I first saw EGiB the very first weekend it opened in Boston. Back then, you had very limited access to movie reviews and there wasn't much buzz about movies prior to their release. Because of this, the ending of the movie surprised me a great deal. In fact, I think it overwhelmed my perspective of the movie as a whole.
Fast forward to 1989. While I had seen a few clips from the movie here and there, I only had the opportunity to watch the movie again in its entirety after I found that a local video store had a VHS copy for rent. I discovered that EGib has a lot more depth than I originally gave it credit for. I've only watched it a few times since, but it remains a very impressive accomplishment for a first-time director.
The cinematography really puts you there in the desert with the cops, investigators, barflys, and low-lifes. Blake is very good in his role, which seemed to be written for him. I only wish that the other actors had done a better job. Ryan is particularly disappointing.
Just remember when you're watching that this film was made at a peculiar time in US history. After ten years of anti-war protests, "Summer of Love," rapidly expanding drug use, and all sorts of wild-hippie-crazy-leftist-pinko-commie activity, basically the government and our parents' generation said, "OK...you win. We're out of SE Asia and you can look forward to disco." We were stunned. I think that EGiB is more of a parable of THIS situation than any other. After all, what do you do when you take the thorn out of the lion's paw and he eats you anyway?
Definitely worth your time to watch.
Fast forward to 1989. While I had seen a few clips from the movie here and there, I only had the opportunity to watch the movie again in its entirety after I found that a local video store had a VHS copy for rent. I discovered that EGib has a lot more depth than I originally gave it credit for. I've only watched it a few times since, but it remains a very impressive accomplishment for a first-time director.
The cinematography really puts you there in the desert with the cops, investigators, barflys, and low-lifes. Blake is very good in his role, which seemed to be written for him. I only wish that the other actors had done a better job. Ryan is particularly disappointing.
Just remember when you're watching that this film was made at a peculiar time in US history. After ten years of anti-war protests, "Summer of Love," rapidly expanding drug use, and all sorts of wild-hippie-crazy-leftist-pinko-commie activity, basically the government and our parents' generation said, "OK...you win. We're out of SE Asia and you can look forward to disco." We were stunned. I think that EGiB is more of a parable of THIS situation than any other. After all, what do you do when you take the thorn out of the lion's paw and he eats you anyway?
Definitely worth your time to watch.