Coming-of-age drama adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. Bogdanovitch second movie, who was stage actor, film essayist, and critic.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Major of the "New Hollywood" wave

Clear influence from the French New wave

Platt and Bogdanovich consulted close friend Orson Welles about the viability of shooting the film in black and white. Welles simply said, "Of COURSE you'll shoot it in black and white!"

Cybill Shepherd and Peter Bogdanovich became lovers during this film.

Some scene a bit disturbing, some nudity.

1970

Viet Nam, hippie movement...

Set in 51, centered on the life of youth and their relations with the generation of their parents and a changing world. Generation gap - same than in 1970 and always.

But it shows also nostalgia (end of cinema, some elements of tragedy), like a mirror to the hippie culture shown backwards.

Roger Ebert wrote: "It is about a town with no reason to exist, and people with no reason to live there. The only hope is in transgression"

Review: a surprising encounter

It is sometimes surprising how people react differently to a movie, up to the point where one can wonder if we just watched the same screen. We got the feedback that why Aurofilm chose a such a terribly movie, that pictured such a degrading image of the women.

No doubt that cinema is a powerful media that can trigger unexpected and quite strong reactions. This movie is almost universally acclaimed for its sensibility and psychological portray of a slice of humanity.

I found 2 quite serious analysis of that movie from a feminist angle: https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-last-picture-show-masculinity/ and https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Feminist-Approach-Gender-Roles-Of-The-1960-P3LQ8FT3RZKW. Both highlight the modernity of the female characters as they "show the ultimate rebellion by showing that they can break these social norms and are not trapped by society".