Thanks for the memories!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This movie is amazing. I will not go over the plot, since many reviewers here has already covered it. I may add that the Sam character is someone who every woman wants and every boy wants to be like. As for me, I would like to have this cowboy for many reasons...but I won't go into that now. I highly recommend this film- a slice of Americana to the bone.Ben Johnson's tour de force performance won him a much deserved Oscar. Z3

Greetings from Lithuania."The Last Picture Show" (1971) is a good coming of age story set in a gods forgotten place. The place itself is like a character in this movie - it is a dying, dusty little town with no hope. And then there are people, living in it, or should i say surviving in there, as there isn't really much of a hope to look forward to in that place. And still they want to love, have sex, to cared about, no matter the age or social difference.I loved the performances in "The Last Picture Show". There are some many great performances here: Ben Johnson as "Sam the Lion", who won Oscar for his performance. One of my all time favorite Ellen Burstyn gave a great performance as well, much more complex then it appears at the beginning. Then there is Cloris Leachman who also won Academy award. The national treasure Jeff Bridges - great performance as well. I also loved Eileen Brennan (Genevieve) acting, every time she appeared on a screen i could take my eyes of her. And Randy Quaid should have stayed on the screen longer. Timothy Bottoms and well, everyone - this is a one terrifically acted movie. Script was also good as well as solid directing.Overall, "The Last Picture Show" is a terrifically acted coming of age story in a goods forgotten place. This is a very atmospheric movie, which looks so fragile at the times, like life in that place itself. Good movie all around.

I recently watched it again after many years. I remember rating it very highly when I saw it 20 years ago. I was a bit apprehensive because it seems that movies we loved before don't always hold up. Anyway, I needn't have worried. What a beautifully melancholic film this is. The cast are excellent, especially Timothy Bottoms as the sad eyed Sonny and Cloris Leachman as the coach's wife. The cinematography is also amazing and the black and white images really add to the tone, becoming almost a character in themselves. Bogdanovich was on a roll here and what a shame that after What's up Doc and Paper Moon he entered a slow decline.My favorite scene is when Ben Johnson takes the boys out and reminisces about his past with Ellen Burstyn's character. In some ways this scene is one of the finest in American cinema and is heartbreaking. I envy those who haven't seen it as you have a treat in store.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW is a moving snapshot of Times Past, faithfully recreated and honestly portrayed. There are none of the over-the-top performances that often mar this kind of movie; the characterizations are low-key and down-to-earth and ring true. Likewise, the filmmaking itself: the camera is an unflinching observer, recording for posterity the life and loves of all the characters involved in an almost documentary style. That it's done in black and white is yet another plus: this was how the world WAS before Color came along. Timothy Bottoms as Sonny is Everyguy, a boy entering young Manhood and hoping and wanting something BETTER out of Life. His final scene, which dissolves oh-so-slowly into a shot of the dust-choked main street of town, where the camera pans to a last, lingering shot of the Royal (the town theater, now closed due to the death of owner Ben Johnson), is quite beautiful.