“The scene where Sam imparts his wisdom to young buck Bottoms may be the saddest, loveliest moment in 1970s American cinema. And that’s saying something.”
High school friends Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges) and Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town of the early 50s. The brilliant cast also includes Cybill Shepherd (in her film debut), Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn and Randy Quaid. The Last Picture Show was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two (Best Actor and Actress in Supporting Roles for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman, respectively), launched the career of Peter Bogdanovich (& indirectly cost him his marriage) and is a true classic of 1970s New Hollywood. Melancholy has never been so sweet. Dammit.
