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''Slaughterhouse-Five'' is a 1972 American
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...
film directed by George Roy Hill and produced by
Paul Monash Paul Monash (June 14, 1917 – January 14, 2003) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. Life and career Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in si ...
, from a screenplay by Stephen Geller, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut. The film stars
Michael Sacks Michael Sacks (born September 11, 1948 in New York City) is an American actor and technology industry executive who played the role of Billy Pilgrim in George Roy Hill's ''Slaughterhouse Five'' (1972). Biography Sacks has a Bachelor of Arts in ...
as
Billy Pilgrim ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to ...
, who is unstuck in time and has no control over where he is going next. It also stars
Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Ame ...
as Paul Lazzaro and
Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film '' Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Be ...
as Montana Wildhack. ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' premiered at the 25th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the
Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England dur ...
and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. The film also won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and a
Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film The Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film is one of the Saturn Awards that has been presented annually since 1972 by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to the best film in the science fiction Science fiction (sometimes ...
. Sacks was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male for his portrayal of Pilgrim. Vonnegut wrote about the film soon after its release, in his preface to ''
Between Time and Timbuktu ''Between Time and Timbuktu'' is a television film directed by Fred Barzyk and based on a number of works by Kurt Vonnegut. Produced by National Educational Television and WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, it was telecast March 13, 1972 as a NET ...
'': "I love George Roy Hill and Universal Pictures, who made a flawless translation of my novel ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' to the silver screen. I drool and cackle every time I watch that film, because it is so harmonious with what I felt when I wrote the book."


Plot

In Ilium, New York, the middle-aged Billy Pilgrim writes a letter to the editor claiming to have become "unstuck in time"; he finds himself as a young man behind enemy lines in Belgium during World War II, where he and a number of other American troops are captured by the Germans. A fellow prisoner of war, Paul Lazzaro, develops a grudge against Billy and vows to kill him; at a camp, Lazzaro attacks Billy but is intercepted by an older POW, Edgar Derby. Billy and Derby develop a friendship. The Americans are set to be transferred to Dresden for the duration of the war and are asked to elect a leader. When Lazzaro nominates himself, Billy nominates Derby for the role, and Derby is acclaimed after Lazzaro steps down. In Dresden, the POWs are placed in a slaughterhouse, Slaughterhouse-Five. During dinner, sirens sound off and the POWs head to shelter; the firebombing of Dresden commences, during which Billy believes 100,000 perish. The POWs emerge and the Germans have them sort through the ruins for survivors, warning looting will be punished. When Derby discovers a dancing figurine, he pockets it, and is executed by a Nazi firing squad. After the war, Billy marries the wealthy Valencia, whose father owns an optometry school, and Billy goes into the field. They have two children, Robert and Barbara. Robert becomes a troubled adolescent, at one point caught by the police vandalizing a Catholic cemetery. Billy bribes the police into letting Robert go. Billy and his father-in-law Lionel Merble board a private jet for an optometry convention. When Billy looks out the window and sees men in ski masks, he has a premonition the plane will crash en route, which it does. Lionel is killed but Billy is found alive and taken to hospital. On her way to the hospital, a distressed Valencia has multiple accidents and her car's exhaust is destroyed, causing her to die of
carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large exp ...
. Billy is released from the hospital and opts to live alone, over the objections of Barbara. Robert has reformed and enlisted for the Vietnam War. While alone, Billy is abducted to the alien planet of Tralfamadore, along with film actress Montana Wildhack. The Tralfamadorians live in the " fourth dimension" and teach Billy the universe is made up of random moments strung together; when one dies, they go back to another point in their life, and it is up to them to focus on good moments and ignore the bad. The Tralfamadorians hope Billy and Montana will mate. Billy and Montana fall in love and have a child, whom Montana names Billy Jr. On Earth, Billy argues with Barbara about the existence of Tralfamadore; Billy, being able to travel into the future as well as the past, shares a vision of his death, in which he is fatally shot by an elderly Lazzaro while giving a speech about Tralfamadore.


Cast

*
Michael Sacks Michael Sacks (born September 11, 1948 in New York City) is an American actor and technology industry executive who played the role of Billy Pilgrim in George Roy Hill's ''Slaughterhouse Five'' (1972). Biography Sacks has a Bachelor of Arts in ...
as Billy Pilgrim *
Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Ame ...
as Paul Lazzaro *
Eugene Roche Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials. Personal life Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...
as Edgar Derby * Sharon Gans as Valencia Merble Pilgrim *
Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film '' Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Be ...
as Montana Wildhack *
Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Early years Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She was eight years o ...
as Barbara Pilgrim *
Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rem ...
as Robert Pilgrim * Kevin Conway as Roland Weary *
Friedrich von Ledebur Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln ( – ) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''Moby Dick'' (1956), ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972). Early life Ledebur was born in Nisko, A ...
as German Leader * Ekkehardt Belle as Young German Guard * Sorrell Booke as Lionel Merble *
Roberts Blossom Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924July 8, 2011) was an American poet and character actor of theatre, film, and television. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in ''Home Alone'' (1990) and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film '' Derange ...
as Wild Bob Cody * John Dehner as Professor Rumfoord *Gary Waynesmith as Stanley * Richard Schaal as Howard W. Campbell Jr. *
Gilmer McCormick Gilmer McCormick is an American actress and singer best known for her performance in the stage and film versions of ''Godspell'' in the early 1970s and for her role as Sister Margaret in the 1984 horror film '' Silent Night, Deadly Night''. Earl ...
as Lily Rumfoord *Stan Gottlieb as Hobo *
Karl-Otto Alberty Karl-Otto Alberty (also Karl Otto Alberty, born 13 November 1933 in Berlin) is a German actor. He started out as an amateur boxer before discovering a talent for acting, making his début at the City Theatre in Konstanz in 1959. He then began to ...
as German Guard - Group Two *
Henry Bumstead Lloyd Henry "Bummy" Bumstead (March 17, 1915 – May 24, 2006) was an American cinematic art director and production designer. In a career that spanned nearly 70 years, Bumstead began as a draftsman in RKO Pictures' art department and later ...
as Eliot Rosewater *
Lucille Benson Lucille Benson (July 17, 1914 – February 17, 1984) was an American character actress. Biography Personal life Born in Scottsboro, Alabama, on July 17, 1914, Benson was adopted by her aunt, Mrs. John Benson, after her mother died of tuber ...
as Billy's Mother * John Wood as English Officer, credited as Tom Wood


Music

''Slaughterhouse-Five'' is the first of two feature films for which Glenn Gould supplied the music; Bach Concerto #5 in F Minor, BWV 1056, and Concerto #3 in D Major, BWV 1054 were recorded at Columbia Studios with the Columbia Symphony orchestra; some selections came from existing recordings, and two featured other artists, including Rudolph Serkin, piano, with Casals conducting Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G Major, BWV 1049, III Presto. The film used such a small amount of music that the soundtrack album added atmospheric excerpts from Douglas Leedy's synthesized triple album ''Entropical Paradise''. The prolonged rendition of the final movement of Bach's fourth
Brandenburg concerto The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach ( BWV 1046–1051), are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, MacDonogh, Giles. ''Frederick the Great: A Life in D ...
accompanies a cinematic montage as the main character first encounters the city of Dresden.


Awards

The film won the '' Prix du Jury'' at the
1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and ''The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French film ...
, as well as a
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
and
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
. Both Hill and Geller were nominated for awards by their respective guilds. Sacks was nominated for a Golden Globe.


See also

* List of American films of 1972


References


External links

* * *
Review of the film
by
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

''Glenn Gould at the Movies''
a Sony Classical recording with music from the film (including thi
46-second clip
in WAV format) {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' , list = {{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize {{Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation 1958–1980 {{Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film 1972–1990 1972 films 1970s science fiction comedy-drama films 1970s satirical films American satirical films American nonlinear narrative films Alien abduction films Anti-war films about World War II American science fiction comedy-drama films Films about extraterrestrial life Films about psychiatry Films about time travel Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Films based on works by Kurt Vonnegut Films directed by George Roy Hill Films set in Germany Films set in New York (state) Films set on fictional planets Films shot in the Czech Republic Films shot in Minnesota Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation winning works Universal Pictures films Western Front of World War II films World War II prisoner of war films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films