Targets
1968
The message of Peter Bogdanovich's suspenseful directorial debut still rings true for post-1970s America, regardless of the decade. Tim O'Kelly plays Bobby Thompson, a seemingly mild-mannered husband and son. But Bobby has a penchant for collecting firearms and thinking murderous thoughts, which translate into action when he .. Read more
| Starring | Tim O'Kelly, Boris Karloff, Arthur Peterson, Monte Landis |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Bogdanovich |
| Genres | Thriller |
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Targets
The message of Peter Bogdanovich's suspenseful directorial debut still rings true for post-1970s America, regardless of the decade. Tim O'Kelly plays Bobby Thompson, a seemingly mild-mannered husband and son. But Bobby has a penchant for collecting firearms and thinking murderous thoughts, which translate into action when he becomes a deadly sniper, picking off drivers on the L.A. freeway from high above an oil tank. Meanwhile, Byron Orlok (Boris Karloff), an ageing horror film star, plans his retirement, feeling the atrocities wrought by daily human global existence have numbed the public to the movie monsters he plays. As fate and movies will have it, Thompson and Orlok's worlds collide at the Reseda Drive-In, where Orlok is making his final public appearance. Writer-director Bogdanovich, helming his debut feature, also appears as young Hollywood screenwriter and director Sammy Michaels. A powerful and chilling study of unexplained, unexpected violence, the film relays a message that continues to be contemporary to the American psycho-social landscape.
| Starring | Tim O'Kelly, Boris Karloff, Arthur Peterson, Monte Landis |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Bogdanovich |
| Studio | PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 26 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 05 Apr 2004 Production year: 1968 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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This stunning crime drama — the feature debut of film critic-turned-writer/director Peter Bogdanovich — is graced by a marvellous valedictory performance from Boris Karloff. Karloff plays Byron Orlok, an ageing horror star who finds himself in the gun sights of that scourge of contemporary America, a random sniper, here chillingly portrayed by Tim O'Kelly. Based on the real-life killing spree of Charles Whitman in 1966, this is genuinely disturbing and immaculately crafted, with themes that are still relevant today. With Karloff originally only available for two days' shooting, would-be production schedulers might care to observe how cleverly Bogdanovich builds around his star. The cinematography, by debuting émigré Laszlo Kovacs, is superb: he would follow this with Easy Rider and other movies for Bogdanovich before graduating to the films of Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters) and Martin Scorsese (New York New York) in the 1970s.
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Karloff in effect plays himself as Byron Orlok, a horror star on the point of retiring, who suddenly confronts the... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
By rights this should be dreadful
Peter Bogdanovitch was given the chance to make his first movie by schlock director/producer Roger Corman. But there was a catch, he had two days with his star, Boris Karloff, and could use twenty minutes of footage from an old Karloff Horror movie Corman had made.
With such inauspicious beginnings Bogdanovitch decided to make two movies in one, one about an aging Horror star on the cusp of retiring, and the other based on Charles Whitman, a Texas mass murderer who famously picked people off from an observation tower at University.
he had the two stories come together in an explosive finale, and we could all go home happy.
This movie is brilliant, it shouldn't be, but it is. The low budget is not painfully obvious, Karloff is masterful in one of his final roles, and the serial killer is genuinely creepy in his normality. If you are at all interested in modern cinema you should see this film to see how much more important imagination and talent are then a big budget.
The commetry from Bogdanovitch himself is also well worth watching, if only for the Karloff Anecdotes. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
By rights this should be dreadful
Peter Bogdanovitch was given the chance to make his first movie by schlock director/producer Roger Corman. But there was a catch, he had two days with his star, Boris Karloff, and could use twenty minutes of footage from an old Karloff Horror movie Corman had made.
With such inauspicious beginnings Bogdanovitch decided to make two movies in one, one about an aging Horror star on the cusp of retiring, and the other based on Charles Whitman, a Texas mass murderer who famously picked people off from an observation tower at University.
he had the two stories come together in an explosive finale, and we could all go home happy.
This movie is brilliant, it shouldn't be, but it is. The low budget is not painfully obvious, Karloff is masterful in one of his final roles, and the serial killer is genuinely creepy in his normality. If you are at all interested in modern cinema you should see this film to see how much more important imagination and talent are then a big budget.
The commetry from Bogdanovitch himself is also well worth watching, if only for the Karloff Anecdotes. -
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Targets
The message of Peter Bogdanovich's suspenseful directorial debut still rings true for post-1970s America, regardless of the decade. Tim O'Kelly plays Bobby Thompson, a seemingly mild-mannered husband and son. But Bobby has a penchant for collecting firearms and thinking murderous thoughts, which ...
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