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Electra glide in blue - James William Guercio - 1973


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je vais le mater apres +clair

 

 

 

 

C'est du bon ?

 

coupe-t-il du bois ?

 

est-ce qu'il écratele les langoustes ?

 

Motorcycle Cops, Friends, and Honesty Above All, September 16, 2005

Reviewer: Gregory L. Knox "Jonny Ringo" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

As a 10 yr veteran cop in the 70's and 80's, this classic was an inspiration for all motor-cops. It sets the pace of law enforcement. Slow days combined with mystery, love, and deadly action. It shows why cops are so clickish, and about how friendship cop bonding is the most important ... except honesty. When your partner dies it's bad enough, but when it's you who does it ..... it's the end of the world. Then when you are finally on your way out of the rut and do a nice thing for someone .... it's your turn .... five stars for storyline, beauty, truth about the "job", and the love/hate we all experience.

 

 

 

 

Disappointing, October 3, 2005

Reviewer: Fyodor - See all my reviews

I'd read good stuff about this film, and it just wasn't very good. There was way too much overacting, and the main character was a friggin' dork. Why am I supposed to root for some highway patrol cop with a Napoleon complex? The ending was the only slightly satisfying aspect of it, and even then the blood looked fake. It was kinda funny seeing Peter Cetera as a hippie, though. For that I give it an extra star.

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful 70s Nostalgia With A Message, November 28, 2005

Reviewer: Chris Johnys "CJ." (Welwyn Garden City, Herts, UK.) - See all my reviews

In this overly-ironic age, no one would consider producing such an earnest and moral movie. This was not the case in the early 70s and this film, a directorial debut, shows a little slice of life in 1973 Arizona. The photography is wonderful, making one ache for the wide open spaces of the desert. All of the performances are acceptable and some are most memorable, including those of Robert Blake as the central character and Mitchell Ryan as a bigoted, heartless and useless detective. Take off your 21st century spectacles and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, I liked it, February 16, 2006

Reviewer: J. R. LaFave (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

All in all it's not a great movie. I found the plot somewhat convoluted. The acting is awful at times. Most of the main characters are people I would not associate with but John Wintergreen (a young Robert Blake) was all right. He had an overdeveloped sense of fairness, right and wrong that would eventually do him in. The movie has a quirky personality. At times it's intentionally funny but some of the great scenes are when it's unintentionally funny. I liked the background music. More than a few times it was perfectly suited as background for the associated scene. The chase scenes were well done, at times overdone. The raw, seedy side of the Southwest was the perfect backdrop for this movie. I could almost smell the stale cigarette smoke, beer and urine. The scenery was at times Kodak perfect. Twenty-five years ago I really liked the last song - the one that plays over the credits. Today, I find it preachy and very 60's. I'm surprised the movie has not achieved cult status.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Blake's fine performance as a sawed-off AHiP, April 7, 2002

Reviewer: Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City: Duluth, MN United States) - See all my reviews

(TOP 10 REVIEWER) (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

We can all debate what the pop culture relationship is between "Electra Glide in Blue" and "Easy Rider," but there is definitely something there, although it is basically off of the similar conclusions to the two films more than anything else. I mean, "Easy Rider" was more than guys on motorcycles. This film begins as a murder mystery. In the desert of Arizona a hermit apparently commits suicide. Among the first on the scene are a pair of motorcycle cops, John Wintergreen (Robert Blake) and his partner Zipper Davis (Billy Green Bush). John is a runt who dreams of getting off his Harley and wearing a suit and tie as a detective. He has his suspicions about the "suicide," which are initially dismissed. But then the coroner (Royal Dano) finds a bullet from a second gun and suddenly John has caught the eye of his superiors. Working with Detective Harve Poole (Mitchell Ryan), John gets a taste of the politics of police work and eventually ends up back on his bike.

 

This 1973 film was directed by James W. Guercio, the producer of most of the group Chicago's albums during this period. This was his one film and if you do not buy into the film's pretentiousness, which is definitely a make or break proposition for enjoying this film, you can try and spot the members of Chicago popping up in supporting roles as Bob Zemko, Killer, Pig Man, and more (I do not think there was really a point in time when anybody could actually recognize the members of Chicago on sight, although I might be wrong about that).

 

Everybody I know who likes this film focuses on the performance by Robert Blake, which is universally considered one of his best. There are also some nice moments from veteran character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. as the raving desert lunatic Willie who does some major scene stealing on screen. "Electra Glide in Blue" suffers when it is thought of as a big time production. This is a solid B-movie in the grand tradition, where the performance of the central actor over comes the liabilities of the story and the direction. It does not matter that we have seen this ending before, because it does have poignancy on its own terms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tight, crisp thriller set under the hot Arizona sun......., October 31, 2000

Reviewer: P. Ferrigno "firehouse444" (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

"Electra Glide In Blue" is easily one of my favourite "unknown" films of the 1970's. This was the first (and only) movie directed by rock producer James William Guercio, and in my book it is a top class effort.

 

Robert Blake ( from TV's "Baretta" ) plays ex-Marine now Arizona motorcycle cop, John Wintergreen, desperate to trade his Harley Davidson Electra Glide police motorbike in for four wheels and join the Stockman Motors detectives division. That opportunity presents itself soon enough, when Wintergreen comes across a gunned down corpse in an dilapidated shack and the puzzle of was it just suicide, or was it murder. Blinded by the supposed granduer of the detective's role, Wintergreen becomes sorely disheartened to find out that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the hill. Exposed to bigotry, hate and injustice, his lofty opinions of his police superiors quickly crumble as he realises the brutal and impersonal nature of their personalities.

 

The talented and versatile cast is what makes "Electra Glide in Blue" really crackle....Billy Green Bush plays Wintergreen's partner "Zipper" Davis...an abusive and arrogant police officer who is ultimately so insecure and lonely. The talented actor Mitchell Ryan plays head of detectives Harve Poole, another bombastic and narcisstic man seething with resentment and insecurities wracking his life. Jeannine Riley is the lonely, heartbroken waitress ?Joelene"....seeking warmth and affection in the arms of the local police officers....and the wonderful character actor, Royal Dano, is the tired and irritable Coroner. Plus, I can't leave out veteran character actor, Elisha Cook Jr., as the half witted desert loner, Willy. In the early 1970's, Guercio had produced several albums for rock group "Chicago" and he cast several band members in minor roles in "Electra Glide"....trumpeter Lee Loughnane is "Pig Man", singer/bassist Peter Cetera plays biker "Bob Zemko", guitarist Terry Kath is "Killer" ( Kath died tragically in Jan. 1978 from a gun accident ) and session musician David "Hawk" Wolinski as the harassed VW minibus driver.

 

Add to this fine cast some spectacular cinematography of the stunning Arizona landscape and a haunting and somewhat foreboding soundtrack...and you have an interesting, thought provoking and powerful film that keep's surprising you right up until the final frames.

 

A worthy addition to your collection of great 1970's films.....

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  • 3 years later...

Alors comme vous le savez - ou peut-être pas - le film sort le 8 juin chez Wild Side.

 

Et comme je suis super sympa je vais copier coller les specs du site presse WS :

 

1973. John Wintergreen, membre d’une patrouille de police de l’Arizona, arpente les routes du désert sur sa moto rutilante. Mais son rêve est ailleurs : devenir détective, tomber l’uniforme du motard pour les Stetson et le casque blanc pour le cigare. Le meurtre d’un vieillard va lui offrir cette chance.

 

Road movie immobile et contemplatif, western moderne partout hanté par le fantôme de John Ford, Electra Glide in Blue fut tourné à Monument Valley et en Cinémascope. Avec ses paysages sublimes, son atmosphère mélancolique, ce film, à la fois culte et injustement méconnu, prend le contre pied de Easy Rider (ici, les flics tirent même sur son affiche !) et explore les états d’âme d’une classe moyenne déboussolée, coincée entre l’essoufflement de la contre-culture et la corruption des valeurs conservatrices. Producteur de musique, compositeur et ancien manager du groupe Chicago (dont les membres font une courte apparition sous les traits de bikers hippies), Guercio, alors âgé de 27 ans, signe son premier et unique film. Révélé dans De sang froid de Richard Brooks (1963), popularisé par la série Baretta dans lequel il interprétait le rôle d’un flic hors normes, Robert Blake réapparût à la fin des années 1990 sous les traits cadavériques de L’Homme mystère dans Lost Highway de David Lynch. Ici, il incarne un anti-héros typique du cinéma américain des années 1970, fort d’un idéal professionnel et moral que le film va méthodiquement détruire. La scène finale, aussi abrupte qu’éblouissante, compte sans doute parmi les plus belles séquences de l’histoire du cinéma.

Enfin, la bande originale du film, composée par James Willliam Guercio lui-même, est une merveille.

 

CARACTERISTIQUES TECHNIQUES

2h03 minutes | Master restauré - 2.35, 16/9e comp. 4/3

Langues : Anglais Mono | Sous-titres : Français

 

LES BONUS : DVD

Présentation du film par Jean-Baptiste Thoret (13’)

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  • 2 months later...

2h que je n'ai pas vu passer et pourtant des fois on les sent bien profond, là non c'est plutôt bien rythmé, c'est super beau, super bien réalisé, Robert Blake est excellent.

l'intro et les 2 scènes d'habillage pèsent très lourd.

 

et les sous titres pèsent aussi, du bon langage

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C'est drôle, le film est passé 20 ans auparavant sur canal+ un mercredi sous le titre "dérapage contrôlé". Le film était répertorié comme téléfilm avec ce résumé: "un motard complexé par sa petite taille échange sa moto contre une voiture de patrouille. Le hasard le met sur la piste d'un meurtre maquillé en suicide". Ce n'est qu'aujourd'hui grâce la recherche google que je découvre qu'il s'agit de electra glide in blue. Me reste à voir ce film pour vérifier si le programme télé d'époque a bien résumé le film.

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CLe film était répertorié comme téléfilm avec ce résumé: "un motard complexé par sa petite taille échange sa moto contre une voiture de patrouille. Le hasard le met sur la piste d'un meurtre maquillé en suicide".

 

y'a du vrai, il est pas complexé, bien au contraire

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  • 2 years later...

Vu ce film qui se traine une belle reput' et qu'on a un peu ressorti du néant depuis une paire d'années. C'est sympa, même si je dois dire que j'en attendais peut être un peu plus.. C'est pleinement inscrit dans toute une vague du ciné US 70's, efficace, bien joué, bien exécuté, mais je dois dire que je suis pas rentré plus que ça dans le film. Quelques scènes très efficaces, des moments marquants, mais je sais pas, l'ensemble ne dépasse pas le stade du "bon film" pour moi. Ce qui est déjà pas mal vous me direz....

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Je l'ai enfin vu. Un bon film avec une intro et une fin sublime mais entre les 2 l'éternelle mécanisme de démystification propre aux 70's, ce qui m'a d'ailleurs un peu gonflé. J'aurai préféré un film entier bien facho, dans la veine de l'intro. Je confirme, le scope est juste magnifique et il explose justement au début du film avec ces gros plans fétichistes sur les objets et à la fin avec ces vues de monument valley et le sublime ralenti final.

je me demande d'ailleurs si le fétichisme du film n'a pas inspiré le look du 1er Mad Max.

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  • 7 years later...

Du même avis que les deux du dessus !

 

C'est carré, efficace, bien réalisé et interprété avec un BO bien funky. La scène d'intro et le final défonce tout, mais entre les deux c'est juste sympa. Certes il y a des hippies dégueulasses, une course poursuite en moto vraiment bien foutue et les paysages désertiques de l'Arizona sont juste magnifiques.

 

Mais pas de claquage de beignet malgré tout. Juste un bon film indé 70's, et c'est déjà très bien !

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