Schaffner. He’s far from the greatest auteur working in Hollywood from 1968-1978—but the run Franklin Schaffner went on from Planet of the Apes through The Boys from Brazil (especially the stretch from 1968-1973 with four films in the archives) is very impressive. He’s a style-minus director though, his strength here is inarguably the filmography. He does have a consistency though—Schaffner made epics—just a few years removed from when they largely fell out of favor.
Best film: Patton. Schaffner is a bit in the shadows of George C. Scott’s towering performance and rising star Francis Ford Coppola’s screenplay. But the opening giant American flag set-piece puts forth the tone for the film.
Schaffner is a bit in the shadows of George C. Scott’s towering performance and rising star Francis Ford Coppola’s screenplay. But the opening giant American flag set-piece puts forth the tone for the film.
total archiveable films: 6
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 0
top 100 films of the decade: 1 (Patton)
most overrated: I don’t have an overrated film for Schaffner. Planet of the Apes is doing pretty solidly on the TSPDT consensus list- it sits at #1324—a good spot. Patton is the only other film that shows up at all—and that’s underrated.
most underrated : Papillon should be somewhere in the TSPDT top 2000 and isn’t—but the big travesty here is definitely Patton– it sits at #1810 on the TSPDT consensus list.
Papillon should be somewhere in the TSPDT top 2000 and isn’t
gem I want to spotlight : Papillon. It is a story of endurance, and Schaffner takes his time, so that will be a test for many. However, for those with a little patience, there’s much to admire in the big epic world Schaffner creates, and in the strong dueling lead performances from Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
for those with a little patience, there’s much to admire in the big epic world Schaffner creates, and in the strong dueling lead performances from Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
stylistic innovations/traits:
- Big brilliant set pieces— big ones, the American flag in Patton, the statue of liberty finale in Planet of the Apes
Big brilliant set pieces— big ones, the American flag in Patton, the statue of liberty finale in Planet of the Apes
- Maker of epics– big budget prestige pictures
- He’s an old-school director who worked in the middle of the American Movie brat new wave era. These films could have come out from 1968-1978, or easily could have come out from 1938-1948, or 1988, etc
Maker of epics– big budget prestige pictures– this from Nicholas and Alexandra
top 10
- Patton
- The Planet of the Apes
- Papillon
- Nicholas and Alexandra
- The Boys from Brazil
- The Best Man
By year and grades
| 1964- The Best Man | R |
| 1968- The Planet of the Apes | HR |
| 1970- Patton | MS |
| 1971- Nicholas and Alexandra | |
| 1973- Papillon | HR |
| 1978- The Boys from Brazil | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
if you have a tcm they aired 1968 planet of the apes a few days ago. you should treat yourself to it. maybe not a great film, but stylized and thought provoking to this very day. very good film.
Have you seen Islands in The Stream(1977)?
@Malith- I have not – worth seeing?
Absolutely.A great performance by George C. Scott.It’s a shame it is virtually unknown.You should add it to your watchlist.
@Malith- sounds interesting. I will add it. Thanks.
Have you seen Bang the Drum Slowly(1973) starring Robert De Niro?
@Malith- yes, I have seen it
Is it not good enough to be in the archives or will you put it in the archives after another viewing?I thought it was good.
@Malith— those are sort of the same thing. I didn’t think it was awful if that’s what you’re asking. But I’ve seen it once and didn’t feel compelled to put it in.
Bang the Drum Slowly(1973) has 80 on Metacritic,4 stars from Roger Ebert.Very suprised not to see it in the archives and see something like The Last Tycoon in the archives.I would take Bang the Drum Slowly over The Last Tycoon anyday of the week.
By the way have you seen Cinderella Liberty(1973)?Love that film.
James Caan is superb.Why is Cinderella Liberty(1973) not in the archives?
Hey Drake you know what would be an interesting thing for you to do; pages pitting two films against each other… i mean both similar films. obviously 2001 is a better film but for example i think it is very similar to planet of the apes 1968 which is probably my favorite movie.
or like Star Wars vs blade runner
Seventh Seal vs some other dreary existential masterpiece 🙂
Citizen Kane vs casablanca
apocalypse now vs taxi driver
metropolis vs blade runner etc……
@D.W.Griffith- interesting- that’s a fun idea. Thanks for the recommendation
Actually Patton is #1879 on the TSPDT Consensus list not #1810.
@Malith – this is not an error. This page of Schaffner was written prior to the most recent TSPDT update.