Drive, He Said

Last updated
Drive, He Said
Drive he said.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jack Nicholson
Written by Jeremy Larner
Jack Nicholson
Terrence Malick (uncredited)
Produced by Steve Blauner
Jack Nicholson
Starring
Cinematography Bill Butler
Edited by Donn Cambern
Christopher Holmes
Pat Somerset
Robert L. Wolfe
Music by David Shire
Production
companies
BBS Productions
Drive Productions Inc.
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • May 24, 1971 (1971-05-24)(Cannes) [1]
  • June 30, 1971 (1971-06-30)(U.S.) [1]
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$800,000

Drive, He Said is a 1971 American independent film directed by Jack Nicholson, in his directorial debut, and starring William Tepper, Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Robert Towne and Henry Jaglom. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Jeremy Larner, the film follows a disenchanted college basketball player who is having an affair with a professor's wife, as well as dealing with his counterculture roommate's preoccupation with avoiding the draft in the Vietnam War. The film features supporting performances by David Ogden Stiers, Cindy Williams, and Michael Warren. The screenplay was adapted by Larner and Nicholson, and included uncredited contributions from Terrence Malick. [2]

Contents

After screening at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was poorly received, the film faced more backlash from the Motion Picture Association of America for its profanity and sexual content, including numerous scenes featuring full-frontal male nudity. [3]

The title comes from the poem "I Know a Man" [4] by Robert Creeley, which a character recites in the opening scene. It also serves as a cryptic reference to basketball, the movie's dominant milieu.

Plot

Hector Bloom is a laconic, libidinous college basketball star distracted by obligations and current events: the misadventures of his volatile roommate Gabriel, a potential pro career, the draft, campus unrest, and a turbulent affair with Olive, the wife of Richard, a professor and friend. His coach pays special attention to him, given Hector's abilities, but is unsure how to get him to focus and fulfill his potential. Hector's attitude, and his coach's frustration, is exemplified by a meeting before an important late-season game where the coach instructs him to "play it straight out there tonight, I don't want any fooling around at all"; to his coach's exasperation, Hector replies "Why not?"

Gabriel, a vulgar borderline psychotic, is far more troubled and committed to rebellion than Hector. He abuses drugs, disrupts a basketball game with a guerrilla theatre stunt, goes crazy during an induction physical, ransacks his apartment, espouses anti-establishment views about everything, and drifts aimlessly.

During a confrontation in a grocery store, Olive informs Hector that she is pregnant, implies he is not the father, and tells him their affair is over. Hector replies that he has "the clap", which infuriates Olive; she warns him that if he follows her, she will call the police.

That night, Hector leads his team to a huge victory; the fans storm the court, and triumphantly carry Hector off. At the same time, Gabriel breaks into Olive's house while she is bathing and physically assaults her. She fends off his attack, eventually running outdoors with Gabriel in pursuit just as Hector drives up. Gabriel, aware of Hector's trysts with Olive, screams at Hector that Olive prefers him over Richard, then runs off when Richard arrives home. Hector confronts Richard, telling him Olive should be with him; a shaken Olive asserts her independence, saying "I'm not going with anybody, anywhere". Richard warns Hector "I'll kill you", then escorts Olive back into their house.

The next morning Gabriel, completely naked, runs into a biology lab and frees snakes, an iguana, mice and other vermin. Eventually campus police and white-coated attendants arrive with a straitjacket; Gabriel rebuffs them, insisting he is both "right and sane". They cloak him in a blanket and lead him into a padded van. Hector, seeing this, jumps onto the back of the van, demanding they open it. As the van pulls away, he jumps off, yelling to Gabriel that his mother called.

Cast

Production

Filming of Drive, He Said took place on the campus of the University of Oregon and other nearby locations, all in Eugene, Oregon. [5]

During a break in the filming of this movie, which he directed and which required a brief non-sexual nude scene for an actress, Jack Nicholson decided to operate his own personal casting couch to find the perfect girl. Nicholson had the most beautiful starlets in Hollywood come to his office and made each disrobe for him. Some were more eager than others, but all disrobed and endured Jack's near-medical examination. He saw more than 100 girls before he chose June Fairchild, an actress he had worked with before, and likely someone he had in mind for the part all along. [6]

Release

Censorship

The Motion Picture Association of America unsuccessfully attempted to grant the film an X rating due to its profanity and sexual content. [7] Among the scenes criticized were several locker room sequences displaying full-frontal male nudity; a protracted sequence in which Margotta's character, Gabriel, goes streaking through the campus; and a sex scene in which Karen Black's character, Olive, has an orgasm. [7]

Critical response

The film was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, [8] where it encountered a stormy reception; [9] The New York Times reported that the movie "set off the most violently negative reaction from an audience at the festival this year. As the lights came up, the people hooted, screamed and whistled. Some got to their feet and waved indignant fists toward where Nicholson and his two actors, William Tepper and Michael Margotta, were seated." [10]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a disorganized but occasionally brilliant movie," with the performances being "the best thing in the movie. Nicholson himself is a tremendously interesting screen actor, and he directs his actors to achieve a kind of intimacy and intensity that is genuinely rare. But if Nicholson is good on the nuances, he's weak on the overall direction of his film. It doesn't hang together for us as a unified piece of work." [11] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote "It is not a great film, but it is an often intelligent one, and it is so much better than all of the rest of the campus junk Hollywood has manufactured that it can be indulged in its sentimental conventions." [12] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film his highest grade of four stars and wrote "The dialog and acting are of the highest calibre...The script respects each character, and the actors deliver fresh, unpredictable performances." [13] Variety called it "an uneven film" with "a bombastic, racy, pellmell style touching on all that has gone before, but with a modern ring which may appeal to youthful audiences." [14] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote of Nicholson's direction: "I think it is an unusually impressive debut. What is least surprising, I suppose, is that Nicholson works extremely well with his actors and has evoked several performances of outstanding quality." [15] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote "While it's not an untalented picture, it is an exasperating and finally insufferable one, because none of its potentially interesting themes or characters ever takes hold...For short periods of time it's possible to persuade yourself that something interesting might come of the athletic theme or the romantic theme or the political theme, but the movie never takes you up on it." [16]

Pauline Kael, looking back on the film in 1978, called it "perhaps the most ambitious, chaotic, and daring of the counterculture films—it had a deranged, dissociated vitality. Though Nicholson couldn't pace it or bring it together, he did seem to have control of the actors, and you knew that nobody was just trying to charm you—they were all trying to get something new on the screen." [17] A later assessment from Steven H. Scheuer found the film "utterly downbeat, and unfortunately dated". [18] Leonard Maltin's home video guide awarded two-and-a-half stars out of four and found the film "confusing", and while he also praised the acting performances, he found that the film "loses itself in its attempt to cover all the bases". [19]

The film holds a score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews. [20]

Home media

In 2010, the film was issued on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection, as part of the "America Lost and Found" box set, which features a number of other films produced by BBS Productions, including Head (1968), Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), A Safe Place (1971), and The Last Picture Show (also 1971). [21] Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment issued a standalone DVD as part of the Sony Pictures "Choice" Collection on June 4, 2013. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Easy Rider</i> 1969 film by Dennis Hopper

Easy Rider is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South, carrying the proceeds from a cocaine deal. Other actors in the film include Jack Nicholson, Karen Black and Toni Basil. The success of Easy Rider helped spark the New Hollywood era of filmmaking during the early 1970s.

<i>Five Easy Pieces</i> 1970 US drama film by Bob Rafelson

Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American road drama film directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Rafelson and Carole Eastman, and starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, and Ralph Waite. The film tells the story of surly oil rig worker Bobby Dupea (Nicholson), whose rootless blue-collar existence belies his privileged youth as a piano prodigy. When Bobby learns that his father is dying, he travels to his family home in Washington to visit him, taking along his uncouth girlfriend (Black).

<i>Terms of Endearment</i> 1983 drama film directed by James L. Brooks

Terms of Endearment is a 1983 American family tragicomedy film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel of the same name. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow. The film covers 30 years of the relationship between Aurora Greenway (MacLaine) and her daughter Emma Greenway-Horton (Winger).

<i>The Last Detail</i> 1973 film directed by Hal Ashby

The Last Detail is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Carol Kane. It follows two career sailors assigned to escort a young emotionally withdrawn junior sailor from their Virginia base to Portsmouth Naval Prison in Maine.

<i>About Schmidt</i> 2002 American film

About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel by Louis Begley. After it was released in theaters by New Line Cinema on December 13, 2002, the film enjoyed both critical and commercial success, earning $105.8 million on a $30 million budget.

Henry David Jaglom is an English-born American actor, film director and playwright.

<i>Goin South</i> 1978 film directed by Jack Nicholson

Goin' South is a 1978 American Western comedy film directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, with Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi, Richard Bradford, Veronica Cartwright, Danny DeVito and Ed Begley Jr..

Michael Margotta is an American actor.

<i>A Safe Place</i> 1971 film by Henry Jaglom

A Safe Place is a 1971 American drama film written and directed by Henry Jaglom and starring Tuesday Weld, Orson Welles, and Jack Nicholson.

Jeremy Larner is an author, poet, journalist, and speechwriter. He won an Oscar in 1972 for Best Original Screenplay, for writing The Candidate.

<i>Ironweed</i> (film) 1987 film by Héctor Babenco

Ironweed is a 1987 American drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. Adapted to the screen by William Kennedy from his similarly named Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Ironweed stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, with Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Nathan Lane, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. The story concerns the relationship of a homeless couple—Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman—during the years following the Great Depression. Major portions of the film were shot on location in Albany, New York. The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb, but Nicholson and Streep received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances.

<i>Wake in Fright</i> 1971 film by Ted Kotcheff

Wake in Fright is a 1971 Australian New Wave film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Evan Jones, and starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay and Jack Thompson. Based on Kenneth Cook's 1961 novel of the same name, it follows a young schoolteacher who descends into personal moral degradation after finding himself stranded in a brutal, menacing town in outback Australia.

<i>Getting Straight</i> 1970 US comedy film by Richard Rush

Getting Straight is a 1970 American comedy film motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Murders in the Rue Morgue</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Gordon Hessler

Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1971 American mystery horror film directed by Gordon Hessler by American International Pictures (AIP). It stars Jason Robards, Christine Kaufmann, Herbert Lom, Adolfo Celi, Michael Dunn and Lilli Palmer. The screenplay by Christopher Wicking and Henry Slesar is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of the same name. However, it departs from Poe's version in several significant aspects, at times more resembling Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, and incorporating the historical character Eugène François Vidocq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Nicholson</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1937)

John Joseph Nicholson is a retired American actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. Throughout his five-decade career he received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Film Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He also received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1994 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure.

<i>Too Soon to Love</i> 1960 American film

Too Soon to Love, also known as High School Honeymoon and Teenage Lovers, is a 1960 American exploitation film directed by Richard Rush and starring Richard Evans, Jennifer West and Jack Nicholson.

<i>One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest</i> (film) 1975 drama film based on the novel by Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American psychological drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a new patient at a mental institution, alongside Louise Fletcher as the domineering head nurse. Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Sydney Lassick, William Redfield, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif co-star, with the latter two making their feature film debuts.

Gerald Ayres was an American film studio executive, producer and screenwriter. He is known for his work as producer of The Last Detail (1973) starring Jack Nicholson and as writer of Rich and Famous (1981) the last film directed by George Cukor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Nicholson filmography</span>

Jack Nicholson is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who made his film debut in The Cry Baby Killer (1958). Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation. He is also one of the most critically acclaimed: his 12 Academy Award nominations make him the most nominated male actor in the Academy's history. He is also a Kennedy Center Honoree and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.

William Tepper was an American actor and screenwriter, best known for his lead role in Jack Nicholson's directorial debut, Drive, He Said (1971).

References

  1. 1 2 "Drive, He Said". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "William Tepper Dies: Star Of Jack Nicholson's 'Drive, He Said' Was 69". Deadline Hollywood . October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ McDougal 2008, p. 137.
  4. ↑ "I Know A Man". Poetry Foundation . Poetry. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  5. ↑ "Filmed in Oregon 1908-2015" (PDF). Oregon Film Council. Oregon State Library. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson, p. 180 , p. 180, at Google Books
  7. 1 2 McDougal 2008, pp. 137–138.
  8. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Drive, He Said". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  9. ↑ Harvey, Duston (August 4, 1971). "Nicholson 'Depressed' By Reception To Directing Effort". The World . p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Grenier, Cynthia (May 25, 1971). The New York Times . 44.
  11. ↑ Ebert, Roger Drive, He Said., RogerEbert.com Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  12. ↑ Canby, Vincent (June 14, 1971). "Screen: Nicholson's 'Drive, He Said'". The New York Times . 49.
  13. ↑ Siskel, Gene (July 26, 1971). "Drive, He Said". Chicago Tribune . Section 2, p. 9.
  14. ↑ "Film Reviews: Drive, He Said". Variety . June 2, 1971. 15.
  15. ↑ Champlin, Charles (June 30, 1971). "Nicholson Makes Director Debut". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 1.
  16. ↑ Arnold, Gary (September 28, 1971). "Drive, He Said". The Washington Post . B6.
  17. ↑ Kael, Pauline (December 11, 1978). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker . 75.
  18. ↑ Scheuer, Steven H. (1990) Movies on TV and Videocassette, Bamtam Books, New York. p. 294.
  19. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1991) Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1992, Signet, New York. p. 325.
  20. ↑ "Drive, He Said". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Drive, He Said". The Criterion Collection . Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Drive, He Said DVD". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.