Comments on: Joseph Losey’s Boom! (1968)

by: Renato

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:48:18 +0000

Boom has been played in Sardinia, near Capo Caccia. The location is now a resort for Vips. Boom is an unforgettable movie of the Sixties! Elizabeth Taylor dressed a scene costume during a Carnival party in Venice, I remeber some photos of the star near Grace Kelly and other celebrities at palazzo Cicogna (maybe)

by: Kimberly Lindbergs

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:13:23 +0100

Thanks so much for the nice words, Chuck! I’m glad you enjoyed the review and I agree with you about Modesty Blaise which is another Losey film I love even if it has some flaws. I’d love to see Criterion release some of Losey’s films so I hope they take your suggestion to heart.

by: Chuck

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:30:28 +0100

The last three words of my posting from yesterday should read “confirm every syllable” (regarding Brian’s comment).
Chuck

by: Chuck

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:44:59 +0100

This is Nirvana: finding someone devoted to BOOM!, and able to present its (admittedly specialized) pleasures so well. Several months ago I wrote to Criterion, suggesting that they issue freshly minted DVD issues of both BOOM! and SECRET CEREMONY. Judging from Kimberly’s reasoned evaluation, and the enthusiastic responses, I think it’s high time this amazing piece of work became widely available. As for the sense that the actors in BOOM! are all working out of strictly private notions of what she or he is doing, I find this to be also true of MODESTY BLAISE. Granted, MODESTY doesn’t aspire to the metaphysical concerns of Williams’s play and script, but it too seems a motley (if fascinating) conglomeration of highly talented people whom Losey couldn’t finally seem to harness. But like Williams even in his later life and late, problematic works, Losey’s work is always compelling and refreshingly challenging. As for Brian’s “some of the most heartstoppingly extraordinary camp I’ve ever experienced,” BOOM! has only to be seen to conform every syllable.

by: DRON

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:11:59 +0100

wonderful

by: Paul

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:09:03 +0000

As fans of John Waters’ early works, we’ve frequently noticed the large poster for “BOOM!” on the wall beside the staircase in the home of Connie and Raymond Marble in “Pink Flamingos”. The few minutes of BOOM! that we’ve been able to find on youtube were riveting. We’d often heard that Divine was a huge Liz fan and we enjoy watching Liz in the BOOM! snippets that we’ve seen as a role model for the bitchy dismissive characters that Divine often created. Wonderful blog to read, too. Thanks!
Paul

by: lol

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:43:29 +0000

i love Elizabeth Taylor she is one of my fave actresses
(beside Audrey Hepburn) and i love this movie. . .okay fine i dont know who the hell Elizabeth Taylor is only that she wore that huge diamond but audrey is my favourite actress

by: Turquoise Children

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:00:17 +0000

I’ve always loved the play! And sadly saw this movie only once and a long time ago… I wish it was out on DVD in my country.
It’s nice to see stills from it, thank you! ~

by: Justine Smith

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:08:42 +0000

I’m surprised I’ve managed to avoid so many Burton/Elizabeth collaborations since I’m such a huge fan of their work individually. While I’ll probably check out all the films you review (I’m enticed!), this one strikes me particularly. Not only the unique visuals, but the fact it’s based on a Tennessee Williams work… he’s my favourite playwright. Again I’m surprised I haven’t even heard of this one. Thank you for bringing these films to my attention, I always like to encounter something new.

by: booksteve

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:28:19 +0000

A marvelous reevaluation of this film! Thank you. Although I don’t consider BOOM! a good film, I find myself drawn to it every time it surfaces. Never a fan of Taylor or Losey, I enjoy Burton’s mellifluous scenery-chewing and Noel Coward (although he seems amazingly out of place) walks away with the picture in my opinion. I saw it most recently just a few months back and it still holds my attention for some reason.

by: cinebeats

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:54:26 +0000

Thanks Michael! I hope you’ll enjoy the film when once you see it, or at the very least find some elements of it interesting. I have Secret Ceremony on video, but I’d like to get the DVD of it as well so thanks for the tip.

It must have been wonderful to see The Prowler in a theater. I really want to see These Are the Damned myself, but I haven’t had the opportunity to yet.

by: Michael Blanton

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:47:55 +0000

I thoroughly enjoyed your piece on BOOM!, which I never seen before, but am a big fan of Losey; MR. KLEIN, THE SERVANT, MODESTY BLAISE, THESE ARE THE DAMNED, EVA, SECRET CEREMONY, ACCIDENT, THE CRIMINAL and was lucky enough to see the new print of THE PROWLER, which Eddie Mueller was on hand to introduce at the most recent Seattle version of NOIR CITY.

Just thought I’d let you know that after reading your take on BOOM!, I’ve ordered a copy of the Dutch DVD from Xploited Cinema, located in Ohio, for $20.95 plus shipping.

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/boom-joseph-losey-p-11945.html

They also have a letter-boxed, non-anamorphic (unfortunately), R2 PAL version of SECRET CEREMONY, also $20.95.

Thanks, again for the insightful review. Love your groovy blog!

by: cinebeats

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:58:20 +0000

Robert - Your comment that Boom! could be seen as “a kind of post LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD played by Hollywood royalty at fever pitch.” does hold some weight in my opinion and while watching it again recently I was reminded of a lot of Franco’s films actually. Especially Necronomicon! I realize that the excessive budget and big name stars make it easy to dismiss Boom! but I’m fascinated by the film since everyone involved was clearly trying to tackle some really big ideas while they were also obviously wrestling with personal demons. The fact that Universal Studios financed it is amazing. Something like Boom! could never get made today.

Jonathan - It does seem like Frank Merlo is only a footnote in the Tennessee Williams biographies, which is sort of strange since he was with Williams for a long time. I have no expectations of being related to him in anyway, but I would like to know more about the guy. The Merlo clan of Santa Barbara used to be pretty clan-like and it seemed like every Merlo in the area was related in some way.

Vanwall - “swingin’ for the fences” might be one of the best responses I’ve ever gotten at Cinebeats. Many thanks! Noel Coward is really something in Boom! I love his entrance when he’s carried to dinner on the shoulders of some hunky muscular man. Fantastic! Even if you find the film’s script weak it’s really worth a second look. I personally love how Williams was able to condense all of the ideas that he had explored in his other more mainstream work into one amazing metaphysical fantasy that completely flew over the heads of most people who saw it in the sixties.

Keith - Thanks! I hope you get a chance to see it sometime. I suspect that you would really enjoy the fashions and setting, even if you didn’t find the film completely engaging.

Tim - Thank you. Sissy Goforth is not an easy character to stomach and she can be very shrill at times. Taylor was not very interested in being likable at that point in her career so unless you’re a fan or can enjoy her as she is, I would imagine it could be hard to watch. I hope you give the film a second chance. It might help if you read the original play first and that way you might be able to enjoy the dark humor in Taylor’s role more. I’m sure I’m a bit biased since I would probably enjoy watching Elizabeth Taylor read the phonebook.

AR - Thanks a lot AR. I think you’d find some of the film really interesting or at very least you might enjoy William’s original play. I have to agree that “There’s nothing better than a giant noble failure of a film” since I tend to find similar films really fascinating and I usually never agree with the critics. David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter as well as Heaven Gate (mentioned below) are great examples of similar films that just seemed to rub critics and audiences the wrong way when they were first released, but when I look at them now they seem 10 times more interesting then 75% of the award winning films being produced today.

Campaspe - The amazing sets, costumes and jewelry really do make Boom! delicious eye-candy if nothing else. I think you would just get a kick out of seeing Taylor getting a blood transfusion while she’s wearing real diamonds. Heaven’s Gate is another film I like a lot as well as Ryan’s Daughter, and they’re both supposed to be terrible epic failures. I really believe at this point in Taylor’s career she was often giving the finger to the studios. She enjoyed herself when a film ran over budget. It seems like it was some sort of revenge at that point for her having to grow up in the studio system and feeling like she was totally controlled and under paid in her early years.

Rick - I agree! I’m always happy when I come across reviews or write-ups for films that I’ve never heard of on a blog. During the sixties and seventies critics really had power and they could sink a film before the public had the chance to make up there minds about it. Thankfully things have changed somewhat due to the internet, etc.

Thombeau - It is fabulous! ;)

by: Thombeau

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:18:13 +0000

This looks fabulous!

by: Rick

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:02:07 +0000

The thing I like about blogs and blogging is the chance to hear about a movie like this, forgotten by the “mainstream” press. Great review, Kimberly. I’m gonna search it out.

by: Campaspe

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:37:01 +0000

Amazing defense of a much-maligned film. The stills seem to back you up — it looks worthwhile for the visuals alone. There have been several movies I’ve seen over the years that were supposed to be catastrophic, but I didn’t think were bad — Heaven’s Gate most prominently. It certainly sounds like there’s enough meat here to keep the critical minds busy.

I am sorry to hear Taylor is in the hospital. May she recover soon.

by: AR

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:21:58 +0000

Sounds weird and interesting. There’s nothing better than a giant noble failure of a film. I’ve honestly never heard of this, though I recognize the title of the original play. This post actually does the double-service of reminding me that I really should make an effort to read more Tennessee Williams, something I always meant to do.

Enjoying this series, looking forward to more entries as you post them!

by: Tim Lucas

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:35:55 +0000

A really fine piece indeed, Kimberly — you almost make me want to finish watching it. BOOM!, I fear (for me, anyway), is a film better read about than experienced directly. It was shown recently on one of the cable networks (Sundance?) in letterboxed format and Douglas Slocombe’s photography was absolutely grand, but neither Donna nor I had the stamina, after an hour or so, to stay a minute longer in Sissy Goforth’s tedious company. It’s rare that we give up on a movie once we’re halfway through, even rarer when I don’t steal some private time to get back to it myself, but we hit a common epiphany of resistance and, upon checking, discovered that we were barely halfway through. It was one of those classic “life’s too short” moments, and me, I’ll watch anything by Andy Milligan! In fact, I retaliated to the extent of dumping SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (something I’d wanted to see for awhile but could never find the right time for) from my hard drive unviewed, though I may come back to it someday. BOOM! I’m less likely to bother with again in a lifetime where there are so many great books I’ve ignored, but I found your essay very appealing. For the record, I agreed entirely with your assessment of DOCTOR FAUSTUS.

by: Keith

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:52:41 +0000

Wow! Kimberly, I’ve never seen this film before. I definitely wouldn’t mind giving it a shot. Your recent blogging on Burton and Taylor really has me wanting to see some of their films, those that were successful and not so successful as well. It is always intriguing when a hot Hollywood couple will do something that is different from what the public wants to see. Sometimes their gamble pays off and sometimes it doesn’t.

by: Vanwall

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:06:45 +0000

Damn! You’re swingin’ for the fences, and that’s pretty fearless - I agree with Robert, this is a marvelous analysis of an almost forgotten Losey film. I would honestly add nothing to it, except to mention there was time in the mid-70’s when a lot of the least-desirable films by a lot of actors - directors were hardly considered by the TV programmers, I think - were being dumped onto the tube, and “Boom!” was on three times on three different stations over one weekend. I usually read the TV Guide ahead of time and marked the movies I wanted to see, and twice the stations subbed “Boom!” unannounced for what I had marked. Must’ve gotten a deal on it. The first time was a WTF moment, I just missed the titles so I just watched the beginning and switched to something else. The second time, I pulled out my Judith Crist (!!) and looked it up. As I mentioned, I often used her as a reverse-look-up movie finder, and as I remember she wasn’t impressed, so I watched it then, and I also noticed it was a late-night offering on another station after that! I always liked Taylor and Burton, and mostly I focused on their performances, but the costuming and staging was so over the top, I found it difficult to follow the film for any real resolution as to what the hell was going on. Coward’s work was the damnedest thing. That was the one and only time I saw it, and it was certainly Not Like The Others. I’d like to see it again, if for no other reason than it’s a Williams story, no matter how weak.