Customer Reviews

Greaser's Palace [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This movie is amazing. Amazing in the way it effects people. One in five will love it, the other four will hate it, all five will never stop talking about it. I saw this movie when it hit the theaters in NYC in 1970. I, as everybody else in the theater, was confused. For some reason we thought the movie was a fifties revival movie. No one was prepared to see a return of Jesus to the wild west. I bought a copy of this movie and view it at least once a year. It takes me a year to recover. After viewing it many times with others, the power of this movie never fails to exert itself on it's viewers. I have aquaintances who saw this move over twelve years ago. They still bring it up (or blame me for it) when they see me now. About four years ago I read the Bagavad Gita a number of times. One of the many insights I enjoyed was .... "what Greasers Palace was about." After viewing this movie numerous times since 1970, I finally got it. It is worth getting and viewing this movie and trying to figure out why it upsets people so much. Greasers Palace does something to dig into the psyche. When I watch Mick Jagger in the movie "Performance," I wonder how that movie could have become the leading cause of in-theater violence in U.S. history. Like "Greasers Palace," it makes you wonder.

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing this film at A&O Films B-fest 2001. Wow! It's so hard to describe, but if you're into strange things this is a definite must see. It is guaranteed to mess with your head and keep you begging for more. When I tell people about this movie they just don't believe me. Yes, there really is a mariachi band playing every time that guy goes to the toilet!

(Sorry, I'm being a bad boy--the negative review below really got to me) I'm sorry but it seems any adventurous film out there gets at least one "pretentious hip drivel" review. It's almost always a mercifully short review too because, well, where do you go from there; how do you prove a movie is pretentious or drivel? Strange films always have this potential which is why I generally cut to: Was it fun, weird, interesting, amusing, whatever?

This is a fun film and it's full of surprises so it passes fine. Hey, I hated "Being John Malkovich" because there was little in the movie I hadn't seen before. It seemed like a compendium of the film maker's favorite oddball films. You want really oddball? Try "The Dark Backward" still awaiting DVD release.

Addendum to my previous review of "Greaser's Palace": in this film, God The Father looks like Walt Whitman. Since we all know that to be truly the case, it is another reason to recommend the film.

NEW DVD COMING, DON'T PAY THE CURRENTLY INFLATED PRICE OF THE OLD VERSION! I won't bother to review this brilliant, if at times a bit lifeless, film from Downey's creative peak era as it has already been done very well by others on here, but I do want to let everyone that a company called Scorpion Releasing will be issuing a DVD around summer 2010 which will include a new transfer and special features, so to all who have been contemplating about whether or not to spend a sizable portion of your monthly income on the out of print Image release, DON'T.

You just can't help but want to watch more. I mean, this movie is soo weird you keep asking yourself "Is this for real, are they serious?!" My favorite quote in this movie was definitly by Alan Alda...or is it Arkin...anyway "What's going down here?" and you'll trully be asking yourself that as you watch this oddity.

I have seen this film probably fifty plus times. Many of those times were at the midnight $1.00 showing at George Eliots's Film Forum in Atlanta, when it first came out and later, circa 1972-1975. My crowd is still quoting lines from this film 40 years later. What that says about us, I can't imagine. What it says about the movie is: see it!! The reviewer who pointed out about five viewers seeing it, one liking, four hating, all talking about it, that is very true.

RIP Bestoink Dooley!

Jesus copulates with a young woman in the front cab of a surrey-with-the-fringe-on-top. He does quite a good job of it-their ecstasy is such that said surrey collapses. Was reminiscent of the fable of Krishna and the milkmaids (although this paralell theme here is handled with ridiculous, outrageous humor- that's fine, humor doesn't have to take a back seat to solemnity!).

Also stuff about valuing humanity over technological comfort- meaning, as a cautionary not to become too enamored of the creation of man instead of recognizing the value of the creation of God.

Also stuff about how some meanness in this world could be the result of dyspepticism.

Good camera work. Good music (which creates a religious feel).

Way to go, Robert Downey, Sr.!!!

This can be found as a dvdr copy if you look hard enough.
The "collector" prices are hard to swallow.

A wild, many-layered tale of caballeros, saloon girls, mariachis and healing,this most remarkable movie places the Holy Trinity (yes, that Father, Son and Holy Ghost!) in the late 19th century Wild West. Truly a masterpiece. This film is worth seeing over and over again.