Lovesusti
The Worst Film Ever
Lucybespro
It is a performances centric movie
LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
theoneandonlyjimmypage
Nickelodeon is best to be for fans enjoyed . Enjoyed, and it will do. fortunes do! as it is about the early days of the movies. It's not a chronicle of one or two movie people, but all of them. It was a time in "the states" it was exploration, excitement and graphic art...bold bright flickering crazy strokes...they were madness, genius, fear, boldness. And truth .And lies. (Nickelodeon 1976) " What you're doing is giving them tiny pieces of time that they never forget"
moonspinner55
Director and self-confessed movie-lover Peter Bogdanovich does his comedic take on the early days of cinema--a project which should have been ideal, the perfect match between filmmaker and nostalgia-laden material. But "Nickelodeon", originally written by W.D. Richter before Bogdanovich did a complete rewrite job, doesn't deliver. Combining static slapstick scenes with klutzy romance, the director's timing seems perpetually off, while his large cast seems to struggle. Playing an attorney who turns moviemaker in 1910, Ryan O'Neal probably hoped to resurrect the bespectacled wunderkind he played in "What's Up, Doc?" but hasn't any funny material to work with; Burt Reynolds fares even worse as a stuntman who becomes part of O'Neal's troupe of performers, while newcomer Jane Hitchcock is unmemorable as the leading lady both men pine for. Also caught in the chaotic scramble are Stella Stevens, Brian Keith, John Ritter, and Tatum O'Neal as a pre-teen movie assistant. Tatum, so good opposite father Ryan in 1973's "Paper Moon", hasn't any chemistry with him here--she doesn't even have much screen-time. Bogdanovich painstakingly sets up visual gags that are more strenuous than funny, and his story about pioneer filmmaking never builds any momentum. One of the major movie disappointments of the 1970s. ** from ****
rewolfsonlaw
Just finished watching the color version on Turner Classic Movies. I loved "Paper Moon," especially the wonderful depression-era music, and "The Last Picture Show" (I grew up in Texas not so far from Archer City in the same era), so that's what I knew about Peter Bogdonovich, the director. I echo many of the reviews, without having known about the reception the film apparently received at the time. Even though I was grown when it came out, I just never got around to seeing it. Maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as now, as I approach 60.Yes, it's filled with slapstick, sometimes goofy, but the audience is in on the jokes. I felt like I was invited to the party, with all these wonderful actors (not in the thespian sense, but in the popular sense)as friends. The magic is that it makes you feel comfortable, because loving movies and movie making is part of my life, too. It appreciates the audience and wants us to have a good time with it.The director obviously loves the medium. In many ways, there was a Fellini-esque quality to it, as another reviewer wrote. The magic of Fellini was similar: he used the everyday strangeness of reality to make his films real. Hollywood is the make-believe; reality makes a better film.This is art imitating life. It celebrates the birth of the industry and the magic of the universal language of moving pictures, captured beautifully and simply in Brian Keith's closing monologue. It is Peter's love letter to the industry and to the audience, as only a lover could compose. It is beautifully crafted, the acting balanced throughout the ensemble, and the message delivered with wry humor. Though I didn't see it when released, it may look better now, in nostalgic retrospect. It IS a love letter, and at my age, it is a delightful homage to an industry that just "doesn't make 'em like this anymore." Thank you, Mr. Bogdonovich and all the cast. Love you, too.
haildevilman
This movie is better seen now.At the time of it's release, Bogdanovich had run this formula into the ground.I saw this on video recently and I laughed a little more than I remembered. It still has quite a bit of humor in it.The subject matter is interesting too. Getting a feel for the early days of Hollywood and showing what it was like for the fledgling filmmakers was fun to see.The funniest bit was Leo and Buck's fistfight. That had to be the funniest fight scene I've ever, well, seen.That said, it could have been a lot better. I guess Pete just ran out of comedy at one point. Still worth a rental though.