Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

SimonJack Watching this movie again after many years, I had a familiar quote ringing in my ears: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you." Joseph Heller penned that in his 1961 novel, "Catch- 22." I wonder if the makers of "The President's Analyst" hadn't read Heller's book, especially in the development of James Coburn's character, Dr. Sidney Schaefer. I agree that the cast are generally good in their roles. Coburn is good, but he doesn't quite seem to nail his character. Others like his grinning smile at times, but that seemed strange to me when at other times he was frightened. Godrey Cambridge and Severn Darden give the best performances of the film. The film story was a great idea – especially with the surprise ending. But I think the script didn't develop the story well. The first half of the film drags on, and the direction and film editing seem choppy. It shouldn't take an audience so long to get into the satire. And then, there aren't many scenes that bring out laughter. Other reviewers have noted the numerous conventions of the 1960s that this film pokes fun at. Sometimes many lampoons don't work as well as fewer but better developed ones. That may be the case with this film. I would like to have given this movie a higher rating, but it's just not up to the mettle of the great comedy satires. "Dr. Strangelove," "Ninotchka," "To Be or Not to Be," "The Great Dictator," "The Mouse that Roared," and others have wonderful plots with great mixes of witty dialog, spoofing scenes and general satire. One trait that the great films in this sub-genre have is a mix of roles. Some characters have genuinely serious roles, while others have cynical, and others outright comical roles. Coburn's character is the only one that has a semblance of seriousness at times. All the rest – the heads of the fantasized spy agencies, the "hit" men, the people in the groups being lampooned – are funny or silly. It seemed like a spy spoof that the Marx Brothers might make. Or, like the TV sitcom airing at the time, "Get Smart," in which most of characters were buffoons of one type or another. So, the satire doesn't work well. One other thing someone else observed seemed quite bad – the musical score in places. One line by Kropotkin (Severn Darden) seems quite poignant. Remembering that the film was made in 1967, his comments seem close to being fulfilled today. In a discussion with Dr. Sidney Schaefer (Coburn), Kropotkin says, "Logic is on our side. This isn't a case of a world struggle between two divergent ideologies of different economic systems. Every day your country becomes more socialistic, my country becomes more capitalistic. Pretty soon we'll meet in the middle and join hands."With a solid rewrite of the script, this film could have been a much better comedy satire for the time.

lewwarden Great satire of many of our social institutions of the mid-Vietnam era. But not so funny now; too much dirty water over the dam since then. Plainly what passed for Liberals in those days were pilloried, as well as tired old targets--some more deserving than others--such as J Edgar Hoover, FBI, and CIA who apparently had enough muscle in those days to persuade Hollywood to change their initials, although to what end God only knows. I noted that the "right wing extremists" label was used in the movie, which was old hat then and is still the battle cry of Democrat propagandists. The more things change, the more things remain the same, and propaganda slogans become eternal verities. But old Ma Bell, THE telephone company of those days, isn't with us to kick around any more. Our present crop of corporate and financial rulers are nothing like the benign despot portrayed in this picture. Our boys don't pretend to serve; they just brazenly exploit, and laugh all the way to the bank with their "bail out" billions. Anyhow, all and all The President's Analyst is a good evening's entertainment with some nice acting and even a slice of history. But who was the analyst's very obliging sweety working for?

Jay Harris In 1967 when this film first came out,I & everyone else raved about how funny & clever this political satire was. I am reasonably sure it was on my best of the year list. It was on many peoples list.I saw this tonight,I am sorry to say my original 10 rating is now only a weak 6.The problem is that now it is exceedingly dated, In the 1960's we were both in a cold war (Soviet Union) & Vietnam, also we had the hippie generation to contend with.Analysts of all kinds were all over the place. The Telephone Company is no longer a one firm monopoly.There is one long scene involving a telephone booth (today you cant find any,public phones are almost extinct).None of these developments are funny or even slightly humorous today..James Coburn was at the beginning of his career in 1967 & this was a major starring role for him. He was a very talented actor who could do nearly any type of role..The rest of the cast were mostly unknowns or from Television. GodfreCambridge was the biggest name player. William Daniels has a nice role as well.It really is not fair to use todays standard on a 41 year old film. I must do it for this movie. It is dated & no longer funny.There are a few racist type lines as well, They were not considered racist then.Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 70 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

copper1963 When James Coburn passed away in 2002, it was sad to see how little fanfare was generated by this event. Coburn's resume is as strong as any actor of the Sixties and Seventies. For almost a decade, Coburn played in some of the strangest and most unorthodox films of the era. Everyone knows that he capably spoofed the popular spy genre with his "Flint" films. But it wasn't until he became the President's analyst that he really hit his stride. The fabulous panoramic views of a pre-World Trade Center New York duel with the more grimy shots of the Manhattan Garment District. Look for a humorous assassination involving a knife and a clothing pushcart. Nostalgic observation: the New York Skyline appears the way it does on the New York Mets' uniform patch. The plot concerns the President's need for a head shrinker. Wanted: a man who can be trusted with the leader of the free world's secrets. Grandpa Walton (Will Gear) shows up as the President's prior therapist. He is wonderful as always. Edgy pop singer, Barry McGuire, plays a stoner with a catchy song on his acoustic guitar. One memorable sequence combines McGuire's tune (something about "changes") and a team of assassins in a field, attempting to kill our hero, Coburn. The killers use everything from guns to gas to blow darts. Even a net. In widescreen, the final shot of the movie resonates with a sly, satirical nod to the genre. The villain of the piece comes as a big surprise to anyone under the age of forty: think telephone exchanges and room-size computers. And mix. Bravo!