Vas-y, fonce

Not much to make of this directorial debut by would-be star actor and frequent attendee of Los Angeles Lakers games Jack Nicholson, "Drive, He Said," which doesn't so much get its title from the basketball played in the film as it does from a poem, "I Know a Man," by Robert Creeley, which is recited at the beginning as the college hoops game is broadcast on a TV in the background. Soon thereafter, the poem-reciting, counterculture youths dressed in camouflage paramilitary regalia invade the gymnasium of the game to put on a bit of performance art that's as vaguely against, or agitated by, rather, American militarism--specifically the Vietnam War--as is the rest of the picture. Seems the war is such a weight on these young men's minds that it drives one to insanity and another to waffle over whether he wants to really play basketball or not.

Neither character arc is very compelling, and the crazy one is over-the-top ridiculous. There are easier ways to avoid a draft, guys, whether it's for the NBA or USA. And poor Karen Black having to put up with this tomfoolery and, worse, replaying an attempted-rape climax as old as D. W. Griffith silent films and the Victorian literature he in turn stole it from. The entire film is as muddled as its basketball footage with barely a narrative to be found, and it's undoubtedly dated as an independent film from the early '70s.

On the other hand, there's enough here, to use a cliché from another sport, out of left field to be at least bemusing. Plus, at least the actors evidently know how to dribble and shoot enough to keep up with apparent real former collegiate athletes. The Leopards team's mascot is a real, caged leopard that occupies the sidelines. A lot here concerning caged animals and letting them loose, which is the sort of motif that goes for symbolism in this picture. At one point, a montage of slow-motion basketball footage is played to "The Star-Spangled Banner." As the making-of-video included on the Criterion disc claims, it also includes some guerilla filmmaking exploiting a real riot that broke out during filming at the University of Oregon, which fits seamlessly within the rest of the picture's aesthetics. The remainder of the movie mostly seems to merely revel in the Sexual Revolution, including a considerable amount of focus on male genitalia. Nicholson claims he wanted a "symphony of dicks" during a locker-room shower scene, which supposedly he had to compromise on, but not by much.

This was a very interesting movie, as it was Jack Nicholson's directorial debut, and included several other stars before they "became big" such as Bruce Dern and Karen Black. I was an extra in this movie when filmed on the University of Oregon campus/in Eugene area in 1971. Before it came out in theaters, I had left the country for the Peace Corps. When I returned, it had come and gone but I never got a chance to see it.

I remember one of the scenes was filmed with a camera inside a basket ball, and was passed back and forth across the court running from one end to the other to "get a perspective from the ball's viewpoint".

Anyone seen any copies (vhs or other options for getting a copy)? Would love to see it, as I was in several scenes but again never saw it.

Thanks for any leads or ideas of where one would go to get more info.

Bob Petow (bobpetow@comcast.net)

Poorly developed and fragmented movie about a confused college basketball player with a host of predictably militant and/or cynically unhappy acquaintances characteristic of 1960s academia where the film is set. I'm not sure whether we are supposed to like or even care about the characters or not, but in any event I didn't feel much of either for any of them. Jack Nicholson directed this movie with a taste for profanity and nudity. I guess he thought he was being provocative and progressively mirroring the changing cultural mores of the time. He would have fared better by putting his energy into developing characterization and refining the script that he co-wrote instead. All in all a disappointing movie which left me with a feeling of indifference about it.

One of the more unusual movies I've ever seen is "Drive, He Said." Made in 1971 made by the same production company that made "Easy Rider" and "Five Easy Pieces" that made Jack Nicholson a star a year or two earlier.

This was the first film directed by Jack Nicholson. It's a combination basketball, free love, anti-draft movie that was filmed on the campus of the University of Oregon. It was not well-received at the time, and was somewhat infamous for its male frontal nudity scenes. The basketball skill level seemed very high.

It's basically the story of two friends--one a basketball star and Greek major who's hormones are raging and is undecided about a pro career. The other is a guy taking drugs to try to stay out of the draft, and basically he flips out.

I thought it was an interesting premise, but I found the speech of the main characters to be stilted. In some ways it captured the ethos of U. S. campuses in the Vietnam War era pretty well.

Hector (William Tepper) is a star basketball player for the College basketball team he plays for, the Leopards. His girlfriend, Olive (Karen Black), does not know whether to stay with him or leave him. And his friend, Gabriel (Michael Margotta), who may have dropped out from school and become a protester, wants desperately not to get drafted for Vietnam.

This film marks Jack Nicholson's directorial debut, a chair he would not return to often. The casting was nothing special (though Karen Black is always great); the best part may be Bruce Dern as the coach. Some day he will get the full respect he deserves.

Roger Ebert found the film "disorganized", but also said it was "occasionally brilliant" with the performances being "the best thing in the movie", including the "laconic charm" of Tepper. This seems fair. For all the good things that can be said, it never really hits home hard enough, and may be dated.