James Caan comments on ZP
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Zabriskie Point
Eric-1226 — 14 years ago(April 05, 2011 11:00 PM)
[on
Zabriskie Point
(1970)]: "It was the worst fcking - and I have to curse because there is no other way that I can express myself - picture that I ever saw. I got so angry about it. I was in love with a girl. We went to the movie and it ended the whole affair. He [director Michelangelo Antonioni] hired cardboard, the worst actors, and it was a conscious effort - that's what pissed me off." -
franzkabuki — 14 years ago(May 10, 2011 02:12 PM)
The actors opinions on films - or even acting in films as Robert Duvalls recent comments about Kubrick having been the "actorss enemy", demonstrate - are, of course, not always to be trusted, but in this case Caans right - the leads look every bit the amateurs they were (although some may argue its a good thing Im not convinced, myself).
As for Kantos comments about Zabriskie lacking meaning, well, thats not true exactly. The problem, however, is that Antonioni is heavy handed to the point of silliness with his counter culture ideology. Considering how understated & restrained he usually tends to be, I guess what we got here is a serious mismatch of the artist and his material. Bit too old to rebel perhaps.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
HolyShackles — 14 years ago(June 14, 2011 02:12 PM)
LOL @ the film ending the relationship, I've heard similar cases of that with a guy showing Eraserhead to a girl on their first date and then jokingly wondered why he never heard from her again and a couple whose marriage literally ended supposedly due to watching Putney Swope with one laughing hysterically the entire way through and the other being completely disgusted by both the film and the joy it gave to their spouse.
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PhillipNoir — 13 years ago(December 16, 2012 12:22 PM)
Caan was speaking of his reaction to the film in 1971. It has no relations to any historical importance of ZP in the filmography. Yes, ZP documents a time in our culture, and yes, it was a self-indulgent artistic experiment that, in spite of its social significance, one can either love or hate depending on one's perspective.
Give Caan the right to feel his own feelings, and not what some of us feel is the "correct" response to the film. -
alan_ryder — 13 years ago(March 02, 2013 12:20 AM)
Well, it's subjective. I personally liked ZABRISKIE POINT . Of it's era. Very cinema verite. I would argue that if they had casted more seasoned actors it would have lost some of that spirit. They did seem like real people to me. Frechette seemed to be playing himself. Even Rod Taylor seemed more realistic than he did in other roles. When acting is not acting. I can imagine Antonioni telling them to react as they actually would otherwise. The desert scenes were quite beautiful. I definitely would compare it to EASY RIDER . They even had similar soundtracks. No mystery that different people want different things from cinema.