kristabridges I saw this movie thinking it would be a wacky comedy because it had Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in it (they were both in The Producers so I figured it would be that level of comedy with slapstick and obvious jokes). Instead this movie is not like that at all, it was a complete surprise with a bizarre story line. Gene Wilder plays a guy who starts hallucinating and seeing the people around him in his life and in his town actually turning into rhinoceroses (or is it rhinoceri I have no idea?) It is definitely strange to watch and it is definitely more of a satire and drama and a comment about society at the time in the 1970s than it was a straight up comedy but it's definitely worth watching and good, it will stick with you.

Lee Eisenberg Tom O'Horgan's "Rhinoceros" is based on Eugène Ionesco's play. An exercise in the theater of the absurd, the play was intended as an indictment of Nazism, showing how everyone simply acquiesces to events around them. I guess that the movie doesn't really focus on the political aspect as much, but it's still a funny movie. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder basically reprise their roles from "The Producers", only this time it's a world in which all the people are turning into odd-toed ungulates. Nothing can stop the transformations! Admittedly, it's a totally outlandish idea. But, that's a characteristic of the theater of the absurd. We don't actually see any members of the family Rhinocerotidae, we just hear their snorts. Nonetheless, I was laughing almost the whole time. Wilder is particularly funny as the uptight office clerk who falls apart as he watches all his acquaintances change. Zero Mostel's transformation is the best, while Karen Black's character is the most dynamic in the whole movie.Pretty neat.

bkoganbing The short lived American Film Theater in its few years of existence produced and preserved so many good theatrical works that might never have gotten filmed they deserve the gratitude of all who appreciate the best in plays. One of the best and most interesting preserved work is French playwright Eugene Ionesco's absurdest work, Rhinoceros. It's a very funny work with a strong moral message about individualism.Ionesco knew a little something about zoology in that he picked of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, the Rhinoceros is the one he chose. Rhinoceros is an animal with a thick hide, a small brain relative to its body, good hearing, great sense of smell, but absolutely limited vision. Their tempers are quick to arouse when they perceive a threat and once charging they're hard creature to stop. It's a good thing they're herbivores, if they were carnivores, they not the lion would be king of the jungle. And they travel in herds, when not in their usual mud habitat, chewing on their cud.And Rhinos are what people are gradually turning into in this small town which was set in France, but could easily be any small town in the world. They are a great deal more provincial and the chances of finding folks who are individualistic are slimmer. My guess is that Ionesco lived in small towns in his formative years and hated it.Rhinoceros ran for 240 performances on Broadway in 1961 and starred Zero Mostel and Eli Wallach in the part that Gene Wilder plays in the film. The casting of Wilder was obviously done to exploit the chemistry Mostel and he demonstrated in Mel Brooks's The Producers.Mostel like in The Producers by dint of his stronger personality tries to get Gene Wilder to change his ways. Wilder is a mousy little man who has a dead end job in a newspaper, can't get to first base with the object of his affection, Karen Black, and likes to drink a little too much more than is good for him.But while Zero is giving Gene his spiel about straightening out, the first of many Rhinoceros make their appearance outside the café they are lunching at. Gradually one by one the whole cast turns into these creatures, the whole town does except poor Wilder who is left sheepishly alone.Mostel won a Tony Award for his role in the original Broadway production, but it really is Wilder's film, he definitely has more screen time. Wilder definitely should have gotten more acclaim for what he did in Rhinoceros.The theater of the absurd is not to everyone's taste, but for those that do appreciate it, this production of Rhinoceros should fill your bill.

data87 this is one of the all-time magnificent plays, illuminating ww2 france as it enthusiastically embraced antisemetic nazi ideals. sartre wrote that france could have been germany, and ionesco brought that home with rhinoceros.one could argue that the work applies today as the bush regime asserts its anti-evil doctrine, and so many buy into it without levels of proof demanded in a courtroom, seemingly willingly! it took years for europe to undo analogous nazi assertions (albeit hitler was infinitely worse to jews than bush is to muslims, the propaganda is scary in its similarity), and perhaps the united states is in for the same.regardless of one's political inclination, the movie is amazing. the trio of mostel - wilder - black is magical. a movie that stimulates the mind.