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March 24, 2005
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Sydney Pollack:
A movie about a Depression-era dance marathon where the contestants dance for days on end for three meals a day and a modest prize. It's Midnight Cowboy-lite, a faux-nostalgic view of how the American Dream can slip away so easily, complete with flashbacks/flashforwards.
Sydney Pollack builds a much smaller movie, trapped in the claustrophobic dance hall with its inhabitants a microcosm of society. (Also, Red Buttons still alive? Who knew?) It's not as incisive as Cowboy is, but it's certainly well made and worth watching.
12/15
Posted by bing at March 24, 2005 10:40 PM