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Norman Lear's "Cold Turkey" is one of the funniest, sharpest satires ever to grace the screen. I loved the film when I saw it in the movie theater back in 1971. Now many years later I revisited it and the film still is relevant and hysterical, but with a satirical eye that lampoons many issues, not just the storyline about the town of Eagle Rock giving up smoking. This film was made at a time when comedies tended to be nice, sweet, fun, innocent and non-offensive. Norman Lear was so on target with the pulse of the nation and knew that humor could be found in the frailties of human nature. Also, in the politics of the day. Mix in some of the top character actors/comedians at the time and you end up with a brutal, wise, comedy classic. Three moments have always stood out for me. First the opening credits sequence of the stray dog approaching the town on the dirt road. The dog keeps going from billboard sign to another billboard sign. Each sign signals the "life" that was once in Eagle Rock, but each sign signals the slow death of the dying town stating "Closed", "Going Out of Business", or just falling apart and faded. The selection of Randy Newman's haunting song "He Gives Us All His Love" is a strong statement to open the film with because it looks like God has forgotten Eagle Rock. Hence the perfect tone is set for Norman Lear's smart satire. Second moment that I find is the funniest scene in the movie is in the hospital when the doctor is operating on a patient and has found a cigarette and is threatening to light it. When the whole town council are on one side of the gurney and the doctor is on the other side with a scalpel ready to stab whoever takes his cigarette away and the patient sits up (after being twirled around several times on the gurney) and he begs "For God's sake! Let him smoke!!"...I lose it every time with tears down my face from laughing so hard. The third moment that is forever engrained in my memory is the final slow pan back from the city revealing the newly built missile plant with it's huge smoke stacks filling the air with black smoke causing the whole town of Eagle Rock to be enveloped with smog and pollution. Randy Newman's opening song is reprised as the visual is revealed. A bold, final statement to bring closure to this brilliant satire.
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A gem of a satire from Norman Lear
Don't be scared off by the "DVD-R media" thing. The picture quality is good and the DVD comes in a real case with real artwork and a professional, though rather generic looking label. What it DOESN'T have is an on-screen DVD menu, subtitles (much needed), specific chapter stops at key scenes, or special features of any kind. Instead, the chapter stops are set every 5 minutes. You will miss these usual DVD perks but be delighted that this otherwise out of print film is finally being made available. Get it while you can! This gem of a satire was the directorial debut from Norman Lear and was released a month after the premiere of "All In The Family." The film is peppered with familiar and soon-to-be familiar faces. The film is listed as being in full screen but has a somewhat widescreen look with much wider than needed borders on the TV monitor and does not fill the entire screen lengthwise when it easily could (see my attached pictures). This takes some getting used to and hurts the overall enjoyment of the film. The sound is mono with some music cues being unusually loud. The print has some occasional dirt scratches but is very watchable. Be forewarned: DVD–R discs are not as durable as regular DVD discs. They seem to attract scratches and fingerprints from out of nowhere. The disc should be in its case at all times when it is not in the DVD player.
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2017
Top reviews from other countries
- Glen K. AmoReviewed in Canada on March 24, 2021
This forgotten Gem Could Really Use A Remaster!
