MovieChat Forums > Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Discussion > Biggest vanity campaign ever

Biggest vanity campaign ever

posted 15 years ago by ducdebrabant
13 replies | jump to latest

I remember how I laughed. Full page ad in the New York Times: PRESENTING A MAJOR AMERICAN FILM BY A NEW AMERICAN DIRECTOR: JAMES WILLIAM GUERCIO.

Who?

I'm sure it hurt the movie at the box office, because I recall checking immediately to see if the "new American director" was also the movie's producer, and sure enough, he was.

After that, I wouldn't dream of seeing the thing, and never have. Now it may be a good movie, for all I know, but the pretentiousness of that ad campaign turned me completely off.

There was little to tell you anything about the movie's content: the ad had a picture of Robert Blake dressed as a motorcycle cop (surrounded by a lot of expensive white space), and the tag line "Did you know Alan Ladd and I were exactly the same height?"

O-o-o-kaaaaay. Obviously the mere fact that this little film was launching a new genius named James William Guercio was hook enough for anybody. It could have been about the fuzz in his navel; it was bound to be brilliant because it was his DEBUT.

And then there was that stupid-sounding title, all groovy and far out, man. Not on your tintype, Guercio.

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. Gandhi.

[–] jonchopwood 15 years ago

You're a fool.
-------------------------------------------------
"Why do people always laugh in the wrong places?"
--Henry James

[–] simonsayz-1 15 years ago

Not only a fool, but one who's digging his own grave. You're coming here to the board of a film you haven't seen to mouth off about the "pretentious" ad campaign.

And yet you seem to know very little (or can't remember very little) of how these so-called youth cult film (or outsider films, in the terms of the time) were advertised.

The auteur theory was at its height, so of course studios were pushing even (and sometimes, especially) their new directors as the next Dennis Hopper, the next voice of a generation, the next important auteur.

And about that Alan Ladd quote that served as a tag line. Lots of films that were supposed to be 'different' were having unsuasl or atypical tag lines, simply to get the youth/alternative (read: hippie) market interested. Check out some of the advertising for Altman's film from the epoch, or Rafelson's, or Ashby's.

To make this short: You don't know anything about this film and even less about the way this type of film was - rightly or wrongly - advertised at the time.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] strogger 14 years ago

Whats pretentious about calling yourself a 'new director?' If the ad had described him as visionary or similar then maybe the OP would have some kind of point.

[–] knittingnoodle 14 years ago

i was wondering why the white space was expensive?? do you think the OP meant expansive...?

[–] Supertzar 14 years ago

Maybe because they paid for a full page but only used some of it (the rest was white, but they still had to pay for it).

Anyway a brilliant film, the OP might have some mental issues.

A little tribute to Electra Glide in Blue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDBYtkxhVuU&feature=related

[–] radiodean 14 years ago

As Imdb-member carnivalofsouls so sensible summarize it in a review back in 2002:
"Like many late sixties/early seventies film the plot is insignificant, but rather a vehicle for lots of character development and social commentary."

I just saw this film, after a gap of perhaps 25 years. I would say It is purely epic and It goes in the same bag as "Five easy pieces" & "Easy Rider". It's about that grand sight and those small scale solutions. It's like life itself.
Truly epic. Robert Blake is just magnificent as the small man in a big country.
One of the best motion pictures in the history.
Epic...
BTW: Ignoring the number one moron is what I do, on occations like this...

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R
Anonynomous Selfcombustion Prospect

[–] JJC-3 13 years ago

The OP is probably JANN WENNER using a phony sign on, man why that dodo hates Chicago & Guercio is beyond me!!!!!!!

[–] Carly_fan 13 years ago

I thought the tagline was symbolic: Blake's character in the film tried to mirror Ladd, who was the stereotypical white-hat wearing cowboy hero in many of movies. By comparing himself to Ladd, he wants people to know that he also wants to do the right thing, even though it eventually leads to his disillusionment.

[–] shawn_381 12 years ago

Was wondering the same thing - WHY so expensive?

[–] ickystay 12 years ago

The ad:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19730705&id=XslHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8IsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6022,746146

"It's getting pretty late, doctor"
"Later than you think."

[–] mcintyro 12 years ago

Biggest vanity campaign was Jack Lemmon directing KOTCH. Picture of Lemmon posing on the poster.

[–] IceboxMovies 12 years ago

A couple things:

a) The ad campaign for this movie was pretty laughable, considering that Guercio didn't do any actual directing on the set (Blake and Conrad Hall did it all for him), and:

b) Nevertheless, this is a great movie. You should see it.