Il rinoceronte

I saw this movie thinking it would be a wacky comedy because it had Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in it (they were both in The Producers so I figured it would be that level of comedy with slapstick and obvious jokes). Instead this movie is not like that at all, it was a complete surprise with a bizarre story line. Gene Wilder plays a guy who starts hallucinating and seeing the people around him in his life and in his town actually turning into rhinoceroses (or is it rhinoceri I have no idea?) It is definitely strange to watch and it is definitely more of a satire and drama and a comment about society at the time in the 1970s than it was a straight up comedy but it's definitely worth watching and good, it will stick with you.

Rhinoceros is not the best of American Film Theatre's films, but it does grow on you. When I saw this in the cinema, I had already read Ionesco's play, so I was in a mood to be critical of every change…notably the change of setting.

Over the years, I have come to see that Ionesco can be transmogrified, and that most of the changes work quite well. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder turn in dynamite performances, and the rest of the cast does nicely as well. Karen Black actually has the hardest job, turning her sweet and sexy character into a rhinoceros, but she carries it off gracefully. This is real acting!!

The most objectionable part comes with political references, like a picture of Richard Nixon, or a "Remember Pearl Harbor" lapel button. Not only is all this too heavy-handed, it dates the movie unnecessarily. The music is also quite low-quality 70's kitsch, especially the song "What did you do to yourself?". This song however accompanies a great dream-sequence. I must also say that the theme accompanying the final scenes is quite moving.

Ultimately, Rhinoceros is one of the great dramatic works of the twentieth century, and this movie will be for most people their only chance to see it (now that it can be bought on video). For those who don't know anything about it, it's about a town where the citizens start getting a strange malady that turns them into rhinoceroses. It starts out as a slapstick comedy of manners, but this is Ionesco's way of softening us up so we're more vulnerable to the horrific elements later on. Those of you who enjoyed Dr. Strangelove and Brazil should get a charge out of this.

OK, this is one weird film that I caught very late one night, I only decided to see it because it had Gene Wilder in it, who is one of the funniest men in history. I was totally surprised by how bizarre it was. The plot is about Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder talking and all these people turn into (unseen) rhinoceros'. Later on the story goes from zany comedy to mild horror as our 'heroes' try to stop themselves from turning into rhinoceros'...If you're in a good mood you could find some enjoyment out of this, but if you like your films straightforward then avoid this like the plague.

The main selling points for seeing 'Rhinoceros' were Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. Both immensely gifted and much missed performers and their partnership in 'The Producers' deserves legendary status. The source material that 'Rhinoceros' will never be one of my favourites, but it is interesting and entertaining. That it is one of the films making up the American Film Theatre series was another interest point and did expect a fair bit.

'Rhinoceros' to me is one of the weakest of this inconsistent series of films adapted from plays, one that started off so well but was very mixed from 'A Delicate Balance' onwards. Of the other films in the series, only 'Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris' is worse and the film is a not a patch on the earlier winners 'The Iceman Cometh' and 'The Homecoming'. 'Rhinoceros' definitely has its good things, but it primarily suffers from trying too hard and taking the wrong approach to the source material.

As said, there are things done well. Wilder had always been a very funny and expressive performer and actor, he shows both here beautifully whether verbal or non-verbal. Mostel is larger than life, without dominating too much, and often riotous. His finest being his transformation scene. A very memorable scene, for Mostel's delivery and the very effective use of shadows and POV camera angles. Wilder and Mostel are a dream together, having lost none of what made their chemistry so memorable in 'The Producers'.

Karen Black's honest performance is the standout of the rest of the cast, the overall standard of the rest of the cast being not bad at all. The dialogue is still fun, although there are a number of deviations and changes (most of the adaptations of the American Film Theatre series were actually quite faithful). There is some nice photography, particularly interesting in the transformation.

However, a lot doesn't work. As said, 'Rhinoceros' does try too hard and is very bizarre. Absurdist humour is meant to be strange but usually not this strange, this film goes overboard to beating around the head degrees and like some incredibly weird, increasingly confused and uncomfortable dream that one can't wake up from. Cohesion is lost as a result and the tone felt muddled. Some of the imagery in the more bizarre scenes are pretty cheap and at odds with the dialogue. The pace can be too frantic but it also can be tedious from doing too little with its content. For example what makes the play so relevant and the political references are both too toned down and preachy, as well as now out of date.

It would have been better too if the humour was delivered in a more deadpan way, that way it wouldn't have felt so over the top, strained and vulgar. A consequence of approaching from too farcical an approach and overdoing the farce. The music also dates the film and very of the time. There was a sense to me that 'Rhinoceros' didn't know what it wanted or was trying to be and was instead experimenting the entire time.

Summing up, one-time watchable but the second weakest of this interesting but uneven series of films. 5/10.

As with others that commented on this film, I first saw Rhinoceros because it starred Gene Wilder. At the time, in the mid 1970's, Wilder was near the peak of his popularity. The film was a complete surprise to me. Very bizarre, nothing that I expected. Years later, I remember that I was quite disappointed with the movie and wondered just what it was that Wilder was doing. Years later, however, I find that the memory of this film has never left me. The premise of the movie, that of all the towns-people turning into Rhino's, escaped me. Today, I relate this film, in some ways to the novel 1984. I see the resemblance of the Rhino to sheep and/or cattle. This Wilder film is not comical. It is, however, a strangely unsettling satire that is difficult to forget. I, for one, am looking to purchase a copy of this film on DVD. I'm sure that it's meaning will be more apparent to me today than it was when first viewed 40 years ago.