User reviews

I showed this movie, which lasts 90 minutes as I recall, to high school students many times about 25 - 30 years ago and have not seen it in more than 25 years. My source was the public library which no longer has the 16 mm film copy. I would very much like a VHS or DVD copy as this movie is absolutely great in my opinion. I would, if nothing else is available, be willing to purchase a 16 mm copy as I suppose it could be converted to a form I can use.

The movie deals with the influence of advertising and the power it can have to influence our behaviors. It also deals with the unwillingness to look at facts and, instead, blindly follow our prejudices. An absolutely fascinating part deals with the fact that the respect that many people in society get comes from various social ills; we respect doctors, judges, military generals, etc. and their position rests on disease, injustice, war, etc.

This and the 1974 broadcast came on the same, bare-bones DVD. Set at a cemetery, this is an immensely biting satire dealing with racism(do note that it uses offensive terms), xenophobia in general, and to an extent, superficiality. In addition to fear of that which is different, this makes fun of priests, doctors, the military, etc. We also have a blind man and one who follows him with his eyes closed; as he puts it, who knows what he'd see if he opened them, and the two would no longer be similar, and how on Earth would they continue to get on with one another? The strength here lies in the writing and the performances. It is carried by dialog and the acting is excellent. This is not unlike a play at a theater. The editing and cinematography remain subtle, simple and in the background, and after the undertaker talks directly to the camera in the beginning, the form is fluid and lets the material speak for itself. This has some incredible points about the subject it deals with, and provides a veritable cornucopia of food for thought. There is a little dark comedy, and the jokes aren't necessarily laugh-out-loud as much as impeccably clever and ponderous. I could imagine this being used for teaching purposes, as it challenges, amuses and does not talk down to the viewer, or disrespect its topic. Without breaks, this has a running time of 55 minutes. There is a lewd joke and gag or two, and this contains disturbing content. I recommend this to everyone mature enough to appreciate it. 9/10