SECONDS (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY

I watched the BLURAY and it is excellent quality - 16.9 ratio, good sound and subtitles. Extras listed here, not seen by me. I do love a diverse opinion or two, and wonder if I am watching the same film/play /concert etc as the person who thinks he is watching a masterpiece, and I think it is a bit of a bore. To be fair, although I do think the script (and direction, after all he is in charge) is boring for a lot of the time, the acting is spot on. Possibly Hudson's most difficult role, and he is very good. The support cast are all first rate (Corey/Geer/John Randolph/Richard Anderson/Murray Hamilton), and though any actress of the time could play Nora, Salome Jens is just fine. Many regard this as Frankenheimer's masterpiece, yet why did I get so frustrated? The long beginning with Arthur Hamilton - it's meant to show how boring and pointless his life is...and it suceeds in spades. The "hippy" winemaking/orgy...what was that all about?? If Amazon still had the "Comment" I am pretty sure I would be on the receiving end of some fairly sharp ones. I just couldn't get to grips with this even though other Frankenheimer films have impressed me. My loss I guess. So...good quality transfer, good acting, Rock at a career best. Fans Of the director...bound to get something from the film, and it is definitley well worth a go, just to see for yourself. 5 stars for the discs, but 3 for the film (which, if you think about it, is better than One or Two.)

I was curious as it isn't RH's usual type of role. Quite entertaining. Maybe there are things to ponder on about the meaning of life. I believe it's based on a novel if I'm not mistaken.

I saw this film when I was thirteen and it frightened the wits out of me. For many years afterwards I discussed the movie with friends and film fans alike. They had never seen it or heard of it. In fact one friend thought I was trying out a "plot" to him! It is magnificent - the lurid cinematography, the careless horror of the central idea, the fantastic doom laden music by Jerry Goldsmith. It is as good as Hitchcock at his very best and I would love to know if Hitchcock ever saw the movie. The performance from Rock Hudson is the very best of his career - and as Robert Mitchum gave one superb performance in The Night of the Hunter - so here Hudson is perfect in the role and does not actually appear in the film until 44 minutes have passed. This film is in my top five and the Blu Ray DVD combo is first rate. Not a great deal of documentaries and leaves out the very interesting fact that the first person selected to play the Rock Hudson role was Laurence Olivier. Now that would have been a very different movie. A box office disaster. Warning: to relate the plot or to come to the film knowing the story is a real detriment. I saw it first with no knowledge of the subject matter at all - and it bowled me over like Wicker Man or Don't Look Now.

Weird drama not what we were expecting.

Allegedly Rock Hudson, worried that he'd become typecast by starring in too many romantic comedies and looking to expand his range, was keen to appear in Seconds despite friends and colleagues warning him against it. Though the film unfortunately flopped at the box office, Hudson definitely made the right choice - his stunning performance as Antiochus Wilson is one of the high-points of his acting career. The film itself, comparable in some respects to an extended episode of the Twilight Zone or Tales Of The Unexpected I suppose, is an absolute must-see - I was riveted throughout, from Saul Bass's hallucinatory title sequence right up to the grim finale.

Excellent film

Very disturbing film which constantly kept me on edge. I hadn't see the film for many years and whilst it is a bit slow at times it still packs a punch. I won't give away the plot but it helps if you are in the right mood for this type of film as it is not always an easy watch. The black and white cinematography, off kilter camera angles and unsettling music set the scene for a film which you'll certainly remember. Rock Hudson plays a very different role to the ones we're used to and he does a very good job.The extras put the film in the context of Frankenheimer's previous films and include information of which I was previously unaware.

It's difficult for me to not go overboard for this absolute belter of a wonderful Criterion Bluray, it's stunningly transferred in 4k then remastered in 2k.The soundtrack remastered to English LPCM 1.0 with the whole thing being faultless, especially bearing in mind that this was released in 1966. There's commentary featuring Frankenheimer, interviews with Rock Hudson, Alec Baldwin, Evans Frankenheimer (his widow) and a 1971 interview with John Frankenheimer, essays on the film by scholars R.Barton Palmer and Murray Pomerance.To round it off is a booklet featuring another essay by critic David Sterritt. Apparently Brian Wilson arrived late to the theatre one night in 1966 during recording sessions of Smile and heard "Come in Mr. Wilson ", believing it was all about him he stopped recording sessions for the next few decades. The next time he entered a film theatre was in 1982 to see ' ET the extra terrestrial ' it terrified him so much. What a great cinematic legacy!