I watched this movie for the first time the other day. i thought it was funny and sad and clever. the music is wonderful, Pete Seeger is such a talent, and Joni Mitchell is a goddess. Oh yeah, and the Army guy who is in charge of all the criminals during the physical scene is Swanton, VT’s own M. Emmett Walsh.
Arlo is one of my favorite characters from the 60’s. Being a child of the 80’s myself, I got to know Arlo through the short lived TV show 'Birds of paradise."
So do any of you dopers have anything to say about this film?
I’m afraid the only thing I remember about the movie is one scene where Arlo and friends are singing “Ivan Skavinsky Skavar” (aka “Abdulla Bulbul Ameer”). My parents used to sing that in the car on road trips. I was completely amazed other people knew the song.
Funny, I was just now remembering that movie, as I was reading Tim Riley’s Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary and its mention of how young Zimmerman visited Woody in the hospital and made friends with Arlo who was a kid then; how the movie uses the real Pete Seeger and then shows “Woody” smoking a cigarette that is lit and placed in his mouth. Ugh.
I saw it 2 or 3 times in college and have wondered if it still exists. There really aren’t many good films about 60s youth counterculture that were actually made at the time. Every single female that crossed Arlo’s path hit on him. Was that factual or was it his fantasy?
I saw Arlo perform at St. Louis University around Thanksgiving 1978 and he did the entire “Alice’s Restaurant” song, verbatim, with it “coming around again on the guitar” and all that. He said it was the first time he’d performed it since the 60s ended. He had to read the words out of the printed “Alice’s Restaurant” book because it had been so long he couldn’t remember the whole thing.
Man, that’s a funny song. I’ve never seen the movie, but I do know one interesting thing about it – the only characters from the song that played themselves in the movie were Arlo and Sheriff Obie, the hero and the Man.
Ok, I’m a child of the 80s, so took me a while to catch up. I love Arlo Guthrie, and was introduced to his music a few years ago. But I just found out two days ago that there was an Alice’s Restaurant movie. I’m renting it next week (if I can find it), and will report back. The one thing I’m upset about is that he’s in town this weekend for Farm Aid, but I’ll be out of town for wedding! Aargh!
Never saw the movie. I don’t want to either, for the same reason that I don’t see the movies of books I really love. I have my own happy little image of Arlo and the father rapers filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the Group W bench. I don’t want to have that mucked up.
Oh Green Bean you should see it. It’s pretty true to the song (which is a strange thing to say about a movie, when you think about it.) I haven’t seen it in about 10 years, I’d really like to see it again though. I seem to remember there being some great dialogue, but I could be mistaken.
Well since the guy who wrote the song and the guy who starred in the movie are not only the same guy but also the guy that it actually happened to, I’m not surprised that it tracks closely.
–Cliffy
P.S. It was Officer Obie, not Sheriff Obie. My bad.
Yeah, I know what you mean about all the ladies hitting on Arlo. Was he trying to show us how ‘moral’ he was when he didn’t sleep with the young girl or the older ladie? It being the Sixties and all, I would have thought he would have bedded anyone he could have.
There are sad parts in this movie, like Alice’s and Ray’s relationship. Kinda reminded me of my parents. And I have a friend who looks just like the Roger character. All in all I think it was a good movie.
peace,
JB
I saw him in the early '80s in Baltimore and bought a couple of his tapes. His debut album was fantastic (“Running Down the Road”), a neat mix of some of his father’s song and his own music, and not at all like Alice, which is a good song as well.
At one of the open mics that I used to produce, I had the pleasure of hearing one of the people who signed up perform the entire song flawlessly, right down to the recruiting officer’s speil (thanks Willy). Joni Mitchel’s “Songs To Aging Children” was permanently imprinted upon me the first time I saw the movie. I can still remember my oldest brother bringing home the album after it was first released.
“So officer Obie took my belt and wallet. And I said; Now officer Obie, I can see why you wanted my wallet so I wouldn’t have any money to spend in the cell, but why’d you take my belt? He said; We don’t want no hangings, kid. And I said; Officer Obie, you didn’t think I was going to hang myself for littering, did you?”
But officer Obie was just making sure because he took out the toilet seat so I couldn’t hit myself over the head and drown. And he took out the toilet paper so I couldn’t bend the bars, roll out the roll of toilet paper, slide down the paper and make an eescape.
“Kid, I want your wallet and your belt.”
I said, Obie, I can understand your wantin’ my wallet so I don’t have any money to spend in the cell, but what do ya want my belt for?
He said, “Kid, we don’t want any hangin’s”
I said “Obie, did you think I was gonna hang myself for litterin’?”
But Obie said he was making sure, and friends, Obie was. He took the toilet seat out so I couldn’t hit myself over the head and drown. And he took out the toilet paper so I couldn’t roll…bend the bars, roll the toilet paper out the window, slid down the roll and have an ass-cape."
I want to have my own hippy hideaway/church. What fun that would be. Loads of fun loving people living together in peace and harmony with good music and drugs for everyone. Who wants to start a commune?
peace,
JB
I saw the movie when it first came out. I was actually surprised Officer Obie didn’t make any movies afterwards – he was quite good. It’s definitely a good, underrated film.
Lets not forget the director of the movie. Sam Fuller. One of the premier noir directors of the 50’s. He also directed Bonny and Clyde, The Big Red One, and White Dog.
My best friend and I have run into Arlo Guthrie in various truck stops along the Hudson River two or three times apiece. Once we were together when we ran into him, and through a series of events that I shan’t go into detail about here (as they’re boring to anyone who wasn’t there, riotously amusing to the two of us who were), “Arlo Guthrie Killed My Dad!” became the rallying cry of a generation.
Well, not a generation. More like two teenage girls. But hell, we still laugh about it. We still leave answering machine messages to each other about it.
[ring]
I’m not here. Talk anyway.
[beep]
::tearful:: Sara, I have some bad news. The most terrible, horrible thing just happened. It’s… it’s my father.
::sniff::
It’s just too sad…
::sniff, sniff, sob::
Arlo Guthrie Killed My Dad!
[hang up]
And I’m sure you all care so much.
Neither of us has ever heard any of the man’s music. We just keep meeting him in truck stops and claiming he’s killed our fathers.
