Bleak, powerful, honest

Given the recent spate of chest-thumping, rough-but-noble-soldier films, complete with overblown "stirring" scores & slo-mo "hero shots" about WWII, it's refreshing to return to a truly honest film about that war ... and about all wars. What we have here is the reality: tired, dirty, emotionally shocked men unprepared for the randomness & casual cruelties of war. Ironic that it takes an absurdist tale such as this one, complete with time travel & aliens, to present the indifference of the universe far more accurately than supposedly realistic films. But it's so: there's no divine, historic mission -- no larger-than-life heroes -- no ultimate glory & honor. There's just the destruction of civilization & the slaughter of the innocent, all in the name of the State, or the Flag, or Our God, or some other empty platitude.

Like many late 60s/early 70s war films, this one has a stark look to it, with all the gloss wiped away, revealing the senselessness of war & the hollowness of its justifications. It doesn't excuse the evils of something like fascism, or the necessity of stopping it -- it simply points out that "the good guys" tend to become what they're fighting, that it destroys their humanity, that it swallows human beings whole & sucks out their souls. War is simply an ugly, filthy business, and it shouldn't be decked in patriotic ribbons & noble-sounding phrases.

The cast is superb here, with Valerie Perrine's soft porn actress Montana Wildhack a standout, full of joy & life, the antithesis of war. Tellingly, Billy Pilgrim only seems truly happy & content during his time with her, rather than in his by-the-numbers marriage, where the only true affection in his life seems to be his dog. Ron Leibman's psychotic Paul Lazzaro ("That's two Zs, dammit!") is all too real, a wounded, self-loathing shell driven by his own consuming fear & hatred & insecurities, while Eugene Roche's kindly but fatally naive & trusting Edgar Derby is both comic & tragic at once.

The transitioning between time periods is cleanly & subtly accomplished, one memory leading to another, as well as suggesting the randomness of the universe itself. In short, an underrated gem from the golden age of American filmmaking, and a welcome antidote to films that pander to the most simplistic worldviews. All in all, most highly recommended!

A very good movie for those of us who can still think deeply about life

Nearly all of the movies made from Kurt Vonnegut's books are simply awful (HAPPY BIRTHDAY WANDA JUNE, MOTHER NIGHT, BREAKFEST OF CHAMPIONS). There is one delightful exception -- SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. The makers of this film took the time and trouble to make their movie subtle. They accepted the fact that Vonnegut has never appealed to the loud, over-stimulated, self-absorbed, resource-guzzling masses. Kurt's books appeal directly to the depressed, quiet, suffering young men and women who are still in school and can still think deeply about life.

The hero, Billy Pilgrim, is pretty much carried along by the events happening around him. He finally sees the insanity of trying to take charge of his own life and learns to simply accept things the way they are. This is essentially a Taoist tale. Most stories told by Vonnegut are from a Taoist perspective. The hero is dropped into the middle of a meat grinder of a life and told repeatedly that he must not allow himself to be turned into hamburger. But, contrary to his most feverish and guilt-ridden efforts, he is turned into hamburger. When he finally accepts the reality of being a lump of hamburger, life becomes a little easier for him to deal with.

Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me They Made A Movie Of This?

Why am I only finding out now that there was a film of `Slaughterhouse Five'? The advent of DVD has brought back some great films that have been lost or forgotten.

Everywhere I go I'm told that `Slaughterhouse Five' was the greatest book ever written. But I've never gotten around to reading it. The film leaves no doubt that in print or on film this is one of the greatest stories ever told.

The Plot: This is what I've always asked. "What is this great story `Slaughterhouse Five' about?" Now that I know I can see why all my friends were at a loss to explain it.

The story does not sound intriguing in theory but is great in practice. `Slaughterhouse Five' is about a man Billie Pilgrim who is "lost in time" that is, every 30 seconds he jumps forward or backward to a different time in his life. Somewhat similar to `Memento' except it was 5 minutes and he was always going backwards.

Billie Pilgrim's life has three main settings. He was drafted into WWII and taken prisoner at the Battle of the Bulge. As a POW he is taken to Dresden and survives the single worst massacre of WWII. In the 1950s he experiences suburban life as a father. And in his later years he is abducted by aliens and enslaved with a topless movie star to reproduce.

See what I mean, these are three very odd stories that shouldn't work together. There is the very serious issue of Dresden, the "open city" in Germany with no armed forces or war production which was inhabited by European refugees hoping to wait out the war in peace. But on February 14 1945 the Allies decided to destroy German moral by ordering hundreds of British and American bombers to fire bomb the city. On February 15 they returned, and on the 16th they sent in American fighters to machine gun as many survivors as possible. 135,000 civilians died, more than Hiroshima or Nagasaki. A rather serious issue for a sci-fi film.

Why is Billie lost in time? We never know but suspect it may be because he's abducted by aliens where he says time does not exist. Or it may be that after a plane crash he has brain surgery.

Billie is a likeable character because he doesn't really say or do anything on his own. Billie does not shape events, events shape him. He didn't go to Dresden because he wanted to, he gets married and works only because that is what's expected of him. And the aliens abduct him.

Billie is not so much an actor as he is an observer. And his loss of time is just like everyone else. One moment I'm writing this review and the next I'm back to last night watching this film. Our minds jump to different times in our lives.

As for the production quality of this film, it's great. The WWII scenes are very authentic and high budget. The acting is good although there are no notable actors. Billie is played by Michael Sacks whose filmography is thin and unotable. I only remember him as the hostage cop in `Sugarland Express'. The topless actress is played by Valerie Perrine who you may remember as Lex Luther's girlfriend in the `Superman' films.

`Slaughterhouse Five' may sound as bizarre as its title named after Billie's POW barracks, but it's a very powerful story that will make you laugh, cry, and smile. I can't believe a film buff like me didn't know about. It just shows you how many lost gems are being found on DVD.