TARGETS (1968)

[The Burgomaster]

After all these years, I finally got to see this movie.  It was worth the wait.

I bought the DVD at a cheap price and watched it yesterday.

The plot involves 2 parallel story lines that come together at the end:

1.  Boris Karloff stars as an old horror movie star who wants to retire;
2.  Tim O'Kelly stars as a clean-cut young man who buys an arsenal of rifles, pistols, and ammo and goes on a shooting spree.

The movie was directed by Peter Bogdanovich (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, WHAT'S UP DOC, etc.)  It is a very well-made, low-budget thriller.  I highly recommend it.

The DVD includes an interesting interview with Bogdanovich.  He explains how the film was made.  He had worked on another film as an assistant to Roger Corman.  Apparently, Corman called him and asked him if he would like to direct his own movie.  Corman told him that Boris Karloff owed him 2 days of work, so he wanted to film about 20 minutes worth of scenes with Karloff, then insert about 20 minutes worth of scenes from the movie THE TERROR, and then fill in the rest of the running time with new scenes.  So, it started out as another of Corman's "hit and run, paste-up" movies, but it turned into a minor classic.

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, you should add it to your "movies to watch" list.

[Scott]

I've heard of Peter Bogdanovich and have wanted to see any of his good films.

THE TERROR is a cheapy but a goody !  Starring Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. Fans of low budget films will like this one. How about those styraphone rocks as the mansion/castle crumbles? You have to like that in a film. Fun stuff.

[Chopper]

You know Burgo thank you for reminding me of this film. I'll have to find it and rent it because i've wanted to see it for the longest time but couldn't find a video store that carried it. I've always liked Bogdanovich's other films, the Last Picture Show is one of the greatest bittersweet films made.

[The Burgomaster]

Chopper:

Forget renting it.  You can buy the widescreen DVD, which even has "extras" on it, for only $5.99!

[BoyScoutKevin]

If one is a fan of Boris Karloff, it is definitely worth seeing, as it give Karloff, in his later career as an actor, one of his best roles.

There again, like a number of films, it is based on a true incident. This time the Charles Whitman sniper shootings at the University of Texas in Austin in 1966.

The actual story itself was made into a made-for-television movie called  "The Deadly Tower," w/ Kurt Russell playing Charles Whitman. Of course, the accuracy of that movie itself is somewhat questionable.

[kriegerg69]

It's both one of Karloff's best AND Bogdonavich's best.