Haunting, harrowing, heartbreaking - perhaps too much like real life? It is hard to find on DVD now which is a shame. You may reevaluate Rock Hudson after seeing this.
Oddly enough came out the same year as Teshigahara's Face of Another, which is another arty sci-fi about trying to change your identity with a new (handsome) face.
Very ahead of it's time for 1966. The film holds up phenomenally well. A creative, thrilling, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that should be seen by anyone with a remote appreciation for quality filmmaking. .
John Frankenheimer's Seconds has a sad old banker accept an invitation/get railroaded into a new life as plastic surgery miracle Rock Hudson, but is he going to be any happier living his "dream"? From the beginning, the direction creates a malaise - the camera is never where you think it should be, using very modern tricks (for 1966!) like being affixed to the subject, rolling too low, coming in at odd angles or too close, and hand-held to give it an anxious feeling. Things settle down when the banker gets his second life, but soon the camera work start to spin out of control again, visually representing the lesson our man is learning. It's a paranoid thriller in the same way Franz Kafka's works are, where the protagonist is never allowed to really understand what's going on (at least, until it's too late). Like Kafka's stories, it's a property that makes Seconds cold and clinical, because you too are outside an understanding, but that is part of its power. Star Trek connection that gave me an extra shiver: Realizing that the sexy dame in this is played by Salome Jens, the creepy Founder Leader in Deep Space Nine. A very niche reason for raising an extra hackle - which Frankenheimer couldn't have devised - but there you go.
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Comments 1 - 13 of 13
Kenneth McMahon
Doesn't feel at all like a movie that should've existed in 1966. Interesting cinematography, tone and ideas.TalkingElvish
Incredible film. Seems very progressive for a American mainstream picture in 1966.anaphylaxis
Good fucking lord. This is the best film I've seen in quite a while.aussieflickfan
Haunting, harrowing, heartbreaking - perhaps too much like real life? It is hard to find on DVD now which is a shame. You may reevaluate Rock Hudson after seeing this.george4mon
great film!, it should be more well known.greenhorg
Oddly enough came out the same year as Teshigahara's Face of Another, which is another arty sci-fi about trying to change your identity with a new (handsome) face.Dieguito
Good movie.. Very creative story.catherinefrances
Strong themes for something that was made in 1966. Very haunting.cfish80
Beautiful cinematography - and that haunting, scathing scene when Rock visits with the wife who thinks he's dead!americanadian25
Very ahead of it's time for 1966. The film holds up phenomenally well. A creative, thrilling, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that should be seen by anyone with a remote appreciation for quality filmmaking. .Siskoid
John Frankenheimer's Seconds has a sad old banker accept an invitation/get railroaded into a new life as plastic surgery miracle Rock Hudson, but is he going to be any happier living his "dream"? From the beginning, the direction creates a malaise - the camera is never where you think it should be, using very modern tricks (for 1966!) like being affixed to the subject, rolling too low, coming in at odd angles or too close, and hand-held to give it an anxious feeling. Things settle down when the banker gets his second life, but soon the camera work start to spin out of control again, visually representing the lesson our man is learning. It's a paranoid thriller in the same way Franz Kafka's works are, where the protagonist is never allowed to really understand what's going on (at least, until it's too late). Like Kafka's stories, it's a property that makes Seconds cold and clinical, because you too are outside an understanding, but that is part of its power. Star Trek connection that gave me an extra shiver: Realizing that the sexy dame in this is played by Salome Jens, the creepy Founder Leader in Deep Space Nine. A very niche reason for raising an extra hackle - which Frankenheimer couldn't have devised - but there you go.marienbad
Where can you find this?nicolaskrizan
Identity crisis!