Runtime: 147 minutes
Directed by: George A. Romero
Starring: Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman
From: United Film Distribution Company/Laurel Productions
Right before this left the Criterion Channel I deemed it most opportune to finally watch… well, it may not be the oddest film in his filmography (I know his Hungry Wives/Season of the Witch has been described as “unclassifiable”) but any movie almost 2 ½ hours centered around a Renaissance troupe who performs in random fields all across Pennsylvania where the mounts are not horses but rather motorcycles… that is a unique premise even in 2023. Admittedly, cycles instead of horses will be PETA and the less extremist nutjob animal lovers happy.
In all honesty, the setting isn’t the most important aspect of the film. Sure, the low-budget outlaw nature of their operation causes conflict w/ law enforcement; that said, any group of people presenting a production where there’s conflict between the disparate people that tended to be misfits could have worked. Ed Harris is their leader as the literal and figurative King of the act. He does some foolhardy things to try and prove himself and make the act not a cheesy thing on bike; that naturally upsets the regular riders, not to mention his lady.
Unfortunately, the film has some rather peculiar moments; just why exactly do they let random biker dumbasses (including a Nazi) dick around on the field after the tournament concludes, anyhow? Also, yeah the length can be a little much at times. Yet, despite that, a King who isn’t always a likable chap, and some dodgy acting, the movie definitely… well, it’s odd. It’s a movie I wish could have been liked more by me, yet there are still merits. For one thing, I now know why this was in a collection of films featuring gay characters; one is a lesbian and there’s also a man who is questioning if he is a homosexual.
For all its flaws, at least there was interest in seeing those colorful characters interacting w/ each other and trying to deal with drama. The one character I’ll recall the most was Merlin, the troupe doctor played by Brother Blue. Wikipedia can offer more of an explanation but what a fascinating person he was—a literal storyteller and street performer in Boston who unsurprisingly was successful at offering philosophical advice mainly to Harris’s character but also others. It was also wild to see Tom Savini as an actor w/ a huge role; he was fine when it comes to performance. In addition, when the viewer sees motorcycle action, it is thrilling.
Overall, this downbeat movie (again, it is straight out of the 70’s despite its ’81 release) does work better for some people; there was a messageboard interaction today where I saw someone comment that this was popular in the early days of cable. If you saw the movie back then but never since-which was the scenario w/ that poster-it might be a revisit at the risk of ruining good childhood memories. Those that see the movie for the first time ever or the first time in decades: the opening several minutes are shot REALLY soft; that was for a stylistic reason rather than a reflection of the entire film’s look.
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