La guerra del cittadino Joe

In this truly unique and penetrating movie that both personifies a culture clash and its inherent differences,the viewer gets a first hand look at the late 60's,early 70's and what they stood for.A drastic change in the way people dressed,wore hair,talked and thought.A mindset of differing views amongst the populace.The establishment vs. the Hippies.For within this movie are more than just characterizations,but more specifically,an outlook on life,war,habits,religion and peace. The main focal point and protagonist {JOE} is an unworldy blue collar stiff,who's fierce loyalty to flag and country is aptly on display in his basement,being a showcase of sorts for his gun collection,war memorabilia and medals.Living in a simple neighborhood with clone together housing and working in a factory,his life is relagated to wife's ordinary meatloaf with plenty of ketchup,beer at local bar and more beer at home and in basement ,of course.A rather humdrum existance,except for his views on many a topic of late - war,peace and them Hippies.And of course the blacks.Couldn't be a good bigot without mentioning and uttering the N word as vociferously and with such ease of authority as our rude and crude lead character.Yet,for all his apparent character flaws,I was drawn too.He was the genuine article and real character of sorts. Enter the Hippie element in the form of Susan Sarrandon and very authentic-looking Hippie boyfriend and their pad.Living in the village and surrounded by all kinds of Hippieish stuff like candles,tie-dye sheets and of course plenty of hippie clothes and long hair.Their a couple of drug-induced pushers{heroine habit} who look and act the part with authority.Slacking their way thru society and on the nerves of upper class white-collar father Dennis Patrick,who finds comfort and kindship with JOE as the two battle them Hippies,as Sarandon flees the scene to escape her strong-willed and establishment father.So Joe and father have a twofold mission;to find his daughter,and kick a little Hippie butt ,while on trail. The village hunt is exciting and takes me back to my early hippie days,hanging around those hippie places{every big city had a village of sorts}.which were nicely photographed.The movie has a certain air of conscienceness and feel for the early peace movement and its supporters and detractors.As the viewer becomes more and more acquainted with Joe and new buddy {white-collar Patrick},we witness a tour of mind and manners,both alcohol and drug fueled for culture clash and intensified search on meaning and lifestyle of the times.Absolutely,one of the best movies to show disparate view on the subject of clashing generations With an unorthodox ending and stark realization of denouement,this is a truly unique and compelling tale of society as it was unravelling before a generations eyes. 5 out of 5 star or 10/10 for brilliant story of mores and manners ,circa late 60's.Dig Daddio

New Yorkers contemporaneous with this film will recall how reflective of its time it is and how well cast and crew captured America, New York City of that era.

Norman Wexler's script delineates the different worlds the various sub groupings live in and Avildsen's direction brings out phenomenal performances all around. Peter Boyle's prodigious talent is on display as never before nor since. Clearly it is the best character portrayal the always likable Dennis Patrick ever accomplished.

What I will always remember about JOE is the feeling of having been in a virtual state of shock coming out of the theater. Knowing that what the screen portrayed was seething under the surface in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York.

This film needs to be remembered.

Wealthy businessman Bill Compton (played by Dennis Patrick) accidentally kills his daughter's hippie boyfriend after an argument. Panic-stricken, he retreats to a bar, and meets Joe Curran (played by Peter Boyle): a loud-mouth, angry, bigot who is bitter over how his beloved country has become. Unintentionally, Bill allows Joe to find out that he just killed a hippie. And this is only the beginning. "Joe" is a classic film of an unlikely friendship. A bond between two men, one of a white-collar background, the other of a blue-collar background. Bill & Joe have one thing in common, they are disgraced over how crazy the world has become. Dennis Patrick & Peter Boyle have both given very realistic portrayals of their characters. Director John G. Avidsen with this "pre-Rocky" effort, directs this low-budget gem with the same finesse as a movie with a $100 million budget. The script is loaded with excellent character development and very snappy, realistic dialog. In spite of its strengths this film does have its weaknesses. The script falls asleep roughly 3/4 of the way through, but it wakes up just in time for the jarring climax. This film also features a very early and uninspiring performance by a 24-year old Susan Sarandon as Bill's daughter Melissa, along with her hippie boyfriend Frank, portrayed very blandly by Patrick Mc Dermott. One could only be thankful that he was killed off early in the film. In spite of its few flaws this is one of those forgotten films of the 70's that should not be. Even though "Joe" is very dated to today's standards, the chemistry between Dennis Patrick & Peter Boyle is completely relevant today, and it is the glue that holds the whole film together.

"Joe" is one of those movies where, although you think that it might go along smoothly, ends up hitting you like...I can't come up with an analogy. It showed not only that America's long-standing idea of unity was moot, but also the various aspects within our society. Melissa Compton (Susan Sarandon) is the ultimate flower child, while her father Bill (Dennis Patrick) is a clean-cut executive. One day, Bill accidentally kills Melissa's boyfriend. In the immediate aftermath, Bill gets acquainted with Joe Curran (Peter Boyle), an ultra-right-wing, rabidly racist working stiff. As a result, the two of them end up associating more and more with the hippies, whom Bill finds unpleasant and Joe outright hates. But in the end, everything has dead serious consequences.

True, some parts of the movie are a little bit dated, but it's a good juxtaposition of America's two sides during the Vietnam War. And rest assured, the residual effects of all that will probably never go away.

This was the first movie I viewed, just by chance, after my discharge from active duty in the Army in 1970. Forty-two years later, remembering nothing of the plot, only that I left the theater very emotional (rare for me), I found a DVD copy at a local library.

I now realize why I have since not been able to regard Peter Boyle as anything but a frightening character, even in his comic role on the TV series "Everybody Loves Raymond." To be fair, his 1976 role in "Taxi Driver" didn't help, but his face, as seen in "Joe", is still the stuff of nightmares for me.

That said, I learned that it was the now long-forgotten hostility between sectors of our society, so brutally represented in the film, created by the debacle in Vietnam that affected me so deeply in 1970. Today, even to one who was there, the experience of living in an America so torn, so close to open rebellion, is hard to conceive - even harder to explain. But fresh off the plane, still somewhat glum from the cold stares at the airport caused by my uniform, this film hit me like a hammer. And guessing from the huge profit it made, it did the same to many.

It shocked me that I hadn't remembered Susan Sarandon was in this film - she has been one of my favorites - and, as a bonus, the then 24 year-old Ms. Sarandon appears nude. How could I have possibly forgotten that?