GrimPrecise
I'll tell you why so serious
Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
rodrig58
The movie starts very well, it continues very well, up to the half of it, then it all becomes monotonous and hard to follow. Absolutely blame on the script, because the actors are all excellent, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field, Joanne Woodward, and, in smaller roles, Carl Reiner, Strother Martin, Robby Benson and Norman Fell. There are many fun scenes but, overall, the film is a failure, it's not easy at all to make a great comedy about death and suicide. Dom DeLuise is the most hilarious, the jokes about Polish people that his father
told him are the funniest of the whole movie. One of the last roles for Myrna Loy and Pat O'Brien.
Hitchcoc
Burt Reynolds has a death sentence. He decides that since he's terminal, he may as well get it over with. He tries in numerous ways to kill himself, but it seems that either he isn't ready to die or someone leaps in to save him. I just could not get into this film. It isn't the subject matter. It isn't my own feelings about death. It isn't some kind of pact with myself and the people who are adamant that hell is ready for these sinners. I just didn't buy Burt Reynolds. I thought the thing was dull. Then again, I've never been a big fan of Dom Deluise. He was much too manic for me. Reynolds never seems address his situation with seriousness. Too many one-liners and jokes about the inevitable. I know some will say something about suicide being a cruel act. But this film diminishes the feeling.
J
This film has a 35 year-old sensibility that is as dead as a stump today. We all know that comedy doesn't last, and this one does not at all stand the test of time. The film is a series of disjointed, contrived scenes with a very thin narrative stringing them along. The main character receives a terminal diagnosis and is so bummed out that he wants to kill himself - one knows it's not going to happen from the moment Burt offers up a hysterical crying fit that sounds like a hyena. Burt Reynolds can't act and can't direct. Its boring, plodding pace makes it almost soporific, although the only spark is Dom DeLuise. Yes, I wanted to see Sally and Strother and Dom and others, but gave up and fast-forwarded to their scenes to catch glimpses of them. You will have a better time staring at an aquarium than spending any time with this one.
parkerr86302
I first saw THE END on the NBC network around 1980, and thought it was a very funny and yet very touching black comedy about dealing with the end of life. It became one of my favorites. But back in those days, movies were still being heavily edited for television, something I wasn't aware of.A couple of years after that, I got to see the original theatrical version on cable, and I was shocked! It seemed like a completely different film; the original film was filled with foul language, crude sexual jokes about orgasms and other functions, and other unnecessary excesses. I was very disappointed.This is the textbook example of just how much difference TV editing can make for a film. It is also an example of how editing can sometimes IMPROVE a movie. Unfortunately, since video, DVD and cable are king now, it is only the unedited theatrical release that is available to viewers. That is a shame, but I still have fond memories of the hilarious and touching comedy I saw on TV so many years ago.On an unrelated trivia note, when Burt Reynolds published his memoirs a few years ago, he contended that veteran character actor Sam Jaffe had a small role. Apparently this scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Too bad.
