Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

akoaytao1234 Day of LocustFor every winner comes a bunch of losers. Day of locust tells the story of these losers as they try to live thru the hell they are in. In the midst of the Californian heat, a young artist dreams of fulfilling his Hollywood dream. In his quest,he meets different personalities unseen in dazzling world of cinema. All of whom are vying for their very own glimpse of stardom, ultimately changing his own pure vision of his dream. Personally, I admire its effort to replicate the 30's Hollywood vibe. Its distinctive soft-focus photography and beautiful depiction of the era are true highlights. In addition, Black and Sutherland were phenomenal in their respectable role.BUT here comes the film's biggest problem, I found its script to be quite problematic. From the story's perspective, its nature just felt to have been bigger or campier. This people are living in the edge and does not feel like it. Also, the film has a lot troubles of coming terms with its surrealistic plot points. Its presence at times felt a bit forced . Lastly, the ensemble story-line did not really work for me. Its scope was too big for its own good. Overall, Day of Locust has its moments but a drastic problem from its script really dampens its ambitions. [3/5]

poetcomic1 I could not watch this on a double bill with 'They Shoot Horses Don't They' even if they do belong together. I'd be wiped out for a week. Both films strip away the California veneer of nostalgia (whether movies or dance marathons) that embalms the depression horrors beneath. Both films are sizzling with great acting, great and memorable set pieces, outrageous and unmitigated despair. Burgess Meredith gave his greatest performance in this film and was nominated for it. Karen Black never looked better or acted better and Donald Sutherland bravely went to the limits with his Homer character. The brat's song making fun of his 'pop eyes' was very brave of him - he had always been self conscious of this feature of his and the rage must have been easy to access! This and 'Horses' were both films by two grim writers who were only 'filmable' in the dark era of the 70's. In this way, both films are both period pieces of the thirties AND the seventies.

SnoopyStyle It's late 30's Hollywood. Hitler may be marching in Europe but it's the desperate insular lives of people trying to make it in Lalaland. Faye Greener (Karen Black) is trying every way to make it as an actress. Her quiet neighbor Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) is desperately in love with her and she takes advantage. Tod Hackett (William Atherton) is a production designer working on a movie about Waterloo and he's even more desperately in love with Faye. Then her drunken former vaudeville father Harry Greener (Burgess Meredith) arrives.This is an epic of Hollywood excesses and the desperation for fame. It would be more compelling if it could concentrate and pinpoint the story. It becomes too scattered and too meandering. It could have focused in on Faye's journey and stayed with her smaller personal story. The final act goes crazy and I'm not sure if it works. I'm also not sure what the book is like. This has some interesting scenes and interesting aspects. It doesn't all work.

rokcomx Perhaps the most anti-Hollywood movie ever made by Hollywood! Scarcely seen since its 1975 release, and all-but-forgotten except among devout movie fans, it's worth seeing if only for the meticulous recreation of the period when Hollywood went from golden pond to fetid cesspool. Most all the principals prove to be immoral and hideous, as foreshadowed by the apartment wall paintings of the lead, a movie art director who arrives in town full of hope and optimism, but soon ends up wallowing in the same gutter as the cockroach characters he once emulated and admired.The movie unfolds much like if one actually moved to Hollywood - lots of glitz and glam at first, until the seediness and evilness takes center stage. Donald Sutherland is particularly powerful, as a somewhat dimwitted innocent whose turn for the worse at the end of the movie provides one of the most shocking and memorable climaxes in movie history. If you haven't seen or heard about it, I won't spoil it here - if you're lucky enough to come across Day of the Locust, DON'T read any of the IMDb or online reviews until AFTER viewing. I guarantee you'll be whacked over the head with some powerful surprises ---