Retro-View: Point Blank (1967)

The first official film course I ever took was at Sierra Community College, sprawled on the suburban fringes of Rocklin, California. The class was taught by an interesting, somewhat pretentious teacher (whose name I’ve lost to time) and he screened a nice variety of domestic and foreign cinema. He particularly loved POINT BLANK, John Boorman’s 1967 neo-noir with Lee Marvin in one of his iconic roles as Walker, the wronged thief single-mindedly out to get the money owed to him by a friend’s murderous betrayal. My teacher thought it brilliant since he claimed POINT BLANK was one of the few films with a dead man as the lead character. At the time, I enjoyed the picture, but it didn’t leave any significant cinematic impact. Plus, the teacher was so self-satisfied about his thesis that I didn’t care that he was indeed absolutely right.

Cut to me a decade later at Berkeley, devouring 60’s films for a class I was developing. My favorite video store off University Avenue had a wonderful, illegal habit of copying all their letter-boxed laserdiscs to VHS so you could check out beautiful wide-screen versions of rarities like BEDAZZLED; RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY; THE KNACK; WILD IN THE STREETS; ZABRISKIE POINT; among many films unavailable on tape and DVD at the time. I rented the letter-box copy of POINT BLANK to refresh my memory and revisit an archetypal film of the 1960’s….

More cinesight to come. It’s really time to sleep. You too. And you.

Okay. I’m refreshed. You? How about you? Coffee? Tea? Absinthe?

POINT BLANK. Next to EXCALIBUR (1981), this is my favorite John Boorman film. One of the most visually sophisticated directors of the 60’s and 70’s, he managed to turn Richard Stark’s potboiler novel into an existential psychedelic noir that does indeed feature a dead man as the lead character. After Walker is double-crossed and left for dead at Alctaraz by his traitorous ex-wife and his best friend, Mal Reese (played with sleazy couth by John Vernon) he somehow finds himself off the The Rock and back in San Francisco, looking not for vengeance, but for his money. As he pursues the cash through the underworld of Northern and Southern California, Walker leaves a wake of chaos and death until we find out at the end that he may or may not be in fact, a ghost.

Lee Marvin was not only a great tough guy, he was a great actor. He was intimately involved with the creation of Walker, an emotionless shell that Boorman said was based on Marvin being “brutalized” by his soldiering duties in World War 2. Boorman was an odd choice to direct given his only previous film was 1965’s CATCH ME IF YOU CAN with the Dave Clark Five (one of the best A HARD DAY’S NIGHT clones of the era). The film received a rave review from Pauline Kael, which led to Boorman’s Hollywood Adventure. Boorman said that Marvin and he were in such perfect sync that Marvin actually transfered his power of final cut to Boorman (the opposite of what happened when Mel Gibson forced re-shoots on Brian Helgeland’s remake, PAYBACK (1999) .

One of John Boorman’s main themes is the rites of mystic primitivism, with POINT BLANK and DELIVERANCE (1972) being the most subtle. He would slip into Ken Russell territory with ZARDOZ (1974) and the notorious THE EXORCIST 2: THE HERETIC (1977) before the apogee of his POV in EXCALIBUR, arguably the greatest sword and sorcery epic ever made. Boorman also has a fantastic eye for compositions and POINT BLANK is one of the best photographed films of the 60’s. The DVD transfer is gorgeous, and the Panavision framing perfectly suits the film’s scope. Even more interesting to some is the film’s Alan Resnais influenced, elliptical editing, which in turn influenced Steven Soderbergh (who joins in the DVD audio commentary) as evidenced in THE LIMEY (1999), his tribute to POINT BLANK. Another 1967 San Francisco cautionary, Richard Lester’s PETULIA, uses similar flashbacks and flashforwards to engage or confuse.

Fortunately, POINT BLANK does have a few surprising moments of wit and humor. Marvin’s single-minded, but matter of fact attempt to get his money is funny as well as Caroll O’Connor’s great line, “You’re a very bad man, Walker!” Of special note is the scene with the sexy slinky Angie Dickinson beating the crap out of the stoic and unfeeling Marvin until she drops to floor, spent. I particularly like James Sikking as the pipe-smoking assassin who admires Walker; he gets the film’s second to last line and it’s a hoot. John Vernon is apropos weaselly and his comeuppance is still shocking.

Despite POINT BLANK’s oblique narrative, it was a success in the US and around the world, helping solidify Lee Marvin as the top box-office star of 1967 (also thanks to THE DIRTY DOZEN). Time has been very kind to the movie as new generations discover its unique style and power. I’m glad my Sierra College teacher had a read on it long before many others. There’s much to treasure here and you can enjoy the film simply for the striking cinematography along with Lee Marvin’s mad charisma. For completists, here’s a heartfelt AMC profile of the actor by John Boorman.

I also find POINT BLANK one of the most reflective movie templates of the fabled era. My favorite scene is after Walker gets attacked by thugs at a discoteque blaring soul music and a colorful light-show. The raw, vicious scuffle caused some controversy at the time since Marvin punches one of his opponents in the groin, a first in American film. After the brutal fight is over, Walker stands dazed as the psychedelic colors wash across his face, one of the most spectacular shots in POINT BLANK and one of the defining images of 1960’s cinema.