Reviews (7)

One of the greatest films of all time
I want to thank Mr. Ritchie for a film that will be with me for the rest of my life. I only hope that it comes out on DVD sometime.

I have a hard time believing that anyone could walk away from this film and think that you have to love skiing to enjoy this film. I hate to ski and I hate snow.

Loneliness of the Downhill American Ski Champ
This film caught my attention immediately because of the writer, James Salter, so I was surprised at how little dialogue or actual talking goes on. Its one of the most physical films I've ever seen which is certainly appropriate given the subject matter, downhill ski racing. Redford came to this fresh off of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but he looks much younger without the moustache. The topic of ski competition is exciting and fun as most of the film takes place on the mountain with great ski footage or in ski lodges in Europe which are romantic to say the least. Also attractive is Redfords European girlfriend. She gives the film another dimension completely as the embodiment of the experienced and scrupulous European versus the innocent and clumsy(and socially naive)American. Gene Hackman as the coach is absolutely great as he tries to instill more than just athletic virtues into his team members. There are also scenes of Redford, the rising star of the team, visiting home in the American midwest somewhere which I suppose tells us both why winning is so important to him and why he is so clumsy socially. Its not a perfect film( the midwest scenes seem a little too simplistic for such an otherwise smart and uncliched film) but one that tells a great sort of story rare in 69 in that it puts forth a value system instead of knocking one down. Redford has called the film an examination of American ideals about success. It is that. The ski scenes capture the excitement of the sport, and the hotel scenes capture the rewards given to success. But success in sport as in all fields is fleeting and you best enjoy the prize while at the top because if you finish second you are nobody again and all the rewards vanish as quickly as they were given. Effective cutting technique throughout the film emphasizes the ruthless pace and nature of a life forged in the heat of competition. Redford is caught surprise by the transient nature of this life. But the film has a great sort of ethic being put forth, that being that in a world where everything can be gained or lost in a split second one must not focus so keenly on the prize immediately at stake that one loses sight of those things which sustain us through both ups and downs, ie friends, coach, Dad, old girlfriend, dog.

Dated, but worth a look
"Downhill Racer" is either a skier's movie with a better plot than the average ski flick (Warren Miller notwithstanding), or it's a drama of sorts with skiing and romance mixed in. It's in the same league as "Bobby Deerfield," with Al Pacino as a race car driver looking for success both on and off the track.

Redford plays a convincingly arrogant, self-absorbed loner from Idaho whose only shot at glory is on the struggling U.S. ski team. Gene Hackman delivers spare yet superb scenes as the team coach. He recognizes Redford's talent on the snow but wrestles with his maverick attitude. I think the film sums up the important themes in small, quiet touches. When another skier carps about Redford's aloofness, his teammate (Dabney Coleman) reminds him that "it's not exactly a team sport, is it?" And when a European journalist asks Redford what his plans are after the Olympics, his nervous and stoic answer is "this is it." He knows there's not much outside of skiing.

Even romance offers no success for Redford's character. His sometime girlfriend back in Idaho is chatty and distracting: she represents all that is holding him back at home. In Austria, he encounters a fast-moving, highly sophisticated woman who leads him on and is more than a match for his self-centeredness. All he can rely on are his skis and his hunger to go faster. What the movie shows in the end (though it's easy to miss) is that the archetypal brash athlete can only win the gold if his heart and mind are there as well as the raw skill (what Hackman's coach calls the "regard for the sport... the desire to learn"). Think of Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder."

"Downhill Racer" hasn't grown in stature as a drama of sport, but it is worth a viewing. The characters are more contemplative than talkative, and the fashions are dated, but the focus is on the challenge of the hill and what's in one's heart - just like skiing itself.

For visuals only
Downhill Racer is essentially, a movie to see only for the terrific skiing sequences. Although there is a story here, Robert Redford's character, a skier trying to make the U.S. Olympic team, is so bland and unsympathetic that you wonder why to care about him at all. Gene Hackman, in an early performance, adds nicely, but this is a film that could be watched with the sound off, and it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Not one of Redford's better films.
Downhill Racer is a terrible, cheesy film. What little dialogue there is is awful, and the skiing is definitely not Warren Miller. The script is shallow, predictable, a sports story told too many times before and since. ... Read more

Reviews (53)

An enchanting little film
I am one of the few people in the world who have never actually seen the stage play of "The Fantasticks". I loved this movie. This is a marvelous, magical, spellbinding story. I felt the casting was well done. Jean Louise Kelly makes an adorable Louisa while Joe McIntyre made a sweetly innocent Matt. Joel Grey was not in this movie near enough, but he pulls off a stellar performance with what he has to work with. I thought the dance segment with Jean Louise Kelly was especially touching. El Gallo portrayed by Jonathon Morris put the magical spin on this whole story. I loved El Gallo having this witty yet sexy side to him in addition to being the mystical and wise mastermind bringing these two naive teenagers together.

The extra scenes available on the DVD are terrific. If you watch the "directors comments" you can understand why a few of them were cut. Be sure and watch "It isn't easy to die". This should have been left in. Teller and Barnard Hughes are hilarious, as are Jonathon Morris' reactions to them.

The set design and surrounding scenery are breathtaking. This is a very surreal yet enchanting movie, making it easy to slip in and out of the singing segments. I only wish a soundtrack had been made. It would make a great addition to the other two that are available.

Beautifully done. Beautifully acted.

Charming, but flawed adaptation of a classic
The Fantasticks has a unique place in theatre history, being one of the most performed pieces, both in professional and amateur circuits. The simplicity of the story and orchestrations mask the truly philosophical nature of this piece. The challenge of bringing such a unique work to film, then, is to maintain the originals innocence and simplicity while expanding it to the level that can fill a screen. Michael Ritchie, helped along by the the original writer, has managed to do just that, making a piece that is expansive and beautiful, yet siginificantly more simplified that the original. This process was more evolutionary, than revolutionary, however, since the film production bears a tremendous similarity to the author's revised version toured the country starring Robert Goulet as El Gallo. For the Fantastiks purist, however, all is not lost, but available for viewing on the Bonus materials of the DVD. As with most films, looking at these "outtakes" shows how the thought process of editing brings about a better film. I will admit, however, that this film is an aquired taste, and those who have a pre-disposition to hating musicals should avoid it at all costs. I also fault the producers, somewhat, at their selection of Brad Sullivan as Hucklebee -- his portrayal is too gruff to be the father of Doe-eyed Matt and stands in too stark a contrast from the tone of the rest of the characters. Despite this small flaw, I find the film enchanting as ever and it helps to keep in mind that love is sweeter when it is earned.

My Nominee for worst movie musical of all time.
A complete and utter stinker. Totally lacking in charm. This show has only one good song: Try to Remember. The other songs are the worst show tunes you will ever hear. The clue should be titles like Plant A Radish and The Rape Song. The cast is dismal. Joe McIntyre has no appeal whatsoever. Where did they dig up this guy? I hope to NEVER see him again. There really isn't a plot: two fathers pretend to have a feud so that their children will get together romantically. The children get together but immediately begin fighting. Something vague happens to them and they wind up together. Huh? Boring! It is sad to see a talented performer like Joel Grey completely wasted in a production this pathetic. The Arizona scenery is kind of nice. Avoid this one like the plague.

P. S. This one deserves NO STARS!

Good, but requires an open mind
My friend and I watched this for no other reason than to get a sense of the play because our high school was doing a production of it. We ended up getting, respectively, Matt and El Gallo and when we had our read through, we saw the many differences between the play and the movie. In many regards, the contrast is very much like "Chicago" where the concept behind a very simplistic show was given a new aspect (in Chicago, the little dream sequences, and in this the carnival bit) in order to make the film work. Similar to "Chicago" (which I enjoyed, but remain a much bigger fan of the stage show), the movie works in a way that is different than what makes the play work. Outside of Joel Grey (I highly recommend listening to his performance of Amos Hart in the revival album of "Chicago" - I never want to hear anyone else sing "Mr. Cellophane"...ok, I did it once, but that's beside the point) who is just outstanding in anything he does and Jonathon Morris who made me want the role of El Gallo a thousand times more than I already had, I was not impressed with the cast. Honestly, I didn't care at all about the Matt or Luisa, and Hucklebee and Henry were majorly underacted. However, I also wasn't too impressed with Queen Latifah or John C. Reilly in "Chicago". I do think that this is a very interesting experience, and I actually recommend it, however one must bear in mind that this is not at all the stage version.

The kind of September, when grass was green...
This film version of the wildly popular musical was very nearly scrapped, but the intervention of Francis Ford Coppola gave it a limited release on the big screen followed by the video release. Is it any good? Well, yes and no.

The plot concerns the machinations of two next door neighbors who pretend to have a feud in the hopes that their children will fall in love (the lure forbidden fruit and all that). They enlist the help of a strange traveling circus to aid them in their plan. The first half of the movie is quite decent and somewhat sweet, and I enjoyed it very much. And then, for some reason, the movie completely derails, gets flat out bizarre (and earns its PG rating) before ending on a weird note.

If you are a die-hard fan of the original musical you will probably hate this movie, because the music has been basically butchered. The performances range from good (Joel Grey) to lame (Joe McIntyre) to inexplicable (Vegas magician Teller). But then there is Jonathan Morris. I've never seen him in anything else, but he has an incredible, mesmerizing presence. The script changes his character completely halfway through the film, which is annoying, but his performance continues to stay with me, especially his gentle rendition of "Try to Remember" (which, despite being the most famous song in the musical, is given about one minute of screen time. Grrr.). He made the movie worth seeing (once) for me, but all others beware.

It's really too bad; there was great potential here but the filmmakers muffed it. Maybe they'll try again someday, but until then you can check out the original Broadway soundtrack to see what all the fuss was about in the first place. I give this film version 2.5 stars, which I rounded down to two. Morris is really the only reason to catch this one.

Movie Grade: C/C- ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Student Bodies started it all.....
This movie is funny beyond belief....a killa crazy comedy.
Paramount Studios should absolutely finally release this movie on dvd.

When Student Bodies first came out in 1981 it was completely unique, no one had ever done a horror spoof before. Hense the original Movie poster proclaiming "At last The world's first comedy horror movie".

Student Bodies was written and directed by Mickey Rose, who collaborated with Woody Allen on the screenplays for Allen's early films.
The film had a completely unknown and still unknown cast *Kristen Riter* Toby Badger, *Matt Goldsby* Hardy, *Richard Brando* The Breather,
Student Bodies had a notoriously difficult production and producer Michael Ritchie, Ritchie opted to take his name off the picture, instead using the Director's Guild pseudonym.

This movie has become quite popular since it's release on video in the early eighties and is still available on VHS and can be seen sometimes on late night/early morning television becoming a CULT CLASSIC.....BUT WHEN IS THIS CULT CLASSIC GOING TO BE AVAILABLE ON DVD?

This killa Crazy comedy is every teenage horror film you've ever seen from the 70's and 80's and every horror movie cliche is taken to hilarous extremes of laughter. The screams are as frequent as the laughs as a crazy murderer or maybe murderess terrorizes Lamab High.

But the senior class is not going to take it lying down most of all Toby Badger...*KRISTEN RITER*. a mousy good girl you know like in all horror films Toby's the virgin. Toby's putting herslef and her beau in some silly positions so she can find out who's "the breather". a killer who is murdering her non-viriginal friends with a pair of rubber gloves and garbage bags and other unusal weapons of choice.

With help from her boyfriend Hardy...*MATT GOLDSBY*(Student Bodies,Frances) who's the town nerd of sorts who's always there by Toby's side if she needs him. Hardy's trying his best to protect and save Toby. But at the same time trying to protect and save himself.

Toby and Hardy are Ducking such lethal weapons such as paper clips, blackboard erasers and horse-head bookends, they set about trying to find the mysterious "Breather" and other things that go bump in the night.

No one is safe from the crazy twists and turns of the looney plot, and a madcap twist of an ending. No one is Safe least of all the student bodies themselves. Football games, pep rallies, parades and senior proms provide background for a movie that leaves no horror movie cliche unexplored.

This movie is Rated R which actually i think is a joke onto itself. cause there is only slight nudity, little Gore, there's only a few bad words said in the entire movie. some lewds jokes but that's the best parts.

This movie is actually quite tame considering all the raunchy teen movies of the 80's and 90's that will follow it. But It is by far the best in my opinion.

Student Bodies was the movie that started the whole horror movie spoofs. This is a great film that I hope will be available on dvd one day. Great laughs, Sharp ,Witty and of course purposely stupidly wonderful. I mean hello it's a comedy not shakespheare.

10...stars TWO thumbs way up.

laugh out loud crazy. student bodies started it all....
PARAMOUNT studios should absolutely release this movie on dvd
I know this is a low budget horror spoof. But this is one of my favorite films ever. this Film is a spoof of all the 70's and 80's horror films. They have ever single horror cliche but it's funny as hell.
unless you are into cult/ low budget fims you may have never heard of this film. it sometimes plays late night on cinemax/hbo. Plus if your not into 70's and 80's horror films you might not get all the jokes but who cares it still funny.
SYNOPSIS:
A small town's resident "heavy breather" victimizes a bevy of sex-crazed students in this comic (and mostly gore-free) Cult Film.
Toby( Kristen Riter) is a sexualy repressed teen. her friends are dropping like flies. Her partner in crime is her equally sexualy repressed boyfriend Hardy(Matt Goldsby). Some how Toby becomes a suspect so toby and Hardy must put themselves in some weird and very hilarous situations to clear her name.
If you loved Scary movie and 80's cult films this movie is for you. This is the original horror comedy spoof.
Before Scary movie there was STUDENT BODIES
This cult movie should absolutely should be finally released on dvd

A Hilarous spoof.
I saw this movie on USA up all night a few years back. I must say I am really glad i did stay up all night. Student Bodies was and still is hilarous. I recently purchased the tape at a video shop. But i was disappointed to find out it is not available on dvd which really sucks. I think paramount should finally make this movie available on dvd.

Talking? During horsehead bookends?
Quite possibly my favorite movie. I have been raving about this movie since I first saw it over ten years ago, I've shown it to all of my friends, and every time I find somebody else who has already seen it, I immediately show it to them! Nothing against mainstream movies, but it's the cult movies that bring people together. If you are reading this and you love offbeat humor but haven't seen this movie, find it! After all, "even the dead love a parade."

Student Bodies started it all.....
Paramount Studios should absolutely finally release this movie on dvd.
When Student Bodies first came out in 1981 it was completely unique, no one had ever done a horror spoof before. Hense the original Movie poster proclaiming "The world's first comedy horror movie".
This movie has become quite popular since it's release on video in the early eighties and is still available on VHS and can be seen sometimes on late night/early morning television becoming a CULT CLASSIC.....BUT WHEN IS THIS CULT CLASSIC GOING TO BE AVAILABLE ON DVD?
This killa Crazy comedy is every teenage horror film you've ever seen from the 70's and 80's and every horror movie cliche is taken to hilarous extremes of laughter. The screams are as frequent as the laughs as a crazy murderer or maybe murderess terrorizes Lamab High.
But the senior class is not going to take it lying down most of all Toby Bager...*KRISTEN RITER*. a mousy good girl you know like in all horror films Toby's the virgin. Toby's putting herslef and her beau in some silly positions so she can find out who's "the breather". a killer who is murdering her non-viriginal friends with a pair of rubber gloves and garbage bags and other unusal weapons of choice.
With help from her boyfriend Hardy...*MATT GOLDSBY*(Student Bodies,Frances) who's the town nerd of sorts who's always there by Toby's side if she needs him. Hardy's trying his best to protect and save Toby. But at the same time trying to protect and save himself.
The characters are Ducking such lethal weapons such as paper clips, blackboard erasers and horse-head bookends, they set about confronting the mysterious "Breather" and other things that go bump in the night.
No one is safe from the hilarious twists and turns of the looney plot, least of all the student bodies themselves.
This movie is Rated R which actually i think is a joke onto itself. cause there is only a bit slight nudity, No Gore, there's only one bad word said in the entire movie. some lewds jokes but that's the best parts.
This movie is actually quite tame from all the spoofs that will follow it. But It is by far the best in my opinion.
Student Bodies was the movie that started the whole horror movie spoofs. This is a great film that I hope will be available on dvd one day. Great laughs, Sharp ,Witty and of course purposely stupidly wonderful. I mean hello it's a comedy not shakespheare.
10********** stars TWO thumbs way up. ... Read more