Seconds (1966)

[Mr. Arkadin]

John Frankenheimer’s Seconds (1966) is definitely his most underappreciated film, but it might also be his deepest and most relevant work, daring to question identity in a world of narcissism.

Shot by the legendary James Wong Howe (who should have won an award for most creative use of Fish Eye lens), Rock Hudson stars in this bizarre SciFi/Noir/Horror classic about a middle-aged man who is seduced by the opportunity to be “reborn” as a younger man, free of all responsibility.

Where his earlier film, The Manchurian Candidate (1962) probes concepts of mind control and its dominion over the body, Seconds reverses this idea with the notion that changing one’s physical appearance can create happiness. Or not.

Seconds shows in the late night/early morning of 2-26/27

[Dewey1960]

SECONDS is truly an amazing film, Mr. Ark! It's been a few years since I've seen it, and there isn't a copy in my library--so I guess we all know where I'll be later tonight. Looking forward to revisiting this oddity!!

[MikeBSG]

I think "Seconds" is a much better movie than "The manchurian Candidate." It holds together better. It makes me feel sad for Rock Hudson.

Do you think "Seconds" is unappreciated because it is so downbeat, or because it falls between the science fiction and horror genres? It isn't an easy film to pigeonhole.

[moira finnie]

If ever an older movie had a more timely message for people of today, Seconds might be at the top of such a list.

I think that one reason this film may be hard for people to relate to is because it presented Rock Hudson, a man whose manufactured screen persona appears to have been at odds with his private life, in his best performance in a role that emphasized how we can't escape ourselves, no matter how much we try--and if we do seem to escape--how empty our lives might be. Not quite sci-fi and not exactly a mystery, (except the metaphysical one), I would like to see it again. Thanks very much for the heads up on this upcoming feature.

And yes, the collaboration between James Wong Howe and the visually innovative director John Frankenheimer produced something really exceptional. Too bad they only worked together one other time on The Horseman (1971), a strange but interesting anthropological adventure flick set in tribal Afghanistan with Omar Sharif, Leigh Taylor-Young and Jack Palance as tribespeople. It's a movie I wouldn't mind seeing again. Based on a book by Joseph Kessel, a novelist who also wrote the books that became the fascinating The Night of the Generals (1967), Belle de Jour (1967) and Army of Shadows (1969).

[Mr. Arkadin]

SECONDS is truly an amazing film, Mr. Ark! It's been a few years since I've seen it, and there isn't a copy in my library--so I guess we all know where I'll be later tonight. Looking forward to revisiting this oddity!!

I remember you posting me something about Brian Wilson's adverse reaction to seeing the film when it came out. I guess it didn't give him good vibrations?

[Dewey1960]

Ark: I remember you posting me something about Brian Wilson's adverse reaction to seeing the film when it came out. I guess it didn't give him good vibrations?
It's a chillingly weird and sad account involving the once and former Beach Boy, hallucinogenic drugs, and Frankenheimer's mind numbingly scary film SECONDS. I'll be back with as much of the story as I can piece together tomorrow (hopefully).

[JackFavell]

I think I had that same reaction to the movie.....I can certainly see it tipping someone over the edge.....

The last time (and the first time) I saw it was at 2 in the morning on the late, late, late show, and it scared the bejesus out of me. I think it's a great movie, and although I think Rock Hudson gave his best performance here, I was most impressed with John Randolph.

Maybe this movie is what has kept me from EVER wanting to have plastic surgery.

I think the reason it wasn't popular and hasn't caught on is that the main character is played by two different actors... just when you become comfortable with Randolph, he turns into Hudson, and you have to get used to him all over again.... I actually missed Randolph once Hudson was on screen. I haven't seen the movie for years, but I do remember it took all I had to keep watching once Hudson came on the screen...... and I was then surprised at how good he was.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Do you think "Seconds" is unappreciated because it is so downbeat, or because it falls between the science fiction and horror genres? It isn't an easy film to pigeonhole.

I think Moira and KR have provided some of the answers. Hudson was a handsome leading man that most people expected to see in romantic dramas or comedies, not dark, claustrophobic films. I also think you make a really good point about the blurring of genres.

One thread that I think can be followed in films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Seconds, La Jetee, and Blade Runner is the idea of person and singular identity.

Most people associate who they are with what they do. While this is definitely a part of our lives, it does not define our humanity and individuality, as anyone who has lost or changed their abilities can easily attest. For these reasons, Seconds can be a very uncomfortable experience and no doubt bothered many audiences who were expecting to enjoy a simple thriller.

[srowley75]

Do you think "Seconds" is unappreciated because it is so downbeat, or because it falls between the science fiction and horror genres? It isn't an easy film to pigeonhole.

Most people associate who they are with what they do. While this is definitely a part of our lives, it does not define our humanity and individuality, as anyone who has lost or changed their abilities can easily attest. For these reasons, Seconds can be a very uncomfortable experience and no doubt bothered many audiences who were expecting to enjoy a simple thriller.

Sorry so late to this thread...

While working through the 1001 Movies... , I watched this one again recently for the first time in ages - luckily I managed to snag a copy of the Paramount DVD a couple years ago before it went out of print.

Could another reason possibly be the overwhelming feeling of despair about American (Western?) life that the movie generates? The overall pessimism pervading the movie was one of the things Sis and I discussed after the film was over. Randolph seems so discontent with his conventional American upper-middle-class life even before his operation that it's almost as though Frankenheimer is suggesting that the only choices he has here are bad and worse.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Do you think "Seconds" is unappreciated because it is so downbeat, or because it falls between the science fiction and horror genres? It isn't an easy film to pigeonhole.

Most people associate who they are with what they do. While this is definitely a part of our lives, it does not define our humanity and individuality, as anyone who has lost or changed their abilities can easily attest. For these reasons, Seconds can be a very uncomfortable experience and no doubt bothered many audiences who were expecting to enjoy a simple thriller.

Sorry so late to this thread...

While working through the 1001 Movies... , I watched this one again recently for the first time in ages - luckily I managed to snag a copy of the Paramount DVD a couple years ago before it went out of print.

Could another reason possibly be the overwhelming feeling of despair about American (Western?) life that the movie generates? The overall pessimism pervading the movie was one of the things Sis and I discussed after the film was over. Randolph seems so discontent with his conventional American upper-middle-class life even before his operation that it's almost as though Frankenheimer is suggesting that the only choices he has here are bad and worse.

While I cannot speak to the writers original intent, I see Randolph as a man who is discontent, but his discontentment is not of a physical, but a spiritual nature.

The material wealth and status he holds are not evil in themselves, but it is the idea that he has chosen to pursue these things at the cost of his family, dreams, and personal expression (he wants to be an artist). If he chose to sacrifice his dream of becoming a tennis instructor to better support his family, his career change might be an admirable one, but he has chosen this path because he felt it was "what he was supposed to do."

His visit to his old home is an indication that his life could have been very different, so we (and he) realize the power of change was within his grasp, but never exercised.

Thus, we are left with a man who never knew himself, or believed and acted on personal convictions. Instead, he has allowed his life and world to be shaped and directed by others (which is also shown in the way he becomes a reborn) and now must live in the prison he has created--at least until he's ready for the Next Phase.

[JackFavell]

Nice! So succinct. It would take me from here to the moon to get to the meat of the character like you just did in a few sentences.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I had to edit it about 10 times.

[JackFavell]

Well, you did a good job!

[Mr. Arkadin]

I have a real fondness for films like Seconds because of my personal experiences and those of friends.

One of my friends (with whom I went to school and played hockey) suffered a devastating brain tumor, which robbed him of his motor skills and speech. This was a man who was always outdoors, played sports with a passion, and worked a hand-skill job. All of a sudden, his entire world was lost to him. To make matters worse, his wife of 14 years left him as well.

In spite of these things, he learned something very important. He was still the same person, even though he could not do the same things and decided there is a big difference between a human being and a human doing. While he suffered tremendous losses, he found himself and that's something few people experience.