The Hal Ashby Poll

Shampoo really feels, to me, like one of those "you had to be there" 70s movies, like M*A*S*H*, Zabriskie Point or Ashby's own The Landlord. I didn't dislike it; I just didn't get much out of it beyond a few strong performances and a good period soundtrack (I appreciated them going with "Manic Depression," my fave Hendrix song, over any of the more obvious choices). And yes, selecting today to watch it was a conscious choice on my part.

I like it a little more than that, but I agree, it's wholly of its moment. I've read two, maybe three instances of writers identifying different real-life sources for Beatty's character.

So The Landlord is actually pretty goddamn great, huh? No idea why I skipped it when I first worked my way through all of the prime Ashbys two decades ago. Liberal racism looks pretty much identical half a century later. I think I'd put it up there with my faves (Last Detail, Being There, Bound for Glory). Keen to finally dig into the rest of Bill Gunn's miniscule filmography now, as well.

Most social satires and dramas from the 1970s are still, unfortunately, relevant and "the same," for lack of a better word. This is a very good example. Great early DP job by Gordon Willis. I remember not really liking the lead though (the landlord, lol), obviously the character must be a wormboy, but as I recall he was a little too broad and bumbling. Absolutely worth seeing, though. An underrated and under seen film.

Several times a week I walk past the block that the landlord's house was on (and it's still there). If the landlord had held onto that house he would now own a multimillion dollar property. There's a line in the film where I think Lee Grant describes the neighborhood as a "slum," which would be a guaranteed laugh today if the film were shown locally (which it occasionally is).

more and more The Landlord feels like Ashby's most essential flick.

He strikes an unusually harmonic balance of drama/humor/relevance in it. I like Being There fine, but it's more farce-heavy.

Watched The Last Detail this weekend, such a fantastic film.

These days I'm pretty certain its his best.

It really is up there with Being There, for sure. Quaid's naive cluelessness was great, though a little wild to watch knowing where he'd end up.

Being There's the only one of his '70s I squirm through. Sellers' routine gets wearing imo.

I'm here for The Landlord, The Last Detail, and Shampoo tho.

*wearying

I need to see The Landlord and, actually, probably Shampoo again since I haven't seen that since the early '90s.

Being There and Harold and Maude were huge movies for me in my teens, but I feel like I've cooled on them quite a bit. The Landlord, Shampoo and Bound for Glory never really clicked for me, the first two might benefit from rewatches (I don't see my first impression of BfG as a beautifully-shot but rote biopic changing).

Bound for Glory is among the 'less than or equal to the fingers on one hand' number of biopics I actually like. And I'm fairly indifferent to the subject, even.

Finally saw The Landlord a year or two ago and thought it was great. I don't know why I was under the impression that it was less well-regarded than his other '70s stuff, but I well-regarded it.

Shampoo is the '70s Ashby flick I've long been IDGI about. But then it's been a very long time since I've seen it so I should probably reassess. I'm much more familiar with/enamored of the work of Julie Christie and Lee Grant than I was a quarter century ago, for a start.

I had to accept that Warren Beatty was the least cute and least charming actor in it.