Reviews (16)

Johnathan Livingston Seagull
This movie is so uplifting! The music and photography are mesmerizing, as well as the messages of striving to reach past your perceived limits to totally new horizons. When I'm troubled I watch the movie or listen to the cd and remember that it's the striving in life that makes us who we are, not our present problems.

An encounter with the soul
First of all, I speak and write the English a little.
I think is a very good film , very good music and a very good performance in the Neil Diamond voice,the nature, the clouds, the ocean and a magnificent fly of the seagull.A dialog with our souls, I saw the movie in 1979, and I still listening the music of my old soundtrack cassete.
It wiil be nice that the children can enjoy the film today.
Sometimes you need think in the short time you have to enjoy this life.

WAKE UP ZOMBIES OF MATERIALISM.
I just cant understand, how dare people here can say awful words about this CLASSIC history? Im not talking about the quality of the movie, but the NECESSARY here is the MESSAGE.
there is a person here, that his name is '' a viewer'' i mean a chicken one, that dont said the name, from MIAMI, that said:
( '' this movie show a bunch o seagulls eating garbage, and Neil diamond singing SEAAAAAAA GULLLLLL,'') oh my GOD
for the one who said that, for gods sake, GET A LIFE!!!.
this movie need to be watch on a focus of HUMANS, NOT SEAGULLS .
well, i just had to say that, because for me, Richard Bach is a Genius, and his book, and movie, is a HOPE that the HUMANS still have a light inside of us, we are not just Animals seeking for food, water, sex, POWER, etc etc... This movie makes me feel important, to myself, to the World, and to our Father, GOD.
thanks Richard Bach, for writing this book and movie.
Your Work WILL NEVER DIE, NEVER.

Wonderful Movie
Great music, great photography.. and how did they ever get those wonderful shots of seagulls in flight?

I never looked at a seagul the same once I saw this movie years ago. I had to have the movie because, living near the ocean, I felt it important that my children experience "Jonathan" and his quest to be different. Great, great movie.

Cult of JLS
I saw this movie in the theater during its first release when I was in grade school. I remember at the time, the book had a bizarre, cultish following - some teachers even mandated that very young students read it - not to examine it as any other literary work - but for the purpose of betterment and enlightenment - like the book was a cult leader's manifesto. My parents made me go to this movie with my older brother. Even at my young age, I recognized the movie as being meandering, ridiculous, seemingly pointless and ultimately very boring. What I DID learn was this - my parents were probably on something back in 1973. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Difficult to watch portrayal of mental illness
The one reason to get this movie is to get an idea of the timely sociology of mental illness. The overall movie is a disappointment. Most of the glimpses into mental illness are a bit antiquated and not at all convincing. Lorna (Polly Bergen) is at times hystrionic in a way that is just ineffectual to the viewer, there's only so much madness that one can take in this type of movie, which in the end actually kind of turns out to be a propaganda-driven view of psychiatry. If you are watching it for Joan Crawford's sake, then you'll be pleased with the Judo scene of course and the various "don't [mess] with me fellas" moments, but all in all, it's not a great classic, and worth watching mostly for the sociological implications behind the film itself.

Flawed, but with a fabulous cast it is worth a look!
I won't say that "The Caretakers" is the greatest film ever made, but it is certainly not the worst. "The Caretakers" is the story of the struggle between a progressive doctor (Robert Stack), who wants to create a "day hospital" for "borderline" patients, and the old regime headed by Nurse Lucretia (Joan Crawford) and her team of nurses (including the terrific Constance Ford). All of the actresses who portray borderline patients are fabulous. Polly Bergen is Lorna, the woman tormented by the death of her son. Janis Paige plays Marion, the stubborn, hard tempered patient who encourages mischief among the others. Barbara Barrie is the mute patient who nearly burns the clinic down. Particularly good is Sharon Hugueny, who plays Connie, the sweet, lonely girl who, in a particularly poignant scene, pretends to read a letter from her mother, filled with lines about how much her family loves and misses her, only for the letter to be brutally exposed as a fake by Marion. Diane McBain and Susan Oliver are good as borderline nurses. There are many good scenes in "The Caretakers", but the overall film seems campy (the music seems better suited to "Batman" than a film about mental illness) and a bit anti-climactic, but still I recommend watching it to see the great performances given by Crawford, Ford, Paige, Barrie, and Hugueny!

Great Cast, Great Movie
I was intrigued by this movie long before I ever saw it. I had read many reviews of it (unfortunately, many disparaging ones), which whetted my appetite, and because I am a die-hard Joan Crawford fan, I eventually ordered it. I thought, "How bad can it be?" Well, I'll say this right off. It isn't as bad as everyone seems to think. In fact, it's really quite good. It is true that Joan Crawford's role (as a tough, conservative head nurse at the psychiatric hospital in which the film is set) is small, but her strong presence is still remarkable. Everyone is very good, including leads Robert Stack (as a progressive-minded doctor at odds with Crawford) and Polly Bergen, as the patient through whose eyes the story unfolds. Excellent, also, is Janis Paige as a loud-mouthed nymphomaniac in the ward. The direction is good and the theme (progressive care for mental patients vs. strait-jackets and shock treatments), manages to triumph in the end despite a few admitted cliches in the story. The moody, atmospheric photography and evocative score by Elmer Bernstein do their parts in making this a film worth seeing, especially if you like to watch good acting and have a general interest in psychology, as I do.

Mental illness portrayed for shock value
Like "The Snake Pit" more than a decade earlier, "The Caretakers" takes little care in attempting to present a responsible view of mental illness. As the patient, Polly Bergen overacts hysterically in what seems to be a desperate bid for an Oscar nomination (sorry, Polly, it didn't work), while grim-faced doctor Robert Stack swaggers about as if he were still playing Eliot Ness. The cinematography is excellent but all those dark, shadow filled corridors are more appropriate for a horror film. Then again, that's what this film is: a horror film that portrays a serious medical condition for nothing more than shock value. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Priscilla Presley is gorgeous!
...And she acts well. Otherwise, there's not much to say about this film. The plot is convoluted and dull, the star Michael Landon is not very good. All in all, a forgettable film saved by the presence of the most beautiful lady to ever walk the earth, Priscilla Presley.

This movie is based in a real life event
This is the story of a foreign journalist who returns to Laos to rescue the woman he loves and was forced to leave behind. He had been in prison and tortured by the Communist regime one year earlier, convicted of being a spy, but he is willing to risk his life to get reunited with his true love. The story is beautiful but I must say the movie is kind of slow. However, it's worth it. Michael Landon is the main character and he is an excellent actor. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Priscilla Presley is gorgeous!
...And she acts well. Otherwise, there's not much to say about this film. The plot is convoluted and dull, the star Michael Landon is not very good. All in all, a forgettable film saved by the presence of the most beautiful lady to ever walk the earth, Priscilla Presley.

This movie is based in a real life event
This is the story of a foreign journalist who returns to Laos to rescue the woman he loves and was forced to leave behind. He had been in prison and tortured by the Communist regime one year earlier, convicted of being a spy, but he is willing to risk his life to get reunited with his true love. The story is beautiful but I must say the movie is kind of slow. However, it's worth it. Michael Landon is the main character and he is an excellent actor. ... Read more