Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

lasttimeisaw American music producer James William Guercio's one-off dalliance with filmmaking, ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE is made when he is only 28-year-old. It stars Robert Blake as a motorcycle cop Johnny Wintergreen who patrols rural Arizona highways and aspires to be a homicidal officer.The movie opens with a promising panache hardly betrays that Guercio is a greenhorn, conjecturing through its voyeuristic close-ups, audience would soon realize a face-unshown man prepares to kill himself, yet, Guercio's camera also cunningly suggests that he is cooking beef streaks at the same time. Then, boom! He blows himself dead through a shotgun, which unusually aims to his chest rather than the usual easy target, the head, it compellingly sets a paradoxical situation that one immediately knows there is something fishy about the whole act.Also, before the title card, Guercio takes a tongue-in-cheek tack to introduce our unlikely hero, big Johnny, the camera lurks and swirls in the apartment where Johnny expertly gratifies Jolene (Riley) in bed, before revealing that Johnny is small in stature. When a man's masculinity is stunted by his appearances, it gives audience an idea why he is so eager to achieve something, to compensate the ingrained inferiority complex is a shoo-in. So the apparent-suicidal case becomes his stepping stone to be recruited by detective Harve Poole (Ryan) for his astute observation that it is indeed a murder underneath the hatched facade.But the ensuing police procedural dampens Johnny's driving enthusiasm, especially after witnessing Harve hectors physically abuses and a group of hippies to milk information about their prime suspect, a drug dealer Bob Zembo (a cameo of Peter Cetera, one of the four CHICAGO members who take on acting roles here apart from their contribution to the picture's soundtrack), and the final straw is an awkward confrontation between him, Harve and Jolene, the latter turns out to be Harve's lover, and spitefully lambastes Harve's incompetence to make her contented and laments her ill-fated destiny, working in a barrelhouse after a dashed Hollywood dream, Johnny and Harv fall out afterwards.Unambiguously Guercio conducts a half-hearted approach to solve the murder mystery, after trifling with a biker-chasing set piece to keep the action moving, the movie falls back on Johnny's "inner voice" for an expedient epiphany to realize who is the murderer at the end of a MADURA concert, with reasons unexplained, but that is not enough, ultimately there would be another revelation later, to further muddle the water and leave the opening scene ever so ambivalent when one retraces back, before reaching its chilling coda, completely hits viewers like a cold shower, willful but symbolic, overall, it is a loner's world against the canvas of a vast Arizona landscape, everyone in the story is either indolent, disillusioned or corrupt, only the hippies' community stands in as a getaway from the unpleasant reality, but their guarded world is defiant towards the mainstream values, Johnny represents a tragic hero who is doomed because of what he represents, an authority figure, cannot be saved by his amiable personality and all-too-well intentions.Performance-wise, everyone on board is on a par with excellence, Elisha Cook Jr. is heart-rending to watch in his committed lunacy, Mitchell Ryan expertly imbues a certain degree of passing diffidence in his bombast mannerism and Billy Green Bush is so organic as Johnny's shade- hogging partner and nails his big scene with a flourish, so is Jeannine Riley, manages to steal some limelight even with a role riddled with platitudes. And our leading man Robert Blake, ever so self- reliant as a pipsqueak trying rather hard to chase his dream, only to get short-changed by a cynical world.ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE, also bolstered by a symphonic soundtrack produced by Guercio himself and its striking wide-screen landscape sensation shot by DP Conrad L. Hall, is an astonishing debut feature, if it intends to be more of a zeitgeist-capturer than a gripping detective story, then I must give my whole-hearted congratulations to the crew, mission grandly accomplished!

Scott LeBrun Robert Blake has one of the best roles of his career as John Wintergreen, a dedicated motorcycle cop who yearns for more in life. What he'd really like is to be a detective - to wear a suit, a Stetson, and "get paid to think". He gets his chance when he discovers what first appears to be a suicide, but which John determines had to have been a murder. When John shows that he's got what it takes for the detective business, a charismatic hotshot named Harve Poole (Mitch Ryan) takes him under his wing, hiring John as a driver. What happens is that John becomes quite disillusioned watching Harve at work. John strives to be a good, kind, honest man, and doesn't like Harves' approach to law enforcement. A revelation regarding his colleague and good friend "Zipper" (Billy Green Bush) only adds to his dismay."Electra Glide in Blue" marked the filmmaking debut for James William Guercio, a veteran of the music industry who, with the help of ace cinematographer Conrad Hall, brings a lot of visual poetry which is not the action-packed murder mystery that some viewers might expect, or hope, it to be. That aspect of this film is never heavily stressed, as the movie clearly functions much more as a series of character vignettes. It's got a very deliberate pace to it, as it gives a number of its major players opportunities to tear into some meaty roles. Blake and Bush have fine chemistry and are quite engaging; you believe them as buddies. Ryan commands the screen whenever he's around; he's an excellent character actor (whom you may know best as the villain in "Lethal Weapon") who gives his role some real nuance. Royal Dano is a little under utilized as a grumpy coroner with whom John butts heads, but Jeannine Riley is wonderful as the barmaid Jolene, and Elisha Cook Jr. is as delightful as ever in the role of sad old sack Willie. Considering Guercios' background, it's not a surprise that some of the supporting players come from the music business - screenwriter Hawk Wolinski as the van driving hippie, and Peter Cetera and Terry Kath from the band Chicago; Cetera, amusingly, plays a scruffy biker. Keep a sharp eye out for Nick Nolte, uncredited as an extra in the commune scene.The film turns out to be a moving meditation on personal ideals and loneliness, and leads to a shattering conclusion. This conclusion is much in line with films of this time period, and takes its time to play out. It's the kind of thing you don't easily forget.It's not hard to see why this would have a following. It's interesting and it's entertaining, and well worth a look.Seven out of 10.

Ronnie_Barko The film follows 'Big' John Wintergreen (Robert Blake), a diminutively statured highway patrolman based in the deserts of Arizona. John takes pride in his work and does his job fairly and efficiently but also yearns to be promoted to the rank of detective and see some real police work. When he discovers the apparent suicide of an eccentric loner and, rightfully, suspects foul play, his opportunity arrives and he is taken under the wing of no-nonsense Detective Harve Poole (Mitch Ryan). This sets John off on a journey that makes him question justice, authority and his own sense of identity.I really enjoyed the film. From an era in which Hollywood was seemingly torn in half by rebellious counter-culture movies such as 'Easy Rider' and hard-boiled Cop dramas like 'Dirty Harry', Electra Glide In Blue makes a bold step in placing itself somewhere in between these two camps. The film, like John himself, views both authority figures and free-spirited hippies with an even-handed face value, with neither side being demonised or exalted. The influence of Easy Rider looms heavily over the picture, not only in the stylised photography of the American landscape and the depiction of the motorcycle as the modern day outlaw's 'steed' but also with some knowing references to 1969 counter-culture classic, the film's ending cleverly mirrors that of Easy Rider but Guercio is quite blatant in showing that his film has a different agenda entirely (one scene features Wintergreen and his other officers using a poster of Hopper and Fonda as target practice at the shooting range).Although Wintergreen is depicted as the films 'hero', he is clearly a flawed and complex man. He seems to be driven to achieve greater things by a kind of Napoleon syndrome, as his height (or lack of it) is referred to throughout the film, not only is he jokingly referred to as 'Big' John, there are barely any scenes in which he stands eye-to-eye with another character. It's only when he's perched upon his motorcycle does he feel equal with the rest of the world. This, ultimately, becomes his undoing as he clearly begins to resent the fact that, when away from his bike, he lacks the confidence and grit to be an able detective. At one points an exasperated Wintergreen says (about his motorcycle) "I'm here to tell you there ain't nothing' in the world I hate worse than that elephant under my ass." The film is ultimately about loneliness, escapism, aspirations and a yearning to find one's true self. The murder investigation that ties the film together simply acts as a macguffin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin- for those who aren't in the know) to base Wintergreen's journey of self discovery around. Another theme of the film is the ambiguity of justice and the middle ground between right and wrong as Wintergreen learns the difficulty of upholding the law without breaking a few rules, and his career aspirations become tainted as he fights against the apathy and corruption of his fellow police officers. This is a film which has neither good guys or bad guys.As well as having a strong narrative structure the film is wonderfully photographed and it's a shame that, to this date, this is the only film that John William Guercio has directed as he shows a real flair for film-making. He establishes scenes by focusing on peripheral information as opposed to putting the main action right up front. The story unfolds at a gradual pace and Guercio uses the breathtaking Arizona landscapes as a character itself to highlight Wintergreen's isolation and loneliness (both of these aspects reminded me strongly of the work of Terrence Malick). The film also uses some wonderfully stylised sequences to set up the scenario and the opening credit sequence, in which Wintergreen meticulously puts on his highway patrolman's uniform seems to fetishise the appearance of the motorcycle cop (surely referenced by the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2- Judgement Day?) I thoroughly enjoyed Electra Glide In Blue and can find only a handful of flaws with it. There are a couple of sequences that seemed out of step with the rest of the film- There is a frenetic stunt-laden chase scene that, although it impresses individually, seems to jar with the philosophical nature of the rest of the film. Another scene, in which a waitress is revealed to be the object of affection of both Wintergreen and Poole seemed to drag a little and could have easily ended up on the cutting room floor without greatly affecting the structure of the film.But all-in-all a very well made and interesting film. Robert Blake gives a brilliant performance, the pacing of the film and the dialogue hold up well and the cinematography is superb. It also features an exceptionally memorable final shot.9/10Now, I know James William Guercio has never made another film but has Robert Blake done anything interesting lately?.......

Lechuguilla With those evocative images and that emotionally charged music, the final fifteen minutes are electrifying. It's all about America, and a terrible ten years of assassinations, Viet Nam, and countless other cultural strife. The film's ending is saying ... enough is enough. Let the healing begin. And as American culture bled in the late 1960s and early 1970s, so too did the emotional lives of individuals, like the hodgepodge of aggrieved characters that come and go in this story.Seeing some of these people and listening to their individual stories of pain and suffering is John Wintergreen (Robert Blake), a by-the-book Arizona motorcycle cop, short on stature but tall on dreams. Sometimes with his partner Zipper (Billy Green Bush), "Big John" encounters these tormented souls, on the road mostly. That's his job. The film's story is an ode to the courage and nobility of ordinary Americans pained by reality with only their dreams to comfort them.The film's disjointed plot begins with a killing. And this incident keeps the plot moving. But "Electra Glide In Blue" is mostly a character study, not a crime film. Color cinematography is quite good. Interior shots have lots of close-ups, even extreme close-ups. There's a lot of diffuse lighting. Exteriors are shot like a modern-day Western. Indeed, the look and feel of the film is similar in some ways to the old John Ford Westerns, like "The Searchers".The plot is the main weakness of the film. Some parts are overplayed, like the chase scenes. There's a lack of continuity both in storyline and in visual elements. It's as if many scenes were shot impromptu, on the rush. And some of the acting is way over the top. However, Robert Blake does a fine job as America's everyday cop with his sense of principles.This film reminds me in some ways of "Zabriskie Point" (1970), a counter culture film which has a powerful ending that helps to make up for earlier plot problems.Based on a real-life event, "Electra Glide In Blue" gets off to a slow start. Even midway through, one wonders whether this film is going anywhere or has any point to it. It is, and it does. You just have to wait for that powerful ending and its cinematic message of a tormented America, from the point of view of one lonely cop, just doing his job.