huckfunn

I have fond memories of the original series, not just because it was so well done but because I worked for Don Meier Productions, in Chicago, c. 1977-78. It was a great place to work for a first job out of college. (At the wages they paid, though, I was pretty much forced to move on.)

The show had been in production for 15 years at that point, and was a well-oiled machine. The ever-dapper Don Meier had cinematographers scattered around the globe shooting raw footage. The footage was sent to the offices on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, where very experienced editors would piece together each show. Then, the writer (Allan Eckert?) would create a script that conformed to the visuals -- just the reverse of how fictional stories are shot and produced (although this may still be the method used with wildlife and other documentaries).

One of my jobs was to edit in the commercial segues, usually spoken by Marlin Perkins ... "Just as the mother lion protects her cubs, you can protect your family with Mutual of Omaha ..."

It was a treat to watch these pros at work, and to learn from them. Animal Planet and all the animal-related shows on the Discovery Channel owe much to these pioneers. Though it would be great to see the old shows (and Marlin, Jim, Stan) on TV again, I believe the advances in animal photography and documentary production make that, sadly, unlikely.

I want to chime in on this film because it really scared the H-E-Double Bamboo Sticks out of me, motivated me to read the Playboy article about the incident, and then the well-researched book by the same name.

Brian Dennehy is perfectly cast as the villain -- although the real guy was even creepier, more violent and sociopathic. The film doesn't give any real back story, which is a possible but negligible shortcoming. The book, however, does a good job of illustrating how this poor country boy developed into the alienated monster he was, and how he fit (or rather didn't fit) into the community.

This story could have taken place in any small town. I happen to be from Missouri, and every summer I pass through and visit similar one-light towns in the Ozarks. (Just so we're straight on the geography, Skidmore, where this took place, is NOT near Springfield, per one reviewer, but in the northwest corner of the state.) The impression I always get is that because the townsfolk know each other, they are careful to get along with their neighbors. IBD is about how to deal with someone who has no intention of getting along with the neighbors.

I won't spoil the ending, but it is shocking, and a relief, when it comes, especially after the buildup of suspense and terror -- and it really does seem to render "justice." Love the line from the old farmer: "I didn't see nothing. And if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

This is an atmospheric TV movie that works as quality cinema.

I got tired of watching my censored taped-from-TV version of this film, so I finally bought the DVD. I am one happy hombre. In addition to the superior video and audio quality, one gets several unobstructed views of the object of Gere's love/lust -- and that's no insignificant treat.

One reviewer aptly referred to this film as Gere doing his "early-80s cheeseball riff on the sexiest man alive." I concur. "Breathless" could be seen as an expansion of his minor role as Diane Keaton's dangerous pretty-boy in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" -- transposed from wintery Chicago to sultry L.A.

I won't analyze this film. It doesn't hold up under criticism, and certainly there is plenty to dislike, starting with the relentlessly sociopathic behavior of its protagonist. Rather, in the spirit of the film's love-almost-conquers-all theme, here's just a partial list of what I love about "Breathless":

1. Kaprisky in her see-through swimsuit. Rowrrrr! The rest of her wardrobe is pretty damn sexy, too. (The jury's still out on Gere's blue 'soot.')

2. The kiss at the diving board. It has to be one of the best in cinema history. Kaprisky is a goner after that.

3. Gere's line: "I think maybe I was rolling dice when I should have been rolling you." Cheesy, sure, but look at her face when he says it.

4. The shower scene, together. Kaprisky running hot and cold. "Jesse, you're crazy." ... "So what?" ... "It's OK. I like it."

5. Gere turning female heads wherever he goes, as he exudes his studly scent.

6. Los Angeles as The Place to Be. I lived and loved in L.A. during the early/mid-80s, and can vouch for the intoxication of being young and on the go in the City of Dreams. It's one big-ass place. McBride and veteran lensman Richard Kline do a superb job of capturing its heat, light (L.A. sunsets put a glow over the whole city), and diversity -- from the downtown hotels and office towers, to the industrial sections, to the Hollywood hills, to upscale West L.A., to the beach communities (where we see what must be every mural in L.A.).

7. The amazing ending. Gere taking his "all-or-nothing" motto to the wire. In what other movie will you see a dude dancing and singing to his woman while the cops have their guns drawn on him?

"Breathless" is Gere at his best. Maybe Kaprisky, too, for whatever that's worth. Don't think too hard about it. Just enjoy the ride.