The Visitors (1972)

Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Chris Kazan (from an original screenplay by)

Stars:

Patrick McVey, Patricia Joyce, James Woods

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Patrick McVey	...	Harry Wayne
Patricia Joyce	...	Martha Wayne
James Woods	...	Bill Schmidt
Steve Railsback	...	Sgt. Mike Nickerson
Chico Martínez	...	Tony Rodriguez

Storyline

Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their cosy house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez. Mike and Tony are old acquaintances of Bill; a few years back, in Vietnam, they were in the same platoon. They also became opposed parties in a court martial - for a reason that Bill never explained to Martha. What happened in Vietnam, and what is the reason for the presence of Mike and Tony ?

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Plot Keywords:

past coming back to haunt | girlfriend raped | rape scene | brutal rape | vietnam war veteran | 

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Taglines:

Every one wants to turn his back on violence until it knocks at his front door.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shooting was made in Elia Kazan's house.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Casualties of War' (2001)

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Soundtracks

Lute Suite #1
by Johann Sebastian Bach (as J.S. Bach)
Performed by William Matthews, guitar

User Reviews

tense and believable

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1972 (France)

Also Known As:

The Visitors

Filming Locations:

Newton, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$135,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Free

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1