slaughterhouse five

Still required reading in trendy high school curriculums everywhere, Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse Five chronicles the semi-autobiographical time-traveling adventures of Billy Pilgrim, a rather passive protagonist who jumps between his past, present and future with jarring irregularity. Narratively, it makes for a wonderful metaphor on memory and how life experiences cumulatively impact our future selves. And, considering the editorial time-shifting abilities inherent in cinema, it should all make for a terrific movie.

But for some reason George Roy Hill's 1972 adaptation fails to fire the right neurons. Vonnegut's dissertation on Billy's trials and tribulations is all present and accounted for, including time spent as a prisoner of both the Nazis and a race of intergalactic aliens called the Tralfamadorians. And cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek delivers a look and feel equivalent to the best European art films on display at the time. Make no mistake, the film certainly isn't lacking the technical sophistication of its highbrow cousins (it "feels" like Bergman but "looks" like Godard) and a few peek-a-boo scenes with Valerie Perrine (Superman) even play to the cheap seats.

So perhaps it's the rather untranslatable ennui of the material itself that makes the film somewhat lackluster. Star Michael Sacks looks like a character actor and disappears into the role almost too adeptly. The movie needs an anchor and Hill refuses to provide one, creatively cutting around Billy's "unstuck in time" memories with great affectation...but ultimately to little effect.

That said, Arrow's new Blu-ray special edition is wonderful to look at regardless. The new 4K restoration provides a big bump over any previous edition and the extras - including a commentary from Troy Howarth, criticism from Kim Newman (who doesn't seem to be a huge fan of the novel to begin with), and several cast and crew interviews - provide some much needed perspective on one of the few American art films to pop up in the early '70s.