hard to rate: pretty good for a film school thesis? how about an 11; cinema to study as a precursor to several great films? maybe a 5 or 6; as a movie, just a movie, maybe 3; two big problems: story is loose, too often sophomoric, too much filler dialog of no help, never defines the main character, sometimes nerd, sometimes rube, adventurous and off to a new life, a wimp who reports to daddy; worse problem, the actor who plays him, kastner: no screen presence, often unpleasant, beady expression in closeups where he's supposed to be interested, thinking; in drawn out tours of Manhattan, watching him watch NYC, no reason to care; when the locations overwhelm the star of the movie you sense more trouble to come; it does; but, amazingly to me, he was nominate for bafta 'Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles' in '68, then went on to do mainly minor parts in minor TV series; somehow, film student Coppola got appearances from Geraldine Paige and Julie Harris, both at home with the camera, and a john Sebastian soundtrack; newcomer in small role that leaps out is Karen black, a natural; so settle on a 5- for the history of cinema, and glimpses like break to sepia and stills in a flashback become some of the great scenes in godfather 2

I first saw this movie in a British seaside flea-pit - on the strength of just the title - when I was 13. It enchanted me so much, I traveled back there every night for the rest of the week, just to see it again and again.Despite being very much a "New York Movie", it's themes are universal and as a young lad of 13, I REALLY identified with the 19-year-old hero (Americans are less mature than we Europeans).At that time, I only knew F.F.C. as the director of "Finian's Rainbow" (a VERY different project) and of course, he had yet to do "American Graffiti" (ANOTHER of my Top Ten).I have this masterpiece on VHS and the soundtrack album (in mono) on vinyl and they STILL stand up today. I think people who dislike this movie are expecting another broad relationship comedy - but the comedy is very SUBTLE, obviously being lost on those who see it as just another "Young Man's Awakening" movie.But that aside, this is a charming, VERY Sixties look at teen-angst from the viewpoint of a central character who has JUST LEFT the bonds of home (so many feature ones who are still STUCK there). And as one who would shortly leave an English small town for life in London, at the HEIGHT of the "swinging" era ('67-'72) this movie was LITERALLY a life-changing experience for me.And few of my Top Ten movies can claim THAT.

I remember the day I bought the movie for $2 in Bennington, Vermont. I was in a bad mood that day. I read on the back of the VHS box how this was FFC's master's thesis at UCLA and thought that it could be a cool viewing. I watched it later that day and it changed my mood to great, and it became my favorite movie.Some of the sequences and lines and maddeningly dizzy and dizzyingly mad. The names and objects and places Bernard gives to initials is wonderful. Barbara Darling dancing up in that cage in the underground club! The music (Darling Be Home Soon is a masterpiece)! The cinematography! The deliverance of sexy lines! (Hair?! You collect, hair!?"). Del Grado's poetic musings on life (funny where they got him ...). The views of 1966 New York City, pre-World Trade Center. I've seen it about 50 times always trying to figure out the theme, and I still haven't come up with one, although, Bernard goes from a milk-spilling virgin to a maturing lad who finally opens his eyes to life and stops spilling milk.That $2 VHS copy is gone. I wish I could find another copy, or, one on DVD.It's the most dizzy, maddeningly wonderful sexy piece or cinema I've seen, or ever will experience.So is there a way to find love with a woman like Amy Partlett with streaks of Barbara Darling that run through her veins? (And no, I don't collect hair, and stopped spilling milk years ago).

This movie was very boring and made really no kind of sense to me at all. It's about this ugly, gap-toothed, 19 year old guy who doesn't know much about girls and when he moves out on his own, he decides to see what girls are like. He walks around Times Square and ends up at a peep show. Elizabeth Hartman plays an actress who's also a go-go dancer in whom the ugly guy gets a crush on after watching her dance at a club one day. She decides to mess with his mind by inviting him to move in with her and gives him some what of a thrill that night(Don't worry nothing happens she just turns out the lights, kisses him and then dumps him the next day. I just knew she wouldn't go that far). She then begins to date the ugly guy's friend whom she eventually dumps as well. You can tell she's an insecure person who loves to mess with guy's minds and then dump them. At the end the ugly guy ends up getting together with this cross-eyed chick who's had a huge crush on him throughout the whole movie. Thank God Elizabeth Hartman is my favorite actress. Otherwise I would've stopped watching this movie about 20 mins after it started. It was a bore!!!