The Last Tycoon (1976)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

As much as I wanted to like The Last Tycoon, because the story was originated by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I just couldn't get through it. It takes a lot to make me actually turn off a movie, but I was so incredibly bored my eyelids were actually drooping. Basically, Robert De Niro stars as a producer in old Hollywood, and the film follows his various dealings with Hollywood stars, executives, and backstage personnel. Old timers like Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Ray Milland, John Carradine, and Dana Andrews have fun with reliving the "good old days", and modern stars like Jack Nicholson, Donald Pleasence, Jeanne Moreau, Theresa Russell, Peter Strauss, and Anjelica Huston get to dress up and pretend they're in the 1940s. As sometimes happens, when you get a huge cast together, the magic is spent in publicizing the party invitations rather than the party itself. I didn't really like this one even though there are several cast members I remembered fondly from the era The Last Tycoon takes place in.

Horrible rendition of decent Fitzgerald story-DeNiro and major stars were good- TONY Curtis and model playing DeNiro love interest were the worst ever!!! Storyline moved along well when the major stars were on screen BUT time just stood still when the other two were on screen! THERESA Russell was drop dead gorgeous in this film.

The Last Tycoon is a dramatic film based on Harold Pinter's screenplay adaptation of F.Scott Fitzgerald's last and unfinished novel of the same title. It stars Robert De Niro together with Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jack Nicholson, Donald Pleasence, Jeanne Moreau, Theresa Russell and Ingrid Boulting.This was the last film of Elia Kazan,a popular film director during the 50's after more than a 42-year career.The movie revolves around the story of Monroe Stahr,a young production chief of one of the biggest studios during the Golden Age Of Hollywood during the 1930's.As he grows ambitious and lusts for more power,he works harder than ever.In addition to that,he also becomes obsessed with a young woman who is engaged to be married in Kathleen Moore and another woman,Cecilia Brady, the young daughter of a studio board member, tries in vain to make Monroe see how she truly feels.Things even become more complicated when Monroe's health goes on a decline due to hard work and the limited rest that he is getting.This film was based on the late MGM Chairman Irving Thalberg,who is known as the Golden Boy of movie production during the 1930's. Robert De Niro's looks and slender figure provides realism as it is similar to the said MGM chairman.Also,the performances of the cast were great especially De Niro,who is able to carry the movie from beginning to end.Too bad that the movie somewhat lacked spontaneity due to probably Kazan's old directorial methods.But nevertheless, it is still a nice film to watch despite the fact that it could probably be dated by today's standards.

... was in attempting to film this great unfinished novel in the first place, the second was employing an English writer and the third was casting Robert de Niro in the lead. DeNiro's definition of 'Acting' is to shout at the top of his voice and behave like a sociopath. Unfortunately lots of people - some of them influential - who should know better have applauded this and encouraged him to continue. Monroe Stahr is diametrically opposite DeNiro, a thoughtful, quiet intellectual light years away from DeNiro's wise guy whose solution to problems on the studio floor would be to kick the director to death and throw acid into the faces of the actors. Even Gadg can't do anything with this so he elected to shoot it as though everyone were under water wading through molasses. Virtually no one relates to anyone else least of all Stahr and Kathleen. Scott must be turning in his grave.