Drive, He Said

Drive, He Said
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Nicholson
Written byJeremy Larner
Jack Nicholson
Terrence Malick (uncredited)
Produced bySteve Blauner
Jack Nicholson
Starring
CinematographyBill Butler
Edited byDonn Cambern
Christopher Holmes
Pat Somerset
Robert L. Wolfe
Music byDavid Shire
Production
companies
BBS Productions
Drive Productions Inc.
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • May 24, 1971 (1971-05-24) (Cannes)[1]
  • June 30, 1971 (1971-06-30) (U.S.)[1]
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$800,000

Drive, He Said is a 1971 American independent film directed by Jack Nicholson, in his directorial debut, and starring William Tepper, Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Robert Towne and Henry Jaglom. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Jeremy Larner, the film follows a disenchanted college basketball player who is having an affair with a professor's wife, as well as dealing with his counterculture roommate's preoccupation with avoiding the draft in the Vietnam War. The film features supporting performances by David Ogden Stiers, Cindy Williams, and Michael Warren. The screenplay was adapted by Larner and Nicholson, and included uncredited contributions from Terrence Malick.[2]

After screening at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was poorly received, the film faced more backlash from the Motion Picture Association of America for its profanity and sexual content, including numerous scenes featuring full-frontal male nudity.[3]

The title comes from the poem "I Know a Man"[4] by Robert Creeley, which a character recites in the opening scene. It also serves as a cryptic reference to basketball, the movie's dominant milieu.

Plot

Hector Bloom is a laconic, libidinous college basketball star distracted by obligations and current events: the misadventures of his volatile roommate Gabriel, a potential pro career, the draft, campus unrest, and a turbulent affair with Olive, the wife of Richard, a professor and friend. His coach pays special attention to him, given Hector's abilities, but is unsure how to get him to focus and fulfill his potential. Hector's attitude, and his coach's frustration, is exemplified by a meeting before an important late-season game where the coach instructs him to "play it straight out there tonight, I don't want any fooling around at all"; to his coach's exasperation, Hector replies "Why not?"

Gabriel, a vulgar borderline psychotic, is far more troubled and committed to rebellion than Hector. He abuses drugs, disrupts a basketball game with a guerrilla theatre stunt, goes crazy during an induction physical, ransacks his apartment, espouses anti-establishment views about everything, and drifts aimlessly.

During a confrontation in a grocery store, Olive informs Hector that she is pregnant, implies he is not the father, and tells him their affair is over. Hector replies that he has "the clap", which infuriates Olive; she warns him that if he follows her, she will call the police.

That night, Hector leads his team to a huge victory; the fans storm the court, and triumphantly carry Hector off. At the same time, Gabriel breaks into Olive's house while she is bathing and physically assaults her. She fends off his attack, eventually running outdoors with Gabriel in pursuit just as Hector drives up. Gabriel, aware of Hector's trysts with Olive, screams at Hector that Olive prefers him over Richard, then runs off when Richard arrives home. Hector confronts Richard, telling him Olive should be with him; a shaken Olive asserts her independence, saying "I'm not going with anybody, anywhere". Richard warns Hector "I'll kill you", then escorts Olive back into their house.

The next morning Gabriel, completely naked, runs into a biology lab and frees snakes, an iguana, mice and other vermin. Eventually campus police and white-coated attendants arrive with a straitjacket; Gabriel rebuffs them, insisting he is both "right and sane". They cloak him in a blanket and lead him into a padded van. Hector, seeing this, jumps onto the back of the van, demanding they open it. As the van pulls away, he jumps off, yelling to Gabriel that his mother called.

Cast

Production

Filming of Drive, He Said took place on the campus of the University of Oregon and other nearby locations, all in Eugene, Oregon.[5]

During a break in the filming of this movie, which he directed and which required a brief non-sexual nude scene for an actress, Jack Nicholson decided to operate his own personal casting couch to find the perfect girl. Nicholson had the most beautiful starlets in Hollywood come to his office and made each disrobe for him. Some were more eager than others, but all disrobed and endured Jack's near-medical examination. He saw more than 100 girls before he chose June Fairchild, an actress he had worked with before, and likely someone he had in mind for the part all along.[6]

Release

Censorship

The Motion Picture Association of America unsuccessfully attempted to grant the film an X rating due to its profanity and sexual content.[7] Among the scenes criticized were several locker room sequences displaying full-frontal male nudity; a protracted sequence in which Margotta's character, Gabriel, goes streaking through the campus; and a sex scene in which Karen Black's character, Olive, has an orgasm.[7]

Critical response

The film was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival,[8] where it encountered a stormy reception;[9] The New York Times reported that the movie "set off the most violently negative reaction from an audience at the festival this year. As the lights came up, the people hooted, screamed and whistled. Some got to their feet and waved indignant fists toward where Nicholson and his two actors, William Tepper and Michael Margotta, were seated."[10]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a disorganized but occasionally brilliant movie," with the performances being "the best thing in the movie. Nicholson himself is a tremendously interesting screen actor, and he directs his actors to achieve a kind of intimacy and intensity that is genuinely rare. But if Nicholson is good on the nuances, he's weak on the overall direction of his film. It doesn't hang together for us as a unified piece of work."[11] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote "It is not a great film, but it is an often intelligent one, and it is so much better than all of the rest of the campus junk Hollywood has manufactured that it can be indulged in its sentimental conventions."[12] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film his highest grade of four stars and wrote "The dialog and acting are of the highest calibre...The script respects each character, and the actors deliver fresh, unpredictable performances."[13] Variety called it "an uneven film" with "a bombastic, racy, pellmell style touching on all that has gone before, but with a modern ring which may appeal to youthful audiences."[14] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote of Nicholson's direction: "I think it is an unusually impressive debut. What is least surprising, I suppose, is that Nicholson works extremely well with his actors and has evoked several performances of outstanding quality."[15] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote "While it's not an untalented picture, it is an exasperating and finally insufferable one, because none of its potentially interesting themes or characters ever takes hold...For short periods of time it's possible to persuade yourself that something interesting might come of the athletic theme or the romantic theme or the political theme, but the movie never takes you up on it."[16]

Pauline Kael, looking back on the film in 1978, called it "perhaps the most ambitious, chaotic, and daring of the counterculture films—it had a deranged, dissociated vitality. Though Nicholson couldn't pace it or bring it together, he did seem to have control of the actors, and you knew that nobody was just trying to charm you—they were all trying to get something new on the screen."[17] A later assessment from Steven H. Scheuer found the film "utterly downbeat, and unfortunately dated".[18] Leonard Maltin's home video guide awarded two-and-a-half stars out of four and found the film "confusing", and while he also praised the acting performances, he found that the film "loses itself in its attempt to cover all the bases".[19]

The film holds a score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.[20]

Home media

In 2010, the film was issued on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection, as part of the "America Lost and Found" box set, which features a number of other films produced by BBS Productions, including Head (1968), Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), A Safe Place (1971), and The Last Picture Show (also 1971).[21] Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment issued a standalone DVD as part of the Sony Pictures "Choice" Collection on June 4, 2013.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Drive, He Said". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "William Tepper Dies: Star Of Jack Nicholson's 'Drive, He Said' Was 69". Deadline Hollywood. October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  3. ^ McDougal 2008, p. 137.
  4. ^ "I Know A Man". Poetry Foundation. Poetry. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  5. ^ "Filmed in Oregon 1908-2015" (PDF). Oregon Film Council. Oregon State Library. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson, p. 180, p. 180, at Google Books
  7. ^ a b McDougal 2008, pp. 137–138.
  8. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Drive, He Said". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  9. ^ Harvey, Duston (August 4, 1971). "Nicholson 'Depressed' By Reception To Directing Effort". The World. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Grenier, Cynthia (May 25, 1971). [1] The New York Times. 44.
  11. ^ Ebert, Roger Drive, He Said., RogerEbert.com Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  12. ^ Canby, Vincent (June 14, 1971). "Screen: Nicholson's 'Drive, He Said'". The New York Times. 49.
  13. ^ Siskel, Gene (July 26, 1971). "Drive, He Said". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 9.
  14. ^ "Film Reviews: Drive, He Said". Variety. June 2, 1971. 15.
  15. ^ Champlin, Charles (June 30, 1971). "Nicholson Makes Director Debut". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 1.
  16. ^ Arnold, Gary (September 28, 1971). "Drive, He Said". The Washington Post. B6.
  17. ^ Kael, Pauline (December 11, 1978). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. 75.
  18. ^ Scheuer, Steven H. (1990) Movies on TV and Videocassette, Bamtam Books, New York. p. 294.
  19. ^ Maltin, Leonard (1991) Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1992, Signet, New York. p. 325.
  20. ^ "Drive, He Said". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Drive, He Said". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
  22. ^ "Drive, He Said DVD". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.

Sources

  • McDougal, Dennis (2008). Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-72246-5.

Read other articles:

Mahābhārata

MahābhārataIllustrazione di una scena della battaglia di Kurukṣetra. Da un dipinto del XVIII secolo. AutoreVyāsa PeriodoA partire dal IV secolo a.C. fino al IV secolo d.C. Generepoema epico Lingua originalesanscrito Modifica dati su Wikidata · Manuale (SA) «dharme cārthe ca kāme ca mokṣe ca bharatarṣabhayad ihāsti tad anyatra yan nehāsti na tat kva cit» (IT) «Per quanto riguarda il dharma, l'artha, il kāma e il mokṣa, o toro fra i Bhārata, ciò che qui c'è, lo si pu...

 

Yeremia 32

Untuk Yeremia 32 dalam Septuaginta, lihat Yeremia 25. Yeremia 32Kitab Yeremia dalam Alkitab Ibrani, MS Sassoon 1053, foto 283-315.KitabKitab YeremiaKategoriNevi'imBagian Alkitab KristenPerjanjian LamaUrutan dalamKitab Kristen24← pasal 31 pasal 33 → Yeremia 32 (disingkat Yer 32; Penomoran Septuaginta: Yeremia 39) adalah bagian dari Kitab Yeremia dalam Alkitab Ibrani dan Perjanjian Lama di Alkitab Kristen. Berisi perkataan nabi Yeremia bin Hilkia, tentang Yehuda dan Yerusalem, yang ...

 

Google Lens

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Oktober 2022. Google LensTipeaplikasi seluler Versi pertama4 Oktober 2017; 6 tahun lalu (2017-10-04)Versi stabilDaftariOS: 282.0 (18 September 2023)Android: 1.15.221129089 (17 Agustus 2023) BahasaDaftar bahasa Lens can translate text into most Google Translate ...

العلاقات الأسترالية الجزائرية

العلاقات الأسترالية الجزائرية أستراليا الجزائر   أستراليا   الجزائر تعديل مصدري - تعديل   العلاقات الأسترالية الجزائرية هي العلاقات الثنائية التي تجمع بين أستراليا والجزائر.[1][2][3][4][5] مقارنة بين البلدين هذه مقارنة عامة ومرجعية للدولتين: �...

 

Buthidaung

Town in Rakhine State, MyanmarBusidaung ဘူးသီးတောင်မြို့TownButhidaungButhidaung in 2016BusidaungLocation in Myanmar (Burma)Coordinates: 20°52′08″N 92°31′41″E / 20.8690°N 92.528°E / 20.8690; 92.528Country MyanmarDivision Rakhine State(Arakan)DistrictMaungdaw DistrictTownshipButhidaung TownshipPopulation (2021) • Total55,545[1] • Ethnicities93% Rohingya6% Rakhine<1% Others ...

 

Gravitational constant

Physical constant relating the gravitational force between objects to their mass and distance Not to be confused with g, the gravity of Earth. Value of G Unit 6.67430(15)×10−11[1] N⋅m2⋅kg−2 6.67430(15)×10−8 dyn⋅cm2⋅g−2 4.3009172706(3)×10−3 pc⋅M⊙−1⋅(km/s)2 The gravitational constant G is a key quantity in Newton's law of universal gravitation. The gravitational constant (also known as the universal gravitational constant, the Newtonian constant of gravitati...

Шахматные фигуры

Шахматные фигуры: (слева направо) белые: король, пешка, слон; чёрные: ладья, ферзь, конь Шахматные фигуры — изделия[1] (шахматы[2], фигуры[3]) предназначенные для размещения на доске, разделенной на 64 квадрата, попеременно белых и чёрных (могут быть и другие цвета), �...

 

Sutton Foster

American actress (born 1975) Sutton FosterFoster in 2022BornSutton Lenore Foster (1975-03-18) March 18, 1975 (age 49)Statesboro, Georgia, U.S.EducationCarnegie Mellon UniversityOccupationsActresssingerdancerYears active1989–presentSpouses Christian Borle ​ ​(m. 2006; div. 2009)​ Ted Griffin ​(m. 2014)​ Children1RelativesHunter Foster (brother)Websitesuttonfoster.com Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 19...

 

Trimark Pictures

Defunct US film production and distribution company This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Trimark Pictures – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Trimark PicturesFormerlyVidmark Entertainment (1984–1989)Company typeSubsidiary...

Società di Ginnastica e Scherma Fortitudo 1919-1920

Voce principale: Società di Ginnastica e Scherma Fortitudo. S.G.S. FortitudoStagione 1919-1920Sport calcio Squadra Fortitudo Allenatore Enrico Ricchi József Ging Presidente Porfirio Ciprari Prima CategoriaFinalista centromeridionale. StadioCampo Madonna del Riposo 1914-1915 1920-1921 Si invita a seguire il modello di voce Questa pagina raccoglie i dati riguardanti la S.G.S. Fortitudo nelle competizioni ufficiali della stagione 1919-1920. Indice 1 Stagione 2 Organigramma societario 3 R...

 

Wooden churches of Maramureș

UNESCO World Heritage Site Wooden churches of MaramureșUNESCO World Heritage SiteThe eight sites inscribed are: (left to right, and top to bottom) Bârsana, Budești Josani, Desești, Ieud Hill, Plopiș, Poienile Izei, Rogoz, ȘurdeștiLocationMaramureș County, RomaniaCriteriaCultural: ivReference904Inscription1999 (23rd Session)12345678class=notpageimage| Wooden churches sites: 1 = Bârsana, 2 = Budești, 3 = Desești, 4 = Ieud, 5 = Plopiș, 6 = Poienile Izei, 7 = Rogoz, 8 = Șurdești The...

 

Strasburgo

Questa voce o sezione sull'argomento geografia ha problemi di struttura e di organizzazione delle informazioni. Motivo: La voce non risponde agli standard richiesti da Wikipedia:Modello di voce/Centro abitato nell'impostazione e nei contenuti. Risistema la struttura espositiva, logica e/o bibliografica dei contenuti. Nella discussione puoi collaborare con altri utenti alla risistemazione. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. Strasburgocomune(FR) Strasbourg Strasburgo – Ve...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Belarus)

Belarusian government ministry Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of BelarusМіністэрства замежных спраў Рэспублікі БеларусьMinisterstva zamezhnykh spraw Respubliki BelarusEmblem of the MinistryMain office in MinskAgency overviewFormedSeptember 19, 1991Preceding agenciesMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Byelorussian SSRMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet UnionJurisdictionGovernment of BelarusHeadquartersMinsk, BelarusMinister responsib...

 

أتراك

هذه المقالة عن المجموعة العرقية الأتراك وليس عن من يحملون جنسية الجمهورية التركية أتراكTürkler (بالتركية) التعداد الكليالتعداد 70~83 مليون نسمةمناطق الوجود المميزةالبلد  القائمة ... تركياألمانياسورياالعراقبلغارياالولايات المتحدةفرنساالمملكة المتحدةهولنداالنمساأسترالي�...

 

إيه إي جي - جيه الأولى

يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (ديسمبر 2018) هذه المقالة يتيمة إذ تصل إليها مقالات أخرى قليلة جدًا. فضلًا، ساعد بإضافة وصلة إليها في مقالات متعلقة بها...

Munster Technological University

Irish technological university Munster Technological UniversityOllscoil Teicneolaíochta na MumhanLogo of the universityOther nameMTUEstablished1 January 2021; 3 years ago (2021-01-01)PresidentMaggie CusackStudents18,000+AddressRossa Avenue, Cork, Munster, T12 P928, IrelandCampusMTU Bishopstown Campus, Bishopstown, Cork[1]MTU Kerry North Campus, Tralee, KerryMTU Kerry South Campus, Tralee, KerryNational Maritime College of Ireland, Ringaskiddy, CorkMTU Cork School of...

 

Neil Stephens

Australian cyclist Neil StephensStephens as a directeur sportif at the 2005 Giro d'ItaliaPersonal informationFull nameNeil StephensBorn (1963-10-01) 1 October 1963 (age 60)Canberra, AustraliaHeight1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)Weight65 kg (143 lb; 10 st 3 lb)Team informationCurrent teamRetiredDisciplineRoadRoleRiderProfessional teams1985Peugeot–Michelin1986Santini–Sierre1987Ever Ready–Ammaco1988Zero Boys1989Caja Rural–Paternina1990Artiach–Royal1...

 

1856 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

Election in Massachusetts Main article: 1856 United States presidential election 1856 United States presidential election in Massachusetts ← 1852 November 4, 1856 1860 → Turnout69.8%[1] 12.0 pp   Nominee John C. Frémont James Buchanan Millard Fillmore Party Republican Democratic Know Nothing Home state California Pennsylvania New York Running mate William L. Dayton John C. Breckinridge Andrew J. Donelson Electoral vote 13 0 0 Popular vot...

Alf Valentine

West Indian cricketer Alf ValentinePersonal informationFull nameAlfred Louis ValentineBorn(1930-04-28)28 April 1930Kingston, JamaicaDied11 May 2004(2004-05-11) (aged 74)Orlando, Florida, United StatesBattingRight-handedBowlingSlow left-armRoleBowlerInternational information National sideWest IndiesTest debut8 June 1950 v EnglandLast Test18 April 1962 v India Career statistics Competition Test First-class Matches 36 125 Runs scored 141 470 Batting average 4.70 5.0...

 

Aaron McKie

Aaron McKieNazionalità Stati Uniti Altezza196 cm Peso94 kg Pallacanestro RuoloAllenatore(ex ala piccola / guardia) Squadra Temple Owls Termine carriera2008 - giocatore CarrieraGiovanili Simon Gratz High School1991-1994 Temple Owls92 (1.650) Squadre di club 1994-1997 Portland T. Blazers167 (1.327)1997 Detroit Pistons66 (372)1997-2005 Philadelphia 76ers536 (4.120)2005-2007 L.A. Lakers24 (29)2007-2008 Memphis Grizzlies0 (0) Carriera da allenatore 2008-201...