Customer Reviews

Death Of Richie

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

People may watch and say...'what hair!'...'what clothes!'...but they won't mistake the intensity of Ben Gazzara's father or the slow seeping away of childhood innocence in Robby Benson's Richie...not to mention Eileen Brennan's muted anguish as she watches both her son and husband spiral out of control...after the free love and drugs of the sixties when the atmosphere had penetrated middle America the price to be paid became more and more evident in the seventies. This film captures that horror that parents felt when they saw their children completely out of control and in some cases violently so and didn't know what to do about it or how to stop it. And for all those who say...'oh, it was just over reaction on the parent's part driving him to it!' remember the outcome...and then remember this was a true story...I don't think the effect or the problem has gone away and indications are it's on the rise again in High Schools. Well, here's a cautionary tale we'd all be wise to heed. For all those who say it's dated and could be better done today...remember this...the human condition doesn't change...only the trappings that surround it...it could be currently done...but it couldn't be better done.

This is a must see for anyone who knows of someone who struggles to come to terms with addiction. This film was based on Thomas Thompson's critically acclaimed May 1972 Life magazine article and subsequent 1973 novel "Richie".

Thompson's story of the Diener family and their battle with oldest son Richie is very accurately displayed in this made-for-TV movie. Benson brings to life the true embodiment of the shy and insecure teen Richie who longs to meet the approval of all of those around him.

The story of Richie Diener was one of the first to highlight the issues families face when dealing with a teen and drug abuse. This was all uncharted waters in the early to mid-70's when drug rehabilitation was very limited and in its infancy.

I first saw Deathof Richie in 1977 ,my mother made me stay up late to watch it .I had no idea what it was about boy did it blow me away. Very powerful movie. Some people might think it's dated for today standards. But the message is still the same 30 years later.


Vin

I saw this years after it's release when the High School teacher ran it for us.
It is a fairly decent account of parents and children drifting apart and never really being able to bridge troubled waters.
I always think of Robbie Benson as an Actor i enjoyed and i know that he is happy doing production work and other things in the movie world,but if he does appear in something and he still does at times,he is an actor that i always felt was sold short with a pretty teen tag for the girls and not much more,this could not be any further from the truth and you can tell he had the skill and ability to have acted in many parts.
It is not something that is always mentioned about this movie,but it was based closely on a true story.
The thing that rings most unreal in the end is Richie's father resorting to shoot him.
He was never very dangerous,just totally numb from drugs.
One of the lines that stayed with me was when Richie's mother asked him to cut out smoking those cigarettes,and he shot back(I cant,i can't do it).
Why he never had medical help is a real mystery.
Ian.

this dvd is very serious and sad it about a teenager who get involed with druges and then later fines out that it is just a waste of life for him when reality kick in then it is too later too save himself or the parents can't I will neve forget about this movie for as long as I live it ia a must but for someone who does not no what they are getting into.

This 1977 movie is very dated by today's production standards. Robbie Benson was really beginning to make a name for himself back then but I didn't find him all that convincing in this movie, particularly having read the book it is based upon before I saw the movie. In the book Richie becomes more and more belligerent and disrepectful and given the content restrictions on language and such back then, Richie's behavior loses some of its impact. The movie would've been far more believable and impactful if it had the license of really showing Richie as the book depicts him.

Ben Gazzara, as Richie's father George, does very well in this movie and is believable as a man who cannot express and connect with his own emotions, much less understand his son who is out of control. Eileen Brennan as Carol, Richie's mother, isn't as good. The movie just doesn't get at how ineffective she was in trying to mediate between her husband and their son.

The climactic scene where Richie threatens his parents with a weapon and George tries to back him off with his revolver is very gripping. Does George kill Richie because he's genuinely scared of him or is he abetting his son's suicide? In the end a grand jury refused to indict George.

I think this movie, were it made today, would be much better although I think it really shocked people back in the day.

If You hang out with Trash, eventually you'll become trash. I have a HIgh School friend that started out with just Pot. Ron A. , from Novato Hight School, class of 85 is not longer around. He only made it up until 88.