Savages (1972)
A tribe of primitive "mudpeople" encounter a croquet ball, rolling through their forest. Following it, they find themselves on a vast, deserted Long Island estate. Entering, they begin to become civilized and assume the stereotypical roles and dress of people at a weekend party. There follows an allegory of upper-class behavior. At last, they begin to devolve toward their original status, and after a battle at croquet, they disappear into the woods.
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To me, this movie is perfection.
Sorry, this movie sucks
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
After a cringing song, we are introduced to "The Mud People" getting high on some foliage. This is our cast of characters, in black-and-white, and more unrecognizable than their names in the opening credits. They wander semi-nude in a collection of mop heads, jock straps, and animal gear. Some wear head masks resembling bags and buckets - the style made famous by "The Unknown Comic". From somewhere (possibly the future), a croquet ball interrupts their rituals. Croquet is the game of polite society, you know. The croquet ball eventually leads the cast to an abandoned mansion, where they assumed the identities of displaced inhabitants gathering for a dinner party. The switch from primitive to civilized brings color and conversation to the tribe...This is an obvious allegorical story. It would qualify as awful if it weren't so artfully made, overall, by "Merchant Ivory Productions"...Our charming hostess Anne Francine (as Carlotta) presides over an adept New York stage-dominated cast. These include two from the recently disbanded "Dark Shadows" company, Thayer David is blonde buzzed capitalist "Otto Nurder" while amorous transvestite "Hester" is played by Christopher Pennock; both actors had been in Tarrytown (one of the film's locations) to film "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971). Most familiar in the cast are probably limping man Sam Waterston and model-turning-actress Susan Blakely. Everything can be described in one of the film's title cards: "Tribal elders are often distinguished by pebbles embedded in their teeth although such is not the case here." Quickly as you flee, snatch this pebble from my teeth...***** Savages (5/8/72) James Ivory ~ Anne Francine, Thayer David, Christopher Pennock, Sam Waterston
Director James Ivory's worst film, an absurd allegory which hopes to juxtapose the different (and yet oh-so-similar) worlds of a primitive culture of half-naked forest savages and a decadent group of sexually-ambiguous high society turnips of the 1920s. The screenplay by George Swift Trow and (of all people) Michael O'Donoghue, from Ivory's story, gives us stock characterizations without any personalities of interest, and the amateurish look of the film--part "Cold Comfort Farm", part D.W. Griffith--is confounding and ridiculous. Social satire needs more than just 'uncommon' common ground, it needs spirit and a dash of wit. Ivory clumps through this menagerie with very little grace or humor, however he is helped by Joe Raposo's (suitably) bizarre music. A curio, nothing more. * from ****
The primitive tribal mud people are startled by a croquet ball that emerges from an unexplored region of their forest. The set out to find the origin of this alien sphere, and happen upon a lavish(and abandoned)estate. Bewildered by this strange place and all the things within it, they quickly "evolve", assuming the roles of bourgeois aristocrats. They do, however, retain many of their ritualistic customs and sexual behaviors, and, in one of the film's more inclement moments, respond to death with a discomposed, uneasy silence. These scenes might lead the viewer to query just how far removed people really are from their autochthon ancestry. SAVAGES is about as surreal and strange as movies come, but not at all lacking in depth, substance, or humor(chiefly in a subtly saturnine, cynical vein). Certainly not suited to all tastes, but strongly recommended to those with a slant toward wry absurdist cinema.7.5/10
Arguably one of the most bizarre films Merchant-Ivory ever produced, "Savages" is definitely a product of its times (the late '60s/early '70s), yet it still holds certain charms. James Ivory may have come up with the original idea, but it's screenwriters Michael O'Donoghue and George Swift Trow who made the most of the concept, offering up examples of all types of physical and verbal savagery.The film's a little slow at the start -- after the opening credits it runs like a silent black and white film (with title cards and everything) for some time -- but stick around long enough and it becomes sepia-toned and finally full color as the Mud People take on the outward appearances of high society while still retaining their primitive identities.Recommended for fans of O'Donoghue's acid wit and anyone who isn't afraid of satire.