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The Last Picture Show

Play trailer Poster for The Last Picture Show R 1971 1h 58m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 115 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges), live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating local beauty, Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife, Ruth (Cloris Leachman). As graduation nears, both boys contemplate their futures. While Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business, each boy struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
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The Last Picture Show

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Critics Consensus

Making excellent use of its period and setting, Peter Bogdanovich's small town coming-of-age story is a sad but moving classic filled with impressive performances.

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Critics Reviews

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Paul D. Zimmerman Newsweek 10/26/2023
The Last Picture Show is a masterpiece. It is not merely the best American movie of a rather dreary year; it is the most impressive work by a young American director since Citizen Kane. Go to Full Review Elston Brooks Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com 10/26/2023
Clearly, the outstanding performance comes from Cloris Leachman, as the dowdy, pathetic coach's wife, who will settle for love -- any kind of love... She is tremendous, and totally unforgettable. Go to Full Review Jan Dawson Sight & Sound 10/26/2023
Bogdanovich, keeping his audience in a suspended state of compassionate amusement, illuminates boredom from within and without and makes it entertaining. Go to Full Review Kathy Fennessy Video Librarian Magazine 04/17/2024
4.5/5
If the sequel is a mixed success, The Last Picture Show, particularly in this restored version, holds up like gangbusters. It's truly one of the finest films ever made about small-town America. Go to Full Review Scott Nye Battleship Pretension 11/28/2023
The key arc that all three of its young protagonists – Sonny (Timothy Bottoms), Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), and Duane (Jeff Bridges) – go through is the realization that they have the power to hurt other people. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 11/19/2023
4/4
An American classic in every sense. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jack F @MovieFan111 Nov 17 Interesting movie. A rare type of movie with edgy content especially for how old it is. Could NEVER be made today. See more Laurian D @Laurian Aug 26 I can tell this is a good movie but this kind of small town portrayal doesn't resonate as much with me as an European as it does with Americans. See more Patrick C @RT84374237 Aug 3 What a wonderful achievement. Visually quite beautiful with exceptional cinematography, this is the kind of film that you know is working its way into your all time favourites list even before you've finished watching it for the first time. Full of excellent performances and sensitively directed by Peter Bogdanovich, I can't recommend it highly enough. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 7 Success in 1 hour and 58 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Jeff Bridges as Duane Jackson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Allen A @RT79641999 Mar 13 The last picture show was one of a kind viewing entertainment. It was raw yet sensitive. It was innocent and it was authentic. Truly a unique and memorable work of art. See more Ken K @RT63648969 03/09/2025 Americans often have a hard time watching films based on emotion and character. The Last Picture Show is as dry as the desolate Texas town it portrays. It is a startling incursion into the depths of the psyche of small town rural America, a slowly dying entity in the emergence of shopping malls and McDonalds across the nation. Sex has been described as the thread of the film and criticized as lust, but it is reallly the symbol for the desperation of connection, from Jacy's need for staus, to Ruth's cry of lonliness, to the boys seeking of self, confidence and sense of worth. Rarely has an American film pulled back the covers on the bankruptcy of the American Dream, the ones left behind. This is what lies underneath the glamor of "SharkTank", the 30,000 desperate rejected for the 80 that make it to the show. Citizen Kane explored this as did The Godfather. This film, not an easy watch, is of that rank. It is a classic. See more Read all reviews
The Last Picture Show

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Cast & Crew

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Peter Bogdanovich

Director

Timothy Bottoms

Sonny Crawford

Jeff Bridges

Duane Jackson

Cybill Shepherd

Jacy Farrow

Ben Johnson

Sam the Lion

Cloris Leachman

Ruth Popper

Movie Clips

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The Last Picture Show

The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Never You Mind, Honey The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Never You Mind, Honey 2:13 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Broken Bottle The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Broken Bottle 2:11 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - The Death of Sam the Lion The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - The Death of Sam the Lion 2:03 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Going to Mexico The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Going to Mexico 2:06 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Jacy the Virgin The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Jacy the Virgin 2:12 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Sam the Lion The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Sam the Lion 2:09 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - School Spirit The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - School Spirit 2:00 The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Billy's Bloody Nose The Last Picture Show: Official Clip - Billy's Bloody Nose 2:00 View more videos

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The Last Picture Show

A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." A scene from the Columbia Pictures release "The Last Picture Show." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis High school seniors and best friends, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges), live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating local beauty, Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife, Ruth (Cloris Leachman). As graduation nears, both boys contemplate their futures. While Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business, each boy struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
Director
Peter Bogdanovich
Producer
Stephen Friedman
Screenwriter
Peter Bogdanovich, Larry McMurtry, Larry McMurtry
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
BBS Productions, Columbia Pictures
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Sexuality)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1971, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 25, 2010
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Mono
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