Customer Reviews

The Second Coming of Suzanne

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The overall mood of THE SECOND COMING OF SUZANNE (1973) is melancholic. Even though we're told well in advance that a Jesus-obsessed filmmaker plans to crucify the new Redeemer (Suzanne), when the actual moment finally comes we're still not prepared for bleached-out Sondra Locke's agonizing screech as Jared Martin pounds a shiny spike through her right wrist while she hangs by ropes from a mounted crucifix.

Of all the excessive, bizarre and psychologically deranged films that came out of the early 1970s, this is truly one of the weirdest. It's little surprise that writer/director Michael Barry (son of Gene) helmed no other movies. (They don't allow you to get near electrical equipment at the Funny Farm, you see.) That he called upon his famous dad to appear in this morass should've brought something positive but alas, Gene was clearly ailing in 1973. Bloated to an enormous size, he had to wear suspenders with suit trousers, the beltline of which rode about 4 inches below the poor man's armpits. (Barry slimmed down again sometime after this atrocity escaped from the bad movie dust bin and assaulted the sensibilities of unsuspecting film patrons.)

I LOVE Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" (it opens and closes this film) and the classic debut LP that it came from. Sadly, I'll never be able to hear that song again without thinking of a goshawful picture about a female Messiah who's spaced out from peroxide fumes.

On every DVD you see of "Suzanne," Richard Dreyfuss is speciously represented as its star. While his character was the only one who wasn't totally insane here, his sobriety is probably why Dreyfuss gets maybe 90 seconds of screen time. He complains that a freaky tribal gathering is not his idea of a business meeting and later screams "No!" as Martin is about to drive the first spike home. That admonition is the only answer anyone who wonders if they should see this claptrap will get from your reviewer. It's a cinematic herpe.

Richard Dreyfuss rules as an obsessed film maker.It's a must see and hopefully will be released on DVD!!!!!

Movie was represented as "zone 1". Actually, the dvd was "zone 0". Zone 0 dvds will not play on "zone 1" players. I had to give it away. Be careful how you list products!!

The director and writers of this aimless menagerie of unrelated scenes must have been high on drugs. A total waste of time and money.