Customer Reviews

Visitors [VHS]

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I bought this movie in spite of bad reviews from critics; reason - I am interested in the work of Steve Railsback. This is one of his earliest movies; the theme is one of revenge basically but there is a sub-plot which is not spelled out and is deeply psychological. It deals with the inherent violence of the human race and the battle to conquer these tendencies. Steve Railsback's performance as the vengeful soldier is chilling but at the same time he manages to portray some vulnerability in the character. I did not find it repulsive but it's not for the faint hearted.

The Visitors (Elia Kazan, 1972)

The whole time I was watching The Visitors, the penultimate film from American icon Elia Kazan (East of Eden, A Streetcar Named Desire, etc.), I kept saying to myself "I can't believe this is an Elia Kazan film." I'm still trying to figure out whether this is a good thing or not. I think it is.

The only feature script written by Kazan's son Chris, The Visitors is the story of the two lives of Bill Schmidt (James Woods in his big-screen debut), a Vietnam veteran who came home, settled down, got married, had a kid, and is living a generally idyllic life until two of the guys in his old unit, Mike Nickerson (Steve Railsback, in his any-kind-of-screen debut) and Tony Rodrigues (The Howling's Chico Martinez), pay him an unannounced visit. Things are tense from the get-go, but as the visit continues, they get weirder and more violent.

This is one of those movies where you know from the start things will not end well, but suspense isn't one of the things this movie is going for. Odd for a thriller, but Kazan (Chris) was obviously influenced by directors like Buñuel. Strange little branches of this story flower in unexpected places, few characters are who they seem, and somehow Kazan (Elia this time) never really seems as if he's out of his element, though he most assuredly is; The Visitors is more grindhouse classic than AFI classic, as understated as it is (for most of its length, anyway). Add in the stars being in exactly the right place for the casting director to have scored two complete unknowns who would, within a couple of years, be household names (Railsback in Helter Skelter, Woods in The Way We Were), and whether you find the subject matter compelling or not (whatever else this may be, it is a Vietnam War film), this is must-see TV. As a final note, I just read a review that compared it to Michael Haneke's Funny Games, and while I've been straining my brain while writing this for a different film it reminded me of, that one comes almost as close, so I'll mention it. (Mine probably would have given away a critical plot twist anyway.) *** ½

The Visitors (United Artists, 1972) was director Elia Kazan's eighteenth film.

Bill (James Woods) and Martha (Patricia Joyce) live in a Connecticut farmhouse owned by Martha's domineering father, Harry (Patrick McVey), with their infant son. They are not married and their relationship is not close.

Two visitors arrive at the house in search of Bill. He had testified against Sarge (Steve Railsback) and Tony (Chico Martinez) at a court martial for atrocities committed in Vietnam and the two were imprisoned for two years. The intentions of the visitors are unclear and Bill is nervous and fearful.

Harry stops by for a visit. He's an overbearing redneck who enjoys the company of the manly guests as much as he despises his daughter's passive boyfriend.

Sarge is increasingly attracted to Martha who traipses around the house in a form-fitting miniskirt. As the night progresses, Martha confronts Sarge regarding his rape and murder of a Vietnamese girl but is also attracted to his aggressiveness. They begin dancing and become increasingly more intimate until Bill breaks things up and attacks Sarge. A fight ensues and Bill is knocked unconscious. Sarge rapes Martha and leaves with Tony. When Bill regains consciousness and asks Martha if she's all right, she just stares at him.

After the failure of The Arrangement (1969), Kazan had great difficulty finding financial backing for film projects. He discussed the idea of The Visitors with his son, Chris, who proposed they do the film. Chris Kazan wrote the script. The shoestring-budget movie was filmed in 16mm at Kazan's home in Newtown, Connecticut. It's unique among all of Kazan's films because of its extremely basic production methods.

Kazan stated The Visitors was an "anti-war picture," which was about "the price of the Vietnam War on the soul of the American people." The acting is extremely uneven but the building tension between the characters is palpable. Railsback's character is especially convincing as a coiled cobra patiently waiting to strike. The viewer will notice several similarities between this film and Sam Pekinpah's Straw Dogs (1971), which also featured a passive protagonist who reaches a breaking point.

The Visitors unfortunately is not available on DVD, only on VHS. Thankfully, my VCR is still operational.

I had heard of this movie before but was nerver allowed to see it when it was out. I often thought of this movie when I caught the last 45 minutes if this thriller of TV so I purched it from Amazon.
The visitors a psycological thriller of two friends visiting an army buddy they served in Vietnam with. The buddies had a score to settle so they went to a New England town for this visit. A lot of anger presented it self from the moment the buddies were invited in.In a flash this movie held me and made me realize what so called buddies can do to a friend and his girl.