The scene that always gets talked about is where Jack clears the table in the cafe, but this scene in the field with his father is my favorite in the movie. I think it's very moving and as well acted as anything I've ever seen in a film. Thanks for posting the story behind it.
The scene with his father is the dénouement that shows the crux of Bobby' torment, and self-censure. The final scene with Catherine where she gives her sound reasons for rejecting him confirms the worst with awful finality.
Only watched this movie once but it made scary sense to me, and everytime i see it mentioned i remember how it made me feel. I don't want to watch it again because I'm afraid that feeling will get messed up. Maybe someday.
The reason Jack didn’t want to do this scene is because he was loyal to the writer for this particular film (he said he’d usually be loyal to the director but this was the exception). He was close friends with the writer and they both felt this scene wasn’t necessary as it was spoon feeding the audience. She’d written this film and character with it being loosely based on her own family, but on Jack and his family as well (what she knew anyway). This was the second film they had worked on together. He wanted to stay true to her vision and script and also agreed with her. Judging by some of the comments maybe they were both right?
Funny, insightful, and VERY moving. Two geniuses made an unforgettable scene together: Rafelson and the actor who played Bobby D's mute, uncomprehending father both turned aside and let Jack find the moment and the words. Thanks, Chief, for posting this
@@jesseowenvillamor6348 Hey, lighten up! I love Nicholson and that scene, of course, who doesn't? The whole somber, introverted, hard to understand mystery angst, passive/aggressive thing along with the love interest and piano...at snail's pace. I dunno, I didn't like "On Golden Pond" either, I probably am 'the problem' whatever that means.
@@jesseowenvillamor6348 do we all need to agree with you that this movie interesting, profound, or fascinating? It's okay for different people to like different things.
Only saw movie once, a long time ago, but remember this scene well. What I took from it was the utter futility of the outburst (from the character himself) because the father is too senile to even register the proffered olive branch let alone embrace it. A familiar case where you have to accept that some family issues will never be resolved and even if broached earlier the result would probably have been the same. What you can’t change, you’ll have to learn to live with. The other scene I remember is the ending. I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I’ve seldom seen something so harrowing. Letting the credits roll over continued action adds real poignancy. The same technique is used at the end of Midnight Run, though to different effect.
Actually, this is not correct. Hollywood has always been full of "actresses" that could cry effectively on cue. Unfortunately, for most of them that's pretty much all they could do in front of a camera. Wanna watch a magnificent crying scene that will have you reaching for tissues, stream "The Kid", Charlie Chaplin's 1921 silent masterpiece.
Some of these comments seem to confuse Jack Nicholson with Robert Eroica Dupea the character he portrays. This is a fairly sophisticated movie, not for everyone.
@@randolphpinkle4482 If you mean that Nicholson was miscast, I disagree. Note that "Bobby", Robert Eroica Dupea, though he came from a cultured family of musicians, was an alienated, estranged dropout from his family's circle and lifestyle. There is nothing in the movie to indicate that he was ever a concert pianist, though that presumably is what his parents hoped for him. He is a messed up, conflicted, and maladjusted man, and Nicholson displays that convincingly.
Great film. Saw it when it came out. A few misgivings. No one plays the Chopin fm Fantasy on a broken down upright after not touching the piano for years. Especially after months of oil rig work outdoors. But it's a film of course, and you accept the premise for the sake of the story.
I tend to disagree. The whole thing? No. Flawlessly? No. But you practice songs and particular parts so much that some of it just stays in the hands. Overtime there are a few pieces of parts of songs you always go to when you sit down at a piano for the random playing session and these remain in one’s memory.
Jack is an amazing actor, near the top of all time. But that scene is evidence that there is a gap in his skills. You're correct, Bob should have listened.
i'm sure you're right. And when you're right, your right. C'mon Curly, you can't eat the Venetian blinds. Contrived? Were you there to see that scene in person? no, I don't think so.
@@ellenrosenblatt5463 "How'd you find out about it? You don't drink it; you don't take a bath in it... They wrote you a letter. But then you have to be able to read."
Sudowoodo Dave - That’s inaccurate. I am a professional Motion Picture Camera/Steadicam Operator for 30 years. If you go back and watch the scene as played within the video, you can see the camera moving, following Jack’s movements. 2:44 Jack’s head (and emotional moment) would have gone out of the bottom of the frame if someone hadn’t tilted the camera down along with him. Bob said he was holding the “boom” microphone, so it couldn’t have been him. 👍🏻
The actor who played the Roman soldier in that Ben Hur scene with Christ - he goes through several emotions - ending in shame - all within a minute. i don't know his name ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tVlf7OiiTJE.html&ab_channel=kevinrspBelieves at 2.50
That was the first thing I thought when they cut to the film. At the very least there would have been an operator and focus puller watching. And booming whilst not watching where the actor was moving, hmmm. Lets be polite and say he is remembering it wrong after all these years.
Ironically, it looks like the dad's close-up reaction shot (where Jack is not in the frame) was done with a locked off camera. Maybe that's what Bob is remembering.
Okay, my comment may shock you __ but many of these film production stories are lies or partial lies. In fact, probably almost everything we hear or see about every actor, celebrity, director, etc. are mostly bs.
But let's not forget Bruce Dern in The King Of Marvin Gardens an actor who mined his manic type cast vs Jack. Another fascinating Rafalson. Black Sunday 1974 stands out as a stunning expliotation film about the Palestinian vs Isreal conflict. Dern totally maniacal / Marthe Keller ( raise a dead man) and bonkers Robert Shaw doing an absurd accent as the Mossad agent in an insane 007 plot. 😂 A film for our time. 😂 Jeez they don't make em like the 70s anymore.
@@hetmanjz yeah she was also another 70s star who was f... massive but unlike Black she had a better slow burn after the peak 70s. If you say US indie it's totally her silhouette on it. Amazing quality. But she still did the big ones as well 😊
It's an excellent film which I've seen a few times over the decades, but I've absolutely no recollection of that scene. As per the discussion with Rafeson, it was forced on Jack and he just caved.
Of course how could I forget China Town and Antonionni's the Passenger jeez massive films of the 70s. Jack was really the first actor I noticed who just dropped any pretense to acting and was just Jack. Really far more original than Pacino Dinero. His face off with Brando in The Missouri Breaks and I gotta say Brando won it. Some one once said Alain Delon worst actor in the world ( vs Vincent Cassel) But the point about Delon - he wasn't actin. Never went anywhere near an actin school. Jack was his level ect.
Spoiler alert: when he sneaks away from Karen Black at the end of the movie - she knows where his family lives so she could likely have access to him again (or his family).
Always remember the hitch hike ending when he abandoned Karen Black. Truck Driver : Haven't you got a Jacket? Dupea: No Truck Driver : Were we're going is cold as hell ( Truck drives off End Credits)
I saw it as any man about crying. Your emotions balance on a rim, teeterin around trying not to fall in. Jack had to bring that emotion but did not want to fall in.
I’ve seen a lot of men look and act like that when they’re getting emotional for the first time in their adult life. Bobby and Jack crossed paths in that scene. It was supposed to look pathetic.
@@PokeySoggybottom maan it's a Jack f... er 😂 Special fact Jack hanged on to the film rights for 31 years! It wasn't a DVD or Video Tape ect. Jeez - kept it as his private Mona Lisa 😂 A maan of wealth and taste - que that song 😂
I see this is only from a day ago. It's the beauty of it. Nobody sees the same movie. I respectfully disagree with both you and @mikejohnson2638. It worked for me. Thought it was brilliant acting. Merry Christmas. :D
I can´t recall off-hand a crying scene that´s ever truly convinced me, especially this one, though it´s the great Jack Nicholson who´s one of the finest and one of my favorites of all time. I think Rafelson and Jack are trying to sell us a bill of goods here, and I'm not buying it.
I have to say it struck me as awkward, but not false. I felt like his character - tough, loner, man's man type - would actually have to force that kind of emotional display so it would be something he might only dare to reveal in front of his father, and that only after years of his accumulated shortcomings. So for me, it works because of its peculiarities.
I saw the movie in college and remembered that scene when I again look at it maybe 20 years latter.. I was right, it was forced acting all the way!! Jack was not that good yet!!
I don't recall the film well, tough I saw it. I just watched the clip and I see why you say it looks fake. But the thing to remember is the character has lived his life to not show emotion, and with that in mind, the uncomfortable crying might be the discomfort of the character, not the actor.
There's a another credited writer to Five Easy Pieces not mentioned here, which is Carole Eastman. Wonder how much of the script she wrote and what's her take on this scene. In any case, Jack was right, the crying while monologuing comes across as insencere.
Truly great acting would be able to tap into that. Jack knew his abilities and limits; a softened tone of voice in sincerity would be perfect for him and just enough emotion.
It’s a nice story but rather embellished. The camera isn’t locked off, you can see that it pans and tilts to follow Nicholson. Why make crap up instead of just telling what really happened?
Noticed the same thing, also it would’ve been foolish not to have an AC there to pull focus if need be. Whole take could’ve been soft and useless depending on what Nicholson decided to do in the frame. I’m sure he sent 98% of the crew away tho.
My memory of this film, I didn't like it al all. Nicholson's character was a pissed off asshole over absofkn lutely nothing. And to start such a character with the iconic "Stand By Your Man" song, if the character was a mentally ill homeless fuck that noone would be with then maybe it could've had Monty Python level humor to it. Idk.
Uhh, that’s the point? He’s empty and without meaning and he has no real explanation for it. He’s pissed off bc he doesnt like his life and he’s an asshole bc he’s angry and bc he’s sad. At the root of it, he’s developmentally stunted since he started running all those years ago, from what terrified him, and by the end of it, he’s still running. Most tragically, he’s a wonderfully talented pianist underneath it all, which goes stifled and unshared with the world in any capacity. Its all-time tragedy, understated, poignant, slow-moving, heartbreaking, simply human. Yet not near the level-tragedy that is anyone wishing it had Monty Python elements! Lol
@@yarn9329 i still see monty python rescuing this flick... girly asked what do you want for dinner and jackoff jack yells stfu bitch! then stand by your man plays. and what the fuck are 5 easy pieces referring to anyway? not that i care
@@WyattTwerpp 5 easy pieces is the name of a piano book with easy songs anyone can learn in it, referring to the really easy chopin song Jack plays for that woman was a song he learned when he was eight years old, yet to her and the audience is an incredibly deep impactful scene. It probably refers to the nature of the film itself, where very little happens, yet it's a very deep introspective film.
4 месяца назад
no, with his musical talent, he wouldn't know talent if it was shitting next to him in the car. Her character could have been a big country music star in the day.
Exactly. He’s pretending this is “cinema at its best” when the scene is embarrassingly bad. It’s like talking Clark Gable into playing a gay dude. Some things just aren’t going to work.
I recently watched “Five Easy Pieces” after hearing of it’s greatness for years. And I must say: I didn’t get it. It was a weak story, with spotty acting at best and an ending that left me feeling as if I just waisted two hours of my life.
I mostly agree, it’s not a great film. I think it’s mostly famous for Jack’s performance, which is stellar. I think this scene is not the best, but there are several amazing scenes where he is amazing.
I love Jack, one of the best, the man knew his limitations but was coerced to do a crying scene, which, in my opinion, was downright terrible, hard to watch.
