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The Last Picture Show

  • 19711971
  • RR
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
48K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,895
1,041
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Cybill Shepherd, and Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show (1971)
HV Trailer
Play trailer1:27
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance

In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.

IMDb RATING
8.0/10
48K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,895
1,041
  • Director
    • Peter Bogdanovich
  • Writers
    • Larry McMurtry(screenplay by)
    • Peter Bogdanovich(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Timothy Bottoms
    • Jeff Bridges
    • Cybill Shepherd
Top credits
  • Director
    • Peter Bogdanovich
  • Writers
    • Larry McMurtry(screenplay by)
    • Peter Bogdanovich(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Timothy Bottoms
    • Jeff Bridges
    • Cybill Shepherd
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 217User reviews
    • 101Critic reviews
    • 93Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 19 wins & 22 nominations total

    Videos2

    The Last Picture Show
    Trailer 1:27
    The Last Picture Show
    The Last Picture Show
    Trailer 2:52
    The Last Picture Show

    Photos191

    Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Cybill Shepherd, and Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Timothy Bottoms and Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Ellen Burstyn and Cybill Shepherd in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Peter Bogdanovich, and Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Cloris Leachman at an event for The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepherd in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepherd in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Cybill Shepherd, and Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show (1971)
    Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepherd in The Last Picture Show (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Timothy Bottoms
    Timothy Bottoms
    • Sonny Crawfordas Sonny Crawford
    Jeff Bridges
    Jeff Bridges
    • Duane Jacksonas Duane Jackson
    Cybill Shepherd
    Cybill Shepherd
    • Jacy Farrowas Jacy Farrow
    Ben Johnson
    Ben Johnson
    • Sam the Lionas Sam the Lion
    Cloris Leachman
    Cloris Leachman
    • Ruth Popperas Ruth Popper
    Ellen Burstyn
    Ellen Burstyn
    • Lois Farrowas Lois Farrow
    Eileen Brennan
    Eileen Brennan
    • Genevieveas Genevieve
    Clu Gulager
    Clu Gulager
    • Abileneas Abilene
    Sam Bottoms
    Sam Bottoms
    • Billyas Billy
    Sharon Ullrick
    Sharon Ullrick
    • Charlene Duggsas Charlene Duggs
    • (as Sharon Taggart)
    Randy Quaid
    Randy Quaid
    • Lester Marlowas Lester Marlow
    Joe Heathcock
    • The Sheriffas The Sheriff
    Bill Thurman
    Bill Thurman
    • Coach Popperas Coach Popper
    Barc Doyle
    • Joe Bob Blantonas Joe Bob Blanton
    Jessie Lee Fulton
    Jessie Lee Fulton
    • Miss Moseyas Miss Mosey
    Gary Brockette
    Gary Brockette
    • Bobby Sheenas Bobby Sheen
    Helena Humann
    • Jimmie Sueas Jimmie Sue
    Loyd Catlett
    Loyd Catlett
    • Leroyas Leroy
    • Director
      • Peter Bogdanovich
    • Writers
      • Larry McMurtry(screenplay by) (based on the novel by)
      • Peter Bogdanovich(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Last Picture Show
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    Storyline

    Edit
    In tiny Anarene, Texas, in the lull between World War Two and the Korean Conflict, Sonny and Duane are best friends. Enduring that awkward period of life between boyhood and manhood, the two pass their time the best way they know how -- with the movie house, football, and girls. Jacy is Duane's steady, wanted by every boy in school, and she knows it. Her daddy is rich and her mom is good looking and loose. It's the general consensus that whoever wins Jacy's heart will be set for life. But Anarene is dying a quiet death as folks head for the big cities to make their livings and raise their kids. The boys are torn between a future somewhere out there beyond the borders of town or making do with their inheritance of a run-down pool hall and a decrepit movie house -- the legacy of their friend and mentor, Sam the Lion. As high school graduation approaches, they learn some difficult lessons about love, loneliness, and jealousy. Then folks stop attending the second-run features at the movie house and the time comes for the last picture show. With the closure of the movie house, the boys feel that a stage of their lives is closing. They stand uneasily on the threshold of the rest of their lives. (The movie was adapted from the novel by Larry McMurtry). —Mark Fleetwood <mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
    • 1950s
    • older woman younger man relationship
    • texas
    • movie theater
    • nostalgia
    • 298 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Anarene, Texas, 1951. Nothing much has changed...
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At 9 minutes and 54 seconds, Ben Johnson's performance in this movie is the shortest to ever win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
    • Goofs
      When Duane returns to Anarene toward the end of the film, he is on leave from the US Army in the middle of the Korean War, around 1952. His hair is too long to pass Army regulations, which limit the length of a soldier's hair, after he has completed basic training. His hair would be too long even for today's Army. Moreover, Duane has sideburns, which the Army would never have permitted.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Ruth Popper: Never you mind, honey. Never you mind.

    • Alternate versions
      Special edition includes seven minutes of footage not included in the original release.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Last Picture Show Re-Release Promo (1971)
    • Soundtracks
      Cold, Cold Heart
      (uncredited)

      Written by Hank Williams (as Hank Williams Sr.)

      Performed by Tony Bennett

    User reviews217

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    A Movie Milestone
    One of my favorite films is The Last Picture Show. It is a film that was directed by Peter Bogdanovitch in 1971, yet almost 30 years later it still seems fresh and alive to me. There is a desolate, spare quality to the 1950's small west Texas town we are invited into and its desolation is apparent to us from the opening scenes. It was filmed in black and white, which enhances the dramatic quality of the town and takes us back to a simpler time. Just as our lives are discontinuous, with jarring scene changes and ridiculous episodes of embarrassing events, so is life presented to us in this small town. The film's purposely jarring editing is transformed in our minds, as we watch, from a disjointed amalgam to a stream of consciousness effect that is very lifelike. One knows, then, that you are entering an alternative world just as real in its way as your own. This movie pulls you in.

    There is no musical score in this film in the normal sense. The only time you hear music is when a radio is on or a phonograph is playing in the background. This lack of a musical score dubbed over the film enhances the illusion of reality. Another aspect of this sound editing is the choice of music that is being played by the different characters. Bogdonavitch uses song and artist selection to subtly comment on the character of the person or people who are listening to it. In the case of Sonny the music he selects is always Hank Williams and it alludes to the hardscrabble life and down to earth quality of his character. In contrast at JC's home, the manipulative teenager played by Cybil Sheppard, you hear a cover of a Hank William's song that has all of the life sucked out of it, similar to a Pat Boone cover of an Elvis Presley song. It is a direct comment on JC and her family; her family has grown wealthy by owning oil wells and they pretend they are still the same people as before. It is obvious they are not just by this simple musical selection. It is eloquent in its simplicity.

    The center of the film and the major theme – should you listen to your heart or your libido if the two don't combine in the same person? Perhaps the saddest comment in this film is that too often these two halves to a whole do not come together as a package and people are forced to chose. None of the characters are particularly happy with their mates. Everyone is on the prowl for that perfect person they know they will be happy with. Time and again they think that they've found the perfect person based on their sexual attraction but when they begin to show their authentic selves are then rejected. Those in long term relationships with an emotionally compatible mate but with no sexual interest face an equal dilemma – a lack of excitement and joy – and are destined to be the ones that reject. It exposes both sides of this human dilemma, a duality that can become split and non-integrated, and does it in a sophisticated and lyrical way. Most people experience this split at some time and in this film, as in life, there are no easy answers. That's why I love this film.

    And there is Billy, the boy who continually sweeps the street in a hopeless gesture to turn back the inevitable, representing that demented and futile longing for a past that was never quite as good as you remember it. He represents that longing for an illusion that disappears just as we are about to grasp it and the sadness of that. The broom that is never fast enough for the blowing dust of time.
    helpful•194
    32
    • EricH-9
    • Apr 29, 1999

    FAQ10

    • What is 'The Last Picture Show' about?
    • Is 'The Last Picture Show' based on a book?
    • Where is Anarene, Texas?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 22, 1971 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Zadnja predstava
    • Filming locations
      • 605 South Ash Street, Archer City, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • BBS Productions
      • Last Picture Show Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,300,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $29,133,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $29,146,131
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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