It's no wonder Zoetrope went bankrupt after this lavish, great-looking but bad-tasting bore of a film. Coppola had clearly lost his mind by this point (the APOCALYPSE NOW production, as we all know, is the most probable reason) and went way over-budget with the sets, etc. Yes, they look great, but great sets and cool camerawork can only take you so far. You need a script, too, and this film didn't really seem to have one. I can only think of one director who ever worked well without a script and that was Godard (see PIERROT LE FOU for a great example of spontaneous filmmaking).
That said, some of the acting here is inspired, especially that of Frederic Forrest. Kinski is cute but dull, but here's an honest question - why is Teri Garr constantly getting naked in this film? I'd rather see Kinski sans clothing.
One more caveat in this bad review: the opening title sequence is amazing.
That said, some of the acting here is inspired, especially that of Frederic Forrest. Kinski is cute but dull, but here's an honest question - why is Teri Garr constantly getting naked in this film? I'd rather see Kinski sans clothing.
One more caveat in this bad review: the opening title sequence is amazing.