Taking Off (1971)

I just watched this on TVO, having lucked upon it while grazing stations. I am amazed I'd never even heard of this film before. From the first second I was engaged. It is, I think, the single best portrait of the social climate of the early 1970s that I have ever seen. Easy Rider is the only other film that I know of that perfectly captures the feeling of that time period, though I find Easy Rider to be indulgent, where this film is modest and understated. All the performances are wonderful. The girl who played the daughter, Linnea Heacock, is utterly captivating, as is David Gittler, as the rock star, Jamie. (I can find no record of other performances by either actor.) There's a hilarious scene with a young Vincent Schiavelli, where he explains to a bunch of older parents how to smoke pot. The direction is smart though not intrusive, which is very rare. Watch for Carly Simon and Cathy Bates in tiny roles. This film is a real delight. I only wish it were on DVD.

It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with eitherForman or Henry that this film is both insightful and understatedlyhilarious. There was a time in the early 1970s when the influx offoreign directors on the Hollywood movie-making frontier (amongthem Forman, Bertolucci, and Polanski, as well as cinematographers like Zsigmond and Kovacs) were just as sharpand scathing of the American cultural revolution as our own youngfilmmakers. If not more so. This film is flat-out funny; the humor isderived from the droll use of pop references and supposedlytaboo behaviors. Because hey are put across so straight-faced,they reflect back to us an image too ridiculous to considerseriously. I saw this film in an open-air theatre at a fest and thoughit was difficult to hear, the combined laughter of the audiencebrought the experience to hysterics. Hope this film makes it toDVD.

Milos Forman is settling in to America here, learning the ways of rich Puritans. The casting is just about perfect; I don't recall Buck Henry being as expressive--in that deadpan way--in a movie. The scene between Georgia Engel and Lynn Carlin, in which Engel relates stories of her husband's incredible sexual drive is wonderfully funny. The strip poker scene between Henry, Carlin and their guests Audra Lindley and Paul Benedict, that ends with Henry singing an aria, naked, on top of the dining-room table has passed into cinematic legend.Miroslav Ondricek's camera work is really exceptional; it makes a success of one scene that drags on too long--the therapy group with the participants smoking reefer. Ondricek's ability to give life to interiors is amazing: see how he cuts from the ancestral paintings to the would-be dopers, making comments on both. This man, who turns 70 this year, is a master, and if I just give a partial list of his work you will know what I mean: The Fireman's Ball, If..., O Lucky Man!, Hair, Amadeus.

This is one of the most curiously delightful films I have ever seen. From the first few minutes until it's very end, 'Taking Off' offers an uniquely gentle vision of the confused 70s generation, it's hopes and wishes, and their problematic relationships with their respective, old-fashioned, hypocritical parents. Larry and Lynn Tyne are the heads of a typical american family, with their respective neurosis and worries targeted to their daughter Jeannie, lovely Linnea Hancock, and her taking drugs and the company that surrounds her. As she 'takes off' from home, their parents begin to seek for her, and as the seek continues, their degree of closeness is increased, while them both become absolutely degenerate and carefree - as they judge the new generation to be.Forman presents a simple story that smoothly develops itself into a thoughtful character study about the gap of generations, presented in a fashion never seen before, and most enjoyable, scoring once again by bringing his innovative directing style from Europe to America for the first time, and with a modest budget and unknown stars, with the honorable exception of Buck Henry, Ike and Tina Turner and a very, very young Carly Simon( Singing A Remarkable Ballad, That Goes Like This - Long Term Physical Effects Are Not Yet Known... So, I'll Just Take Another Drag, And Just Get Stoned!(...) Short Term Physical Effects Are So Groovey!) You may glimpse a young Jessica Harper during my favorite sequence, the audition one. The characters you'll find during this are simply... unforgettable. :)So, just enjoy this underrated gem, 'with a smile on your face and a heart to embrace', a faithful portrait of youth, hypocrisy, and seemingly contained parents.