Trailer—Taking Off

source: Taking Off

Taking Off

I saw this film 20 times i a row,- as a 5 to 6 years old kid,-(i had free access to a "Radical" cinema in Copenhagen , Denmark at "Husets Biograf" , where i also saw "2001" and all the films by Gunther Grass and Werner Hersog, 10 to 20 times i a row ! )-in the 70's-it blew my mind ,-and taught me something about Pot and,-grownups!!! I liked it then,- and i like it now ! i really like the scene where the girl has her boyfriend - who is a musician , playing in a band - home for dinner, and her father -pitifull-ask how much money he earn as a musician !!!(he earns more than the father!!! )-and the "Learn to smoke pot"-scene is a classic ! (Seen By Mikkel Grum Bovin Denmark)

i saw the movie when it came out.it was great .i have told many people about it and wanted them to see it.this was long before video tape machines or even videos were available.i did not know Milo's foreman was the director until i saw a review of his work.i was not surprised to learn of his connection to many of my other favorite films.i cannot come up with ten lines of comment but hope those of you who review these lines of comment that after thirty four years since i saw this movie,i would like it so much i would join your site and writ e this comment.i have always wanted to see this movie again.maybe it will be available on DVD or video.have i made ten lines i hope so.your faithful viewer bill kc9awa

It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with either Forman or Henry that this film is both insightful and understatedly hilarious. There was a time in the early 1970s when the influx of foreign directors on the Hollywood movie-making frontier (among them Forman, Bertolucci, and Polanski, as well as cinematographers like Zsigmond and Kovacs) were just as sharp and scathing of the American cultural revolution as our own young filmmakers. If not more so. This film is flat-out funny; the humor is derived from the droll use of pop references and supposedly taboo behaviors. Because hey are put across so straight-faced, they reflect back to us an image too ridiculous to consider seriously. I saw this film in an open-air theatre at a fest and though it was difficult to hear, the combined laughter of the audience brought the experience to hysterics. Hope this film makes it to DVD.

I remember seeing this on tv years ago. The scene that stands out in my memory is the one where, at a seminar, Paul Benedict (Mr. Bentley from Tv's The Jefferson's) schools a group of middle aged parents on the proper way to smoke marijuana. They do this so that they may better understand their children. A scene that really belongs in a late 60's/early 70's time capsule. It is a halarious classic scene that alone makes the film worth seeing. Hopefully this title will be out on video soon.

A wonderful American debut from Milos Forman, who transcends a rather schematic premise ('wayward' daughter is actually quite sensible, while bourgeois parents enter a counterculture of pot-smoking and (nearly) wife-swapping orgies) with his wise European eye, which mixes clear-eyed observation with fantasy, implausibility and farce. The lead couple are acted in such a low key, you're astonished at the emotional power they generate, and while the subject matter is quite depressing, Forman's comic benevolence is always foregrounded: the convention for parents of missing children, and the accompanying lesson in parental empathy, is an American classic.

Having seen director, Milos Forman's two Czech b/w classics, The Fireman's Ball and The Loves of A Blonde (or a blonde In Love, as I knew it) I saw this, his first US film upon its original release. I remember it being controversial although not a big hit, but I loved it. It barely has a narrative story line, no big stars, Buck Henry being the most well known, but it just made me feel good. It wasn't one of those films preaching at one side or the other (that's kids and parents!) and just seemed to present a little of what was happening towards the end of the sixties and derive some good natured humour from it. Watching it again, I was amazed at how well it still works. There are no embarrassing moments, it looks good, sounds good and probably does you good. I have no idea why the recent Park Circus DVD release box is so subdued but then this is not a jazzy, wacky film, just a relaxed, intelligent picture of a very strange time. Wonderful.

I saw this movie on it's original release and was mightily impressed. I'd previously seen Forman's "The Fireman's Ball" and liked the quirky style that he repeats so well with this one. The tale of the confused parents trying desperately to understand their "wayward" daughter is gently told but is bitingly satirical. I will never forget scenes of the parents attending the seminar on how to smoke a joint and the convention for the parents of fugitive children. So where has this movie gone? I checked out the on line video store here in the UK to find that it was deleted in 92. Great shame, it's a classic.