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IMDbPro

The Last Picture Show

  • 19711971
  • RR
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
48K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,058
226
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
2,058
226
  • 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
    • 218User 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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    Storyline

    Edit

    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 reviews218

    Review
    Top review
    ... worthy of its place in the list of great films of the 1970s
    Perhaps the greatest tragedy to befall any artist is to have their life become more compelling than their work; such is the sad case with Peter Bogdanovich whose meteoric rise to fame was matched only by a truly famous fall from favor and a bewildering journey through tabloid hell. (Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers mined the not inconsiderable drama of the first act of his life to sporadically great comic effect in 1984's Irreconcilable Differences. And his tragic love affair with Playboy model turned actress Dorothy Stratten is fictionalized in Bob Fosse's astonishing, horrifying Star 80 (1983). How many directors become characters in films?)

    Bogdanovich's love affair with film is undeniable, though it has, in the past three decades, yielded far more perplexing misfires (The Cat's Meow, At Long Last Love, Nickelodeon) than unqualified successes. That said, The Last Picture Show is an extraordinary accomplishment and worthy of its place in the list of great films of the 1970s.

    1971's other important films (Friedkin's The French Connection, Pakula's Klute, Kubrick's Clockwork Orange) are loud, angry, violent and contemporary – in-your-face reflections of a society in which rage and nihilism, engendered by Vietnam and the growing discontent over government corruption, is the currency of communication. The uncertainty coursing through the veins of American pop culture also begat in equal, if not equally graphic, measure a palpable sense of sorrow at the destruction of a simpler way of life (no matter how "true" that memory may be).

    Like Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof and Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Last Picture Show is a powerful and poignant evocation of the death of a community and a way of life. Thematically rich and imbued with Bogdanovich's remarkable knowledge and passion for film, the movie works on a dazzling number of levels; and Bogdanovich's use of nostalgia and traditional, archetypal genre conventions both enriches the movie and compounds the heartbreaking loss at the heart of the story.

    His deft handling of a cast comprised of then (largely) unknowns (Bridges, Bottoms, Shepherd) is first-rate and he draws forth superb, often sublime performances from everyone (in particular, Johnson, Burstyn and Leachman). There isn't a false note or a misstep in the movie and there is a naturalness here that is not easily achieved or earned. The great production design (by Bogdanovich's then wife and partner Polly Platt whose contributions to his work and her subsequent involvement in the best works of James L. Brooks should not go underestimated) and the achingly beautiful cinematography by the late Robert Surtees are vital to the success (emotionally, intellectually, thematically) of the film.

    The Last Picture Show is a truly rare work of surprising depth and emotional resonance; and the heartache for a time and place forever gone and the desperate and quiet struggles of its very real, very human denizens is matched only by the sorrow found in contemplation of Bogdanovich's Icarus-like fall from such exalted heights.
    helpful•135
    29
    • csplus
    • Jan 10, 2005

    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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