TheLoveBandit I've been meaning to watch his for some time, finally did. In hindsight, I think I've seen it before and forgot. For all the literary jabber about Kurt Vonnegut, I wasn't sure what to expect since I hadn't read much by him, but I expected 'good' or 'though provoking'. Instead I got "meh" and "what?". The acting was pretty good, the story was odd in that our central character is travelling back and forth over his lifetime, not at his control, and we're along with him as he jumps from one point in time to the next. There are some parallels between periods in his life that are reflected well, but I kept wondering if we're supposed to take him as really travelling thru time or just nuts. Ultimately, I didn't really care too much about him, and certainly not about any of the other characters. I didn't take away any insights or reflective questions. I simply endured to the end and hope to not watch it again. I won't recommend for or against watching, you take your chances.

claired-30177 Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)Slaughterhouse-Five, by Oscar Award-winning director George Roy Hill, does a beautiful job of visually depicting the incredibly bizarre, guiltily comical, and thought provoking work of its literary counterpart by Kurt Vonnegut. Billy Pilgrim, a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary World War II veteran played by Michael Sacks, recounts his, and subsequently Vonnegut's, experiences from the war, particularly the horrific fire bombing of the German city of Dresden. The characters of Pilgrim's overweight wife Valencia (Sharon Gans), son Robert (Perry King), and daughter Barbara (Holly Near) all help to create the idea of a normal American family, unmarred by the atrocities of war. Billy's seeming lunacy is a stark contrast to their normalcy. Both the film and book travel through different times of Billy's life, due to his obsession with the Tralfamadorian concept of time, and also his attempt to cope with traumatic experiences by revisiting past events. Although dramatically "time-tripping" through three general periods of time, the movie does manage to convey a chronological progression of happenings, escaping from past stressful or violent circumstances to dwell in more peaceful or happier times in the present. In the war, Billy, then serving as a chaplain's assistant, is captured behind enemy lines during the famous Battle of the Bulge, and becomes a prisoner of war. He and the fellow P.O.W.s, including fatherly Edgar Derby (Eugene Roche), vulgar Roland Weary (Kevin Conway) and bloodthirsty Paul Lazarro (Ron Leibman) are shuffled into a German prisoner of war camp, and then packed like animals into train cars bound for Dresden, Germany. Once in Dresden, they are introduced to their new home, and the novel's namesake, Slaughterhouse-Five, an abandoned slaughterhouse sixty feet underground. Throughout the movie, one may observe that much of the music used is upbeat classical music, a stark contrast to the brutal background of war. The entire soundtrack consists of six pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, which created what felt to me like an ironic tone. The music helps to transfer over Vonnegut's feeling of uncomfortableness that he creates in the novel. Also in the movie there are scenes where the sounds from one scene of Pilgrim's life are imposed on or intertwined with the sounds from another time. One instance of this is near the very beginning of the film when Billy sits at a typewriter, documenting his experiences on Tralfamadore. Each plunk of his finger on a key reverberates as a sharp gunshot and as he continues to type the sounds transform into an entire war scene and we have time-tripped into Billy's past. Right off the bat, I was wary of a film version of such a hauntingly strange novel, but after watching it I feel that George Roy Hill really managed to accurately create an incredible film based off an equally incredible book. Superior acting, a beautiful sound track, and thought- provoking characters and situations all combine to create a film like no other.

vubrandon George Roy Hill's screening of the novel "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut is a classic, old fashioned-style film that hilariously captures Billy Pilgrim's experiences during and after the war. The use of flashbacks and comedy movie show us the seriousness and the negative side effects of war, but does not fail to entertain us. The film is very funny throughout, which may take from the horrors and stress one may experience during war, but makes it easy for any audience to watch and enjoy.The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is played by Michael Sacks who perfectly embodies the nature of Billy Pilgrim. He is a tall and innocent looking character which excellently portrays the essence of a young boy in war. Many of my colleagues including myself, do not particularly enjoy films or books regarding war. However, due to the comedic fashion of this film, Hill's version of "Slaughterhouse Five" can be enjoyed by an audience of all ages and interests. One of the first scenes I found to be funny was when Billy was first found by a group of American troops in the snow. The troops question Billy at first, and hold him down as they survey the land for enemies. A situation that in reality must have been extremely scary, was actually quite funny as Billy lays in the snow obediently as the troops argue between each other discussing what to do with Billy. If that wasn't funny enough, the entire group then becomes captured by a group of enemy troops, which starts Billy's journey as a prisoner of war.One component of the film that I thought was very effective in capturing the essence of war, was the use of flashbacks through the eyes of Billy. Periodically throughout the film, a scene in "real time" will often change to a scene in previous times that share common sights or interactions. The switch between war times and post war times, and the future and the past, work well to embody the traumatizing effects that war zones can have on people. PTSD, also known as "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" is an ongoing disorder that many retired war veterans will experience in their lives. I often hear and see of people who drop the the ground and take cover when they hear anything that resembles the sound of a gunshot, such as a firework or the slamming shut of a book. The use of flashbacks in this film really captures what it is like to live in a society after years of war. The performance of Billy Pilgrim's children in the book also play a role in successfully embodying the spirit of the war times. Billy's kids are concerned for their father when he starts spieling of the planet Tralfamadore and his new mistress Montana Wildhack. Perry King, who plays as Robert Pilgrim, does a great job at showing his concern for his father, especially in the scene when Robert goes to Billy's house to find him laying on the bed in darkness. Billy's son sits by his bed and talks to him of his own war experiences hoping to help his father return to his old self. This intimate moment was successful because of the staged relationship between son and father, executed by well casted actors who look so natural in the film.Although I absolutely enjoyed this movie, certain aspects due however fail to truly represent the horrifying nature of war itself. The film itself is Rated R for nudity and language but I believe the main purpose is to entertain the audience using war as a plot, as opposed to truly focusing on the horrors of war. The funny scenes keep the reader from experiencing the stress and anxiety of a war zone, which I feel is very important in a war movie, especially one about "Slaughterhouse Five". The flashbacks work well to give us a sense of the traumatizing aftermath of war, but the humor of the movie restrict the audience from feeling the war deep down inside.

Sean Lamberger An extremely loyal interpretation of the classic Vonnegut novel that skirts the issue of explaining its complicated premise by way of a quick typewriter scene. Seeing it on-screen somehow makes everything seem less surreal than it was in print, even when the scene randomly shifts from a Nazi POW camp to a sharp, sparsely-decorated single room apartment on the surface of an alien world. Really just a handful of loosely-related tales from the protagonist's life, it's four distinct scenes tied together by jarring moments of deja vu and a strange, out-of-step sense of humor. A curious adventure, if only due to the sheer absurdity of its most profound scenes, it fails to stand out in any other meaningful ways. It's more straightforward and matter of fact than the book, and lacks many of the wry grins and quirks that made the original work stand apart. What works in print doesn't always translate so literally to the screen.