2014]

Veteran actors James Woods and Steve Railsback made their film debuts in this not uninteresting, obviously low budget drama, made in a very stark and simple way by director Elia Kazan. Cited as an early effort to tell a serious Vietnam War related story, it's a fictional follow-up to the tale filmed 17 years later as "Casualties of War" (the latter was based on a true story). That said, when you know what the visitors of the title are capable of, you can feel that tension in the air. The deliberate pacing is likely to have less patient viewers fidgeting in their seats. While this viewer wouldn't consider this "deplorable" like Leonard Maltin does, he admits that there's a very grim quality to this material that hangs over everything. Characters' resentments towards each other emerge, but things never get completely ugly until the final act.

Basically, a former soldier in Vietnam, Bill Schmidt (Woods) lives in a remote location with Martha (Patricia Joyce), the mother of his child, and Harry (Patrick McVey), Marthas' father who toils away as an author. One wintry Sunday, two old comrades of Bills' show up, Mike Nickerson (Railsback), and Tony Rodrigues (Chico Martinez). Bill is uneasy to see them rather than happy, and we find out that the two of them had raped and murdered a Vietnamese girl - whom they had chosen to believe was a Viet Cong - and Bill had pointed the finger at them, leading to their court-martial. Tony tells Bill that he wants to forgive and forget, but we're not sure of this. Mike and Tony endear themselves to Harry, a gruff & macho WWII veteran who feels nothing but contempt for Bill, whom he sees as a weakling.

It may be that "The Visitors" is one of those films that engenders personal reactions: viewers may either appreciate what Kazan tries to do, or be appalled at the darkness on display. Certainly Kazan doesn't promise his audience a conclusive resolution (you wonder what will come next for the characters after the credits end) or a happy one. The mostly rough, grainy look does work for the material, and use of music is sparing. With only five main characters, there is an intimate feel to everything. The performances are solid across the board, with the young Railsback already showing that incredible intensity that became his trademark and served him well a few years later in the 'Helter Skelter' miniseries.

Film buffs might want to give this a chance if just for curiosity's sake.

Six out of 10.

Casualties of war the 2 the post-quel.

[yeodawg · 7/10 · 2 June 2011]

After 53 minutes, I don't know if its going to turn into a PTSD "FUN and GAMES" or OPEN SEASON. All know is Sgt. Tony Meserve and PFC Antonio Diaz have done their time and now drop by the house of CPL Errikson to as CPT. HILL told him "Get a Lil' PAY-BACK!" Meserve is still the psycho soldier has found a home In the ARMY he always was. Diaz however has emerged from Jail, as the confidant, slick, clotheshorse. Meanwhile Errikson's has been hiding up in the hills, living off of his wife and her rich dad. His passives ways have earned him any praise from his neighbors and the Patriarch of his family. Meanwhile Diaz with his fancy dress shoe, and crew-cut sporting Meserve are out hunting with Erriksons father in law. On the way back their throwing around the Ole' Pigskin. Big daddy lets the boys know that he's done a little something something to the Germans back in WWII. But remember this is a slow-paced film.

Slow, dull and unrewarding film

[Coventry · 3/10 · 18 September 2013]

Obscure films are often obscure for a good reason, even if they're part of the repertoire of highly acclaimed and Award-winning directors, or in case it meant the debut of famous and respected actors. "The Visitors" is such an example of a peculiarly obscure film in spite of the great names involved. It was directed by Elia Kazan, who won 2 Oscars and even an Honorary Award, and it was the first major film role for both James Woods and Steve Railsbeck. These names alone should have provided the film with a tremendous classic status and cult reputation, but instead it's a totally unknown effort that never ever gets mentioned when people are discussing the highlights of either Kazan or Woods. Is it because it's such a bitter and emotionless drama that deals with the darker side of war veteran heroes? Perhaps… Is it because it's such a slow, dull and eventually unrewarding movie experience? More likely… "The Visitors" probably ranks in the top 5 slowest-paced films I've ever seen and the story keeps building up towards a devastating climax that actually never comes. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a movie in which absolutely nothing happens while, at the same time, it offers so much potential for exciting and suspenseful things to happen! If it weren't the names that convinced me to watch "The Visitors" already, then the brief plot description certainly would have: Vietnam veteran Bill Schmidt lives a quite life in the countryside, along with his wife and their baby. One morning, two of Bill's army buddies show up at their doorstep and invite themselves in. This isn't friendly visit, however, as Tony and Mike were just recently released from prison where they served a sentence for raping and murdering an innocent girl during their Tour of Duty. Bill testified against them in court, but now in his own house, he will have to protect his family and himself. How brilliant does that description sound? The film could have been a forerunner of the popular trend of home-invasion movies (like "Last House on the Left" or "House at the Edge of the Park") or it could have been a raw and powerful post-Vietnam revenge thriller (like "The Exterminator", "The Farmer" or "Rolling Thunder"). Especially the latter examples successfully managed to combine dazzling character studies and genuine human drama with harsh and relentless action footage but, sadly enough, Elia Kazan and his scriptwriter son Chris solely opted for character study. And then it still isn't very successful, I must add. The only sequence in the entire movie that more or less qualifies as eventful is a downright disgusting one and depicts – in detail – the massacre of a dog. That whole sequence looked disturbingly realistic, if you ask me. The rest of the story is simply people sitting at tables and staring at each other without saying much. The scenario also takes a few bizarre and illogical twists, like Bill's father-in-law socializing with two suspicious figures he never met and that obviously for a menace to his daughter and grandson. The filming locations and snowy landscapes are astounding and the soundtrack features a couple of nice classical music moments, but that's hardly worth a recommendation.

A haunting Vietnam aftermath game by Elia Kazan

[Gloede_The_Saint · 8/10 · 11 March 2011]

Many of you have probably seen Brian De Palma's Casualties of War from 1987. CoW was based on a real story, this fictional 1972 film shows what happened afterward. All I can say is that this is an incredibly intriguing, but sadly forgotten film.

There are many other aspects that make this film special. First of all it's James Wood's debut, second it's allegedly the first fictional film to deal with Vietnam in a serious manner, and third because of how intense the film manages to get. The very set-up sends flashbacks to Funny Games. Two old army buddies of Wood's shows up at his house. This might seem nice enough, but even without the knowledge I had you get the feeling that something is wrong. These are the men Wood's turned in for raping and killing a Vietnamese girl.

The atmosphere screams of dread and you sit back horrified wondering when it's all going to explode. Unlike Kazan's other features it's not visually beautiful in the traditional sense, though it does have many haunting images. This film seeks a more personal touch, again one that might appear somewhat similar to Haneke's minimalism. One thing I found fascinating is that it often cuts the heads of it's characters, which creates an unnatural and weird, albeit very effective atmosphere.

It's also wonderfully contained - there's basically just one setting - their house and the area near by. This only intensifies the whole situation. Of course it does have some small problems. For example the character doesn't seem to realize how serious the situation actually is. But this is one scary flick, and I would definitely recommend it!

Reminiscent to a play about the scars of the Vietnam war

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 30 March 2024]

(1972) The Visitors WAR DRAMA

Somewhat controversial subject matter that centers on common law couple, Bill Schmidt (James Woods) and Martha Wayne (Patricia Joyce) with their young baby Hal. While Martha's dad, Harry Wayne (Patrick McVey) lives next door, we find out is a Western novelist. And just when Bill decides to leave on the following morning on a drive to grab the newspaper, two people show up we find out used to belong to the same army regiment as Bill and wanted to see him or "The Visitors" hence the title. Their names are Antonio Rodriguez (Chico Martínez) or Tony for short and Sgt. Mike Nickerson (Steve Railsback). And as the movie is progressing we find out both Tony and Mike used to be court martialed by one of their own regimen Bill, and it was at this point their motives for showing up at Bill's residence is ambiguous.

Unexpectedly Savage

[eraceheadd · 5/10 · 5 February 2001]

I recently saw this obscure film on cable and was not ready for the disturbance it set in me afterwards. It is a basic retelling of many story's we've seen before, (old army buddies come back after the war to seek redemption on the friend that did them wrong) but it was a bit of a stand out in the it has a very unexpected, shocking ending. It explores the violence and the tension of the situation well, moving slowly and methodically, which works for a while but then falls short, as you have to say "enough all ready" and get on with it.

Decent performance by a young James Woods and also by Steve Railsback in his first film (who later goes on to star if the cult classic "Life Force". All and all, if you can get past the amateurish production value, an OK exploration of violence and invasion that just takes forever to get going. If you liked Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (though I particularly didn't) I would recommend this film.

Very underrated film about the bankruptcy of masculinity

[thao · 9/10 · 16 May 2013]

There are some mild spoilers here.

I really liked this film. It has a lot in common with Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, which came out a year before. I have no idea if it is accidental or not. No one seams to talk about the similarities. Both films are about the moral bankruptcy of masculinity. Both film feature a sexually confused woman and a battle between a soft man and super masculine men.

The idea for the film supposedly came from the same story that Brian De Palma's Casualties of War was based on. This is a fictional version of what could have happened after everything in the story Casualties of War is based on. Two of the men who raped the girl in Vietnam come home to the person (Bill Schmidt) who reported them to have their revenge.

I loved the character battle in this film. Bill's father in law is a writer of western books. This is important because he stands for the old west, the old time, the culture of violence, where you took what you wanted, no matter if it was yours or not. He hates Bill because he thinks he is too soft, not enough of a man and definitely not worthy of his daughter. He even wonders if his grandchild is his grandchild since it has a blood of a sissy in its veins. He however falls in love with the guys who come for a visit to take revenge, the Vietnam war criminals! And when he hears about what Bill Schmidt had done to them (reporting how they raped and killed an innocent girl) he replies: Why did you not kill him? So no sympathy there.

Bill Schmidt's wife Martha Wayne is rather confused. She is daddy's little girl but still not blindly so. She is kind of torn between two world-views and can't make up her mind.

And now let the battle begin... :)

And jumping forward in time. I wonder if this film influenced Funny Games (1997). Two visitors with bad intentions come for a visit and a power play between them all. Sounds like Funny Games to me :)

I have no idea why this film is so underrated. I was on the edge of my seat while watching it. Maybe my expectations were just so low that it caught me off guard?

THE VISITORS (Elia Kazan, 1972) **

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 1 April 2006]

Untypical material for Kazan: this curiously amateurish amalgam of ACT OF VIOLENCE (1948) and THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955), updated for the Vietnam era, is unworthy of the director's unquestionable talent (despite being written by his own son!) and emerges as a pointless talking marathon - in which the dialogue is muffled most of the time anyway, because of poor sound recording!

Patricia Joyce comes off best from the hand-picked cast, which includes James Woods' debut role as the wimpish hero(!) and Steve Railsback as one of his two revenge-seeking war buddies; these actors must have thought that they had it made when they were chosen by Award-winning director Kazan (who had, after all, virtually discovered Marlon Brando, James Dean and Warren Beatty) to feature in his next movie but, unfortunately for them, THE VISITORS sank without trace despite being an official entry in that year's Cannes Film Festival!

While the film could easily have turned into a nasty shocker in the vein of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) - which might even have been preferable in the long run - the story just meanders on towards a lame and inconclusive ending. At least, the film's snowy setting provides a nice pictorial backdrop...

Eraceheadd's review was dead on...

[planktonrules · 23 August 2012]

Two old army 'friends' arrive at the home of a young couple. The husband (James Woods--in his first film) doesn't seem happy to see them. Later, you SLOWLY find out why--he testified against them in a trial during the Vietnam War, as the two had participated in a rape and murder of an innocent woman. Normally, you'd think that he'd throw them out or call the police...but he doesn't.

If I didn't see on IMDb and in the film's credits, I would have no idea that this movie was directed by the great Elia Kazan (of "On the Waterfront" fame). That's because the film looks so amateurish in many ways--with blurry and sloppy cinematography. It also only has fair acting--as if the folks really were all rookies (which, in fact, they were). How far had the career of Kazan fallen that he ended up doing a film like this?! And, in my summary I mentioned eracehead's review--and I think they summed it up nicely when they mentioned the amateurish look and the fact that it took so darned long for the film to get moving. All in all, most of the emotional impact was lost by the time the big rape scene (which was VERY telegraphed--such as showing the woman topless while dressing early in the film and the fact that the men had been involved in the prior rape) occurred. I mention the rape scene, as I know many viewers DON'T want to see this sort of thing (too many memories for many victims, for example). All in all, an interesting idea that simply wasn't handled well.

Kazan curio from 1972

[wavecat13 · 5/10 · 27 July 2017]

This curio is a low budget drama directed by Elia Kazan from a script by his son. This is probably one of the first times audiences got to see James Woods in a leading role. He plays Bill, a young man, just back from the Vietnam War and living in a rural menage with his girl, her older husband, and his child. The older guy is a Hemingwayesque writer with a penchant for booze, and Patrick McVey plays the role with aplomb. At their door appear a couple of Bill's old army buddies, and one of them has a grudge to work out, since Bill ratted him out something back in the war zone. The young woman gets into it too, and the tension grows to an inevitable confrontation. There are no revelations here, but it is worth a look.

Unsettling, wishful thinking and really Martha's comeuppance

[drgraz · 8/10 · 3 November 2021]

I was unsettled by this movie!

I agree with the reviews that said it was clearly inevitable the visit was going to come to no good from the moment the visitors arrived. But the tension of waiting for that "no good" to manifest itself permeates every moment that follows their arrival. And there were some points in between to vaguely wonder if perhaps a tragic ending might not be inevitable.

I saw the characters of Bill and Martha as typical to the human condition. Martha clearly is unhappy with Bill and attracted to Sgt. Mike. That she knows what a horrible thing he's done and still gravitates to him embodies the wishful thinking of escape. His rape of her isn't shown as some kind of wish fulfillment but rather wishful thinking that Mike will rescue her from an existence she doesn't want (caught between her hyper-masculine father and "wimpy" boyfriend).

Bill is the only one presented with some kind of moral center to hold up as a possible standard; he did the right thing and is only persecuted for it. Is he really so obtuse he doesn't see how ominous the advent of the visitors is? Others have criticized the movie on this ground, but perhaps it was wishful thinking alongside Martha's that it could all be moved past. Perhaps he saw it all coming (besides Martha's role) and saw it as his comeuppance for "turning traitor". A viewer has to wonder why he doesn't tell the visitors to leave or stand up for the choice he made during the war. In any sense, he comes off as having run from making a major stand of any kind ever since which lends itself nicely to the inevitability of what happens.

Less a comment on the Vietnam war than on WAR itself (the father is a veteran of another war and bonds with the visitors over blood lust) and letting who these people really are unfold. Martha is really the revelation of them all, the others are pretty clearly drawn early on in their appearances. She is the catalyst in a way that no one reviewing here has caught onto yet!

Revenge story involving three Viet Nam vets

[DuranAOD · 2/10 · 7 May 2014]

This film is basically a bastardization of Daniel Lang's story "Casualties of War" which was adapted into a film by Brian De Palma in 1989. In Elia Kazan's 1972 version two Viet Nam vets who were sentenced to two years in Leavenworth Prison for their role in the gang rape and murder of a 15-year-old Vietnamese girl during a patrol somewhere in Viet Nam pay a visit to the fellow soldier who turned them in, presumably for the purpose of letting him know that they harbor no hard feelings but the visit ends when they beat the guy unconscious and rape his wife. Joseph McCarthy, had he lived long enough, would have been a big fan of this film.

Intense, twisting nerve. Kazan's last great

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 10/10 · 13 June 2017]

Elia Kazan's last great work comes from an original script by his son Chris (his only screenplay), which is inspired by a 1969 article from The New Yorker Magazine. The article's real story was filmed by Brian De Palma's underrated work "Casualties of War"; Kazan's film is an 'what if...' kind of situation where viewers could see it as a real sequel to De Palma's film. Both are outstanding films, with high caliber performances and plenty of drama and tension, uncomfortable moments and filled with thought-provoking themes.

The very first serious fictional film about the Vietnam conflict (step aside "The Deer Hunter"), the film isn't necessarily about the war but mostly about the players at a war, and the ever changing rules of the game whose outcome isn't necessarily good. Here, war seems a distant fog that somehow always finds its way to get deeper in the memories of all the five major characters from the film. Martha and Bill (Patricia Joyce and James Woods) are a nice couple, they have a baby, and they're quietly living in this small farm estate owned by her father (Patrick McVey), a war veteran from another era who now writes novels. A simple day in their lives, Bill goes out for something and when he returns, his wife tells him that two of his army buddies were there for a visit. They're played by Steve Railsback and Chico Martínez. By this part of this story, if you're not into reading plots you can only imagine that something was really wrong between those friends during their time in Vietnam, the tension cuts the air like a sharp sword and those two caustic visitors aren't there for a friendly visit. They will disturb the family's apparent peace and quiet.

Brilliantly, "The Visitors" avoids taking the usual route of turning into a horrific thriller, instead focusing on minor disturbances that permeates very quietly. Before that, we have the opportunity to see Sgt. Nickerson and Rodrigues trying to establish contacts with the couple; later on going to lady's father house - and the man adores them practically since they can exchange war experiences; then we gradually understand that Woods character is deeply concerned about their visit. Most I can tell, so you can enjoy the film, is exactly the view Martha gets from Bill about what happened in Vietnam and revolved around a court martial - but if you're familiar with "Casualties of War" you know the real deal.

With a pulsating twisting nerve, "The Visitors" is an intense film that deepens the wounds a nation weren't yet ready to get exposed, except in news media, when it comes to not only the already exhausted Vietnam conflict but also the reality of the veterans coming back home to not find much prospect of a new life. It's not like both Kazan's movie is a highly political film but the themes are there. Anguish, revenge, shock of different values and the effects of a war, it's all present in great dialogues, strong unforgettable moments. Woods and Railsback deliver knockout performances, with the latter carrying an intense gaze, lack of words but menacing effect - which he used to play many other intense characters later in his career; and the former playing a vulnerable type whose expressions are getting more and more worried, unlike anything he has ever done. With the exception of McVey, all the four main actors are making their film debut in this picture and they were all great.

My problems with the film is some settings that look implausible or fail to convince much; the guitar song that seems to announce the most awaited third act, it just doesn't work. This was a serious candidate in becoming a perfect classic of the 1970's, an era with many realistic inputs and conventions, almost similar to the Dogma movement of the 1990's with some films making use of music from original sources in the background, no new composition - in fact, it's classic songs that Kazan used as a background without no indication of let's say music playing on a stereo - which also happens later on with great pieces and to a spectacular tense effect. But when he introduces the guitar theme it just puts you off from the effect of seeing a more realistic piece of filmmaking, almost like an exciting play - and I wonder how come there's no play version of this? But Kazan succeeds in making a more intimate film, very independently, modest and somber.

And through everything presented, we wonder what the future will bring to those characters?

Elia Kazan joins Cinema Verite

[PimpinAinttEasy · 5/10 · 21 November 2021]

Its like rishab pant imitating cheteshwar pujara.

Why would a director like KAZAN with a flamboyant crackling visual style join the dreary cinema verite movement? Well, his wife put him upto it. Jeez!

From IMDB trivia:

Very much a family affair for Elia Kazan. It was inspired by his wife Barbara Loden's critically acclaimed film Wanda (1970), while his son, Chris Kazan, wrote the screenplay.

Anyway, war veteran (JAMES WOODS) seems to be living a dull life with his sexy idealistic anti-establishment wife, her old school manly father who is a writer and kid. But the arrival of two old army buddies spoil his tranquil life. They have some beef with the war veteran. The characters circle each other in a closed environment, go hunting and drink a lot. The film can boast of perfectly capturing a gloomy wintery atmosphere. The brooding STEVE RAILSACK is very impressive as one of the soldiers. I found the film to be quite dreary. Dont think i like the cinema verite style so much.

(6/10)

Moody film noir

[penseur · 28 June 2004]

Although the production values are those of 1960s and 70s films which make The Incredibly Strange Film Festival, that is to say not good, this one is still worth watching if you happen to like film noir and see it on your cable TV schedule. A ex-Vietnam veteran lives with his girlfriend Martha and their baby, and nearby her father, a world war II veteran. Then in the snow covered winter landscape two Vietnam buddies show up in their car, and its obvious they are psychologically warped. They get on well with dad but when it is revealed they were part of a gang rape of a 16 year old girl in Vietnam, needless to say Martha isn't very comfortable. The tensions build. Martha gets around in a miniskirt and boots and the regular glimpses of her thighs are a fairly strong clue about events near the end of the film. 6/10

Elia Kazan's Home Videos! or The Old Man is the Voice of Reason!

[PretentiousFilmCritic · 2/10 · 23 March 2022]

Two friends from the Vietnam War visit their old platoon buddy James Woods! They chit-chat, watch football, drink with the father-in-law, run on a lake of ice, kill a dog, y'know all the usual stuff!

When James Woods is the most likable character in a movie, you know that's a bad sign. Steve Railsback (the guy from Stunt Man) is slightly menacing. Other than that . . .

A rather boring cinematic experience. The father-in-law is slightly incestuous, which makes this film way more skeevy than it should be! The last ten minutes are exceptionally depressing! You've been warned, everybody!

not good

[houstonballer69 · 1/10 · 17 February 2011]

Watched it last night. Started well and I admit had suspense, but didn't follow through. It was one of those movies which just dragged on and on. When something does happen your like that is it. Had an awful ending which left the audience with questions. Seemed to be made by a disturbed director. I still don't see the point in the movie. Wanna waste an hour and a half watch The Visitors.

Pros: Good actors and setting. Cons: No real story or reasoning.

Sorry if I don't agree with other users. For me there is nothing worse than a great beginning with a poor ending. There is no excuse and seemed kind of lazy.

FYI I signed up just to let people know how bad this movie is.

Nice Try But It Just Doesn't Work

[Michael_Elliott · 19 August 2012]

The Visitors (1972)

** (out of 4)

Bill (James Woods) and his wife Martha (Patricia Joyce) are spending time with their son when two of Bill's former Vietnam buddies (Steve Railsback, Chico Martinez) show up. The wife isn't sure what the two are doing there but the secret is that both of them just got done doing time for rape, which Bill turned them in on. THE VISITORS isn't really the type of film you'd expect from someone like Elia Kazan but after viewing the film and seeing that he was going for a psychological type thriller, I can see why he was hired but in the end I don't think the film works. What we basically got is a thriller that doesn't want action but instead it wants to make the viewer think and it wants to turn these thoughts into a nightmare. I don't think there's any doubt that Kazan, working with a screenplay written by his son, wanted the viewer to sit in the dark fearing what these two dangerous men were going to do to the man who turned them in. Kazan directs the film in an extremely slow way as all of the scenes just drag on and it really does seem that the thing runs much longer than its 88-minutes. Kazan's slow style wouldn't have been a problem had the dialogue been better. The majority of the film is just slow, drawn out dialogue sequences but the problem is that they're boring. Not once did I get caught up in anything going on and in fact the highlight of the movie is a sequence where the wife's father (Patrick McVey) has a neighbors dog killed. The film is trying to say something about Vietnam, friendship, loyalty and several other things but everything just gets so muddled that you can't help but start yawning. The performances from the five people are all good and it's this that keeps the film working. THE VISITORS isn't quite as graphic as its reputation would have you believe but it does have the feel of something like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. In fact, the visual look of this film compares highly to the Wes Craven shocker that was released the previous year.

Hopelessly Bleak

[movieman_kev · 12 November 2003]

A couple spend a quiet day at home, until the husband's 2 Vietnam "pals" come to visit. I saw this for two reasons. First of all, I feel Kazan was a great director and ,secondly, i adore James Woods.This is a very moody film that paints the world very bleak and creepy. It does draw you into it, the way you wait for the inevitable something to happen. the ending just didn't jibe for me. Did she want what happened? It seemed that way a little bit. Also it ends too abruptly.

My Grade:C

Where I saw it: showtime extreme

Eye Candy:Patricia Joyce topless briefly

Well... it doesn't play out quite as you'd expect...

[Wizard-8 · 13 January 2015]

If you have read the basic premise for "The Visitors", you probably think you have a good idea as to how the movie will play out if you have seen your share of hostage dramas and revenge thrillers. Well, you are only partially right. The expected things DO happen, but what will probably surprise you is how long it takes for these things to happen. To be exact, more than eighty percent of the movie goes by before things start turning violent. And that eighty percent goes by extremely slowly, it doesn't seem to have a point - unless it's to show how slow and stupid innocent people can be towards something that's an obvious danger to anyone in the audience. I guess the acting is okay, and despite the low budget (less that 200,000 dollars from what I read), there is some genuine atmosphere. But in the end, there doesn't seem to be much of a point, whether it is to entertain the audience or say something about Vietnam.