Targets [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich

Overview

"Together with Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and John Singleton's Boyz 'n the Hood, director Peter Bogdanovich's Targets is among the most impressive first features ever made. When Bogdanovich's cinematic mentor Roger Corman suggested that Bogdanovich might want to make his directorial debut, he offered to ""donate"" 20 minutes worth of footage of the Corman-directed The Terror and the services of Boris Karloff, who owed Corman two days' worth of work (at a cost of $22,000). Karloff became so caught up in the 29-year-old Bogdanovich's enthusiasm that he agreed to work an additional two days at a bare-minimum salary. The script, by Bogdanovich and his then-wife, Polly Platt, was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie. Inevitably, Bobby also shows up at the drive-in, hiding himself behind the huge screen and shooting down the patrons as they sit complacently in their cars, watching the latest Byron Orlock film (actually The Terror, in which Karloff also starred). Once the reality of the situation sets in, panic ensues, leading to the ultimate confrontation between the escaping Bobby and the bewildered Orlock. (""Is this what I was afraid of?"" Orlock ruefully exclaims as Bobby cowers at his feet.) The tension never lets up throughout Targets' jam-packed 90 minutes. The film was virtually thrown away by its distributor, Paramount Pictures, which was uncertain about packaging a film about a sniper in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations. Only when it was reissued to college campuses and film societies did Targets begin building up its much-deserved reputation. Though Targets was not, technically, Boris Karloff's last film, it serves as a worthy valedictory for this cinematic giant."

Product Details

Release Date:	05/16/2023
UPC:	0715515283519
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	7,660

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Boris Karloff	Byron Orlok
Tim O'Kelly	Bobby Thompson
James Brown	Robert Thompson, Sr.
Nancy Hsueh	Jenny
Sandy Baron	Kip Larkin,Larkin's Girl
Arthur Peterson	Ed Loughlin
Mary Jackson	Charlotte Thompson
Tanya Morgan	Ilene Thompson,Gunshop Salesman
Monty Landis	Marshall Smith,Smith
Peter Bogdanovich	Sammy Michaels
Paul Condylis	Drive-in Manager
Mark Dennis	2nd Gunshop Salesman
Daniel Ades	Chauffeur
Timothy Burns	Waiter
Warren White	Grocery Boy
Gary Kent	Gas Tank Worker
Ellie Wood Walker	Woman on Freeway
Frank Marshall	Ticket Boy
Byron Betz	Projectionist
Mike Farrell	Man in Phone Booth
Carol Samuels	Cashier
Jay Daniel	Snack Bar Attendant
James Morris	Man with Pistol
Elaine Partnow	Woman at Drive-in
Pete Belcher	Man at Drive-in
James Bowie	Man at Drive-in
Anita Poree	Woman at Drive-in
Robert Cleaves	Man at Drive-in
Kay Douglas	Woman at Drive-in,Woman at Drive-in
Raymond Roy	Man at Drive-in
Diana Ashley	Woman at Drive-in
Kirk Scott	Man at Drive-in
Randy Quaid	Actor

Technical Credits

Peter Bogdanovich

Polly Platt

Peter Bogdanovich	Producer,Director,Screenwriter
Polly Platt	Screenwriter
Roger Corman	Executive Producer,Producer
Verna Fields	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

The 1968 directorial debut of well-known cineaste Peter Bogdanovich remains one of his very best movies, and to some viewers it might seem more powerful today than it did 30-some years ago. Targets, written by Bogdanovich and then-wife Polly Platt, tells two stories that converge in the film’s startling climax. In one plot thread, aging horror-movie star Byron Orlok (Boris Karloff, more or less playing himself) announces to the producers of his latest picture that he’s ready to retire, given that his screen work no longer shocks audiences, who see images of violence and murder every night on their TV sets. Orlok despairs for our society, and his concerns seem justified when we’re introduced to Bobby Thompson (Tim O’Kelly), an apparently normal young man whose wholesome appearance and demeanor masks a deep-rooted disturbance. Bobby snaps, killing his wife and mother before going on a shooting spree that culminates in an assault on the patrons of a drive-in theater -- where Orlok's film is being screened. Bogdanovich meant Targets as an allegory for contemporary America, at that time enduring what seemed like waves of senseless violence, highlighted by Charles Whitman's 1966 murder spree in Texas. Karloff, terminally ill but owing producer Roger Corman another picture, delivers what is unquestionably his finest latter-day performance; though he subsequently appeared in several more films, Targets would have made a more suitable coda to his long and distinguished career. O’Kelly exudes Middle American normalcy, so much so that viewers will find his sudden psychotic explosion even more terrifying. Bogdanovich (who also plays a small role) uses dialogue sparingly and relies on imagery to carry his narrative. He depicts American life during the Vietnam era with honesty and simplicity, and while there’s an anti-gun message at the movie’s core, Targets never resorts to the overt preachiness or intellectual dishonesty of, say, an Oliver Stone movie. In an era where 24-hour cable networks thrive on sensational stories, Bogdanovich’s modest little movie seems more relevant than ever.