The epically long little known 70's classic still disturbs me. The Day of the Locust is a great movie not because of 2 hours of it, but for the last 20 minutes. Nothing much happens in two hours, but the whole movie gets made up for in the end. The final sequence is haunting and well done.
Based off Nathaniel West's popular classic, The Day of the Locust is the story of three people trying to make it in Hollywood. Harry (Burgess Meredith) is young writer who falls in love with the up and coming star Faye (Karen Black). Harry isn't the only person vying for Faye's love. A millionaire with the name Homer Simpson (I know, I know) is also. Homer is brilliantly played by Donald Sutherland in a very early role.
There isn't much to say about this except for the ending. (SPOILERS) After Faye decides to stay with Harry, Homer goes crazy and stomps on a little boy at one of Faye's premieres. The crowd sees this happen and they go crazy. Eventually, Los Angeles completely burns down. (END SPOILERS) The ending is disturbing and never gets old. For anyone who is interested, the ending is available on YouTube, although I'm not quite sure why you would be.
It's a shame this classic isn't more popular. Never again will I feel the same around a crowd. The effect of the finale must have been even greater in the theater. The movie is bizzare and wild and not terribly amazing until the end. The acting and direction are superb, but its too bad nobody really knows about it anymore.
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