Billy Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors o... Read allBilly Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.Billy Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 4 nominations
- German Leader
- (as Friedrich Ledebur)
- Young German Guard
- (as Nick Belle)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough Vonnegut's renowned refrain, "And so it goes", appears over 100 times in the novel, it it is not uttered even once in the movie version.
- GoofsWhen Billy Pilgrim is asked by the American soldiers, "Where's your rifle?", he replies that he doesn't have one because he's a chaplain's assistant. However, in the United States Army, the primary duty of the chaplain's assistant in a combat zone is to protect the chaplain, so all chaplain's assistants must carry rifles. Because Chaplains are considered ministers in uniform they are forbidden from carrying weapons even when in combat zone.
- Quotes
Billy Pilgrim: [in his sleep] You guys go on without me. I'll be alright.
Prof. Rumfoord: All he does in his sleep is quit, surrender, and apologize. I could carve a better man out of a banana.
- Crazy creditsThe Universal logo does not appear on this film.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Clock (2010)
- SoundtracksConcerto No. 5 for Harpsichord in F minor, BWV 1056 - 2nd movement 'Largo'
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach (as J.S. Bach)
Performed by Glenn Gould, Piano
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Vladimir Goldschmann, Conductor
Hill won the best Director Oscar the next year with "The Sting". He later filmed the similarly unfilmable "World According To Garp" and also did a brilliant job with it, partially by letting go of John Irving's more depressing side. Other notable credits include Butch Cassidy... and The Great Waldo Pepper.
Michael Sacks, in his first movie, and only starring role at the tender age of 24, is completely convincing and natural. He is equally effective, compelling, and believable at the six distinct stages of Pilgrim's life memorialized herein. If he weren't up to the six-in-one role, the film wouldn't work, but he is, and it does. (I wonder why he has no other major credits, and ceased acting altogether in 1984. If anyone knows, please e-mail me.)
Valerie Perrine is fine as Montana Wildhack. The other characters are all played for maximum irony and effect, and the cast delivers beautifully, without exception. Eugene Roche is the epitome of kindness as Edgar Derby, the yin, to Ron Liebman's yang, a twisted ball of anger named Paul Lazaro. John Dehner is brilliant as a war-hawk professor upset at the Vietnam protesters. His character would be as appropriate amidst today's global conflagration as it was in 1966. Lucille Benson, Kevin Conway, Sorrell Booke, Holly Near, Richard Schaal, and Perry King are the more familiar names in a uniformly excellent cast, including the German actors.
The musical score is also perfect, both in tone and substance. Vonnegut is a master of superimposing satire over irony over futility. The movie does a marvelous job of blending these contrasts and making its audience feel enriched. The music underscores all of these contrasts. The cinematography also is magnificent.
Searching desperately for something to say to show that the movie cannot be 100% perfect, the only thing I can come up with is that the pacing of the movie drags slightly when the soldiers leave the first camp for Dresdner until their new Kommandant gives his "welcoming" speech. It might have played better with about three minutes cut from that sequence. So what?
I recently saw Slaughterhouse Five for the fifth time in 27 years since I originally saw it at my college campus -- this time on DVD. I never fail to catch something new, and I never fail to enjoy it all the more.
Given how many 70's movies have failed miserably to withstand the test of time, Slaughterhouse Five is a true treat to be savored.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Schlachthof 5
- Filming locations
- Prague, Czech Republic(as Dresden)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1