Wow! I saw "Seconds"-- this 1960's Sci-Fi/Paranoid Thriller/Surreal film over a month ago, and haven't quite gotten it out of my mind. It's a film that is almost impossible to find anywhere. It's not available through Netflix, and amazon.com has copies that range around $60/$70 since it's out of print. Fortunately, I decided to blind-buy a copy on amazon for $30 a few months ago before the prices have skyrocketed, due to it being out of print. I'm so glad I did! Really, I can't say enough about Rock Hudson, who shocked me with this performance. I never thought he could do so well in such an edgy, surreal film--most films he's been in have been run-of-the-mill predictable early Hollywood films. Naturally, when "Seconds" was released, critics panned it, panned Rock's performance, and it did horrible in the box office. Over the years it has gained a cult following, and it wouldn't shock me if David Lynch, or Terry Gilliam was a fan of this film. Anyway, I've been thinking about this film so much, reading little antidotes on the making of the film, behind the screens, and about Rock Hudson's role in general. I ran across this interesting tidbit taken from wikipedia in regards to "Seconds"--
Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson saw the movie during its initial release, between sessions for Smile. Under the influence of drugs, the early stages of schizophrenia, and pressure to complete Smile, Wilson found Seconds an especially intense experience, that affected him personally (beginning with his arriving late; the first dialogue he heard onscreen was "Come in, Mr. Wilson", taking him by surprise). His state of mind shifted over the next months, between fantasies of escaping his own life in a similar way, and thoughts that perhaps rival producer Phil Spector had somehow convinced Columbia Pictures (sic) to make the movie "to mess with my mind". Wilson later abandoned the Smile sessions, and did not see another movie in a theater until E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982. His experience was later recounted in The Beach Boys by Byron Preiss, Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile! by Domenic Priore, and Wilson's own Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story (written with Todd Gold).
I've never seen this one! SURREAL DUDE. I've been on a Rock Hudson kick lately, too, but mostly lighter stuff like "Pillow Talk." He was such a talent.
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