Movies-TV

Excellent character study.

This is a brilliant little character study from the fabulous team that brought us the classic "Five Easy Pieces". If this last reviewer didn't get it (and obvious he didn't), than that's his problem. The detail, the beautiful photography, and the incredible use of Atlantic City locations make this film all the more worth while. Shot when Atlantic City was a dying resort town, it is used as a metaphor for this strange symbiotic relationship between two very different brothers. Nicholson as the intelligent David, and Bruce Dern (never better) as the scam artist Jason, out to make a quick buck. Do yourselves a favor, and check out this little gem.

Great Cast, Quirky Treat

I can see how many might look at this film in the light of "Five Easy Pieces", considering the prior collaboration. But taken on its own merits, this piece is driven by the interesting, passionate, and sometimes manic performances by Nicholson, Dern and Burstyn. Julie Anne Robinson does a credible job in her only big screen credit, but this vehicle is driven by the big 3. If you are looking for meaning and logic from this film, you have come to the wrong place. But if you enjoy a voyeuristic peek into the lives of people who undoubtedly swirl around us daily, unnoticed, this one's for you! Plus the on location shots in "old" Atlantic City P.T. (pre-Trump) add murkiness to the angst we see. All in all, one you'll think about!

One of The Unseen Films of the 70's

In a two sentence summary Great Story and Great Acting
This Movie is Great, Go Rent It. In more words,
When you think about all that Nicholsen's done, This is not up there but it should be, its a great character piece circling around the great Bruce Dern and also centering on Jack Nicholsen and there quest....But there is one roadblock, the lovely Ellen Burnstyn who makes this movie a little better with each outburst she and Dern have.. Good movie, only problem is some editing errors, good scenary and I love those glasses Jack

Great Film. Dern Rocks.

This movie has one the best performances by Jack Nicholson and proves that acting is more about being true to life than acting like you want to be noticed; that along with Bruce Dern's outstanding performance, playing Nicholson's brother, is what makes this film tick.
Yes, it is not a fast movie.

But the outstanding cinematography of of Laslo Kovaks working off the assured direction of Bob Rafelson makes this movie a gem.
I've never seen a movie that accurately portrays the dementia of the lower end of the middle class so well, as it does so without making them drunks or drug addicts which most people need to see, to understand how delusional these people are.
What a film.

I'd like to have seen role reversal

I am only giving this film a 6 as I found it rather dull, and having never played Monopoly the inference to the game went right over my head. Instead I found myself wondering what the film would have been like with Jack Nicholson playing the extroverted Jason, and Bruce Dern as David. As a primer for actors, which is what the movie seemed to be, more than an entertainment for an audience, it would have been interesting to see a back-to-back version with the roles reversed.Certainly, the film had the same downbeat theme as "The Last Detail" which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the setting of the off-season seaside town added to the bleak atmosphere. There is nothing more depressing than a sea coast resort in winter. I kept wishing that David would tell his brother to get lost and go back to Philly. The characters, a petty crook and two women of no fixed abode were pathetic losers and, with the exception of David, living in a fantasy of their own making. At least David asked some down to earth questions once in a while. The bullying user, Jason, really got on my nerves - his "everyone else is there to serve my needs" attitude made me cringe, especially the way he turned on people who did not share his "vision".

The King of Marvin Gardens

Quirky Bob Rafelson/Jack Nicholson collaboration set in Atlantic City with Jack playing it low key as Bruce Dern's stolid brother who is constantly exasperated by his sibling's schemes and delusions.

Great to see a young Nicholson, but the movie disappoints.

David and his older brother Jason are completely different as adults. David is thoughtful, cautious, somewhat reticent. Jason is a born hustler, impulsive, charming, but has no concept of reality. This movie, which could easily have been a stage play, examines the dynamic between the brothers. The setting is Atlantic City for the Monopoly game references, but it in fact could have otherwise been set anywhere.The movie opens with a close-up of Nicholson as David Staebler, talking, and we soon learn that he is telling one of his stories on his overnight radio show in Philadelphia. Of his granddad who loved to eat fish every Friday, not for religious reasons. And the time when his granddad expired after choking one final time on bones. A very well told story but, when David gets home to granddad, who simply coughs at him repeatedly, we realize that David's stories are only partly based on fact. Such is the artist. We first see Bruce Dern as Jason Staebler, when David is called to Atlantic Cty to find him behind bars, caught in yet another minor scam. Jason has big dreams, great big dreams, and the latest one is a deal to buy an island off the Hawaii coast and build a casino and hotel. The trouble is Jason has no real plan, just trying to talk someone, anyone, into financing his venture. David is constantly puzzled by his brother's behavior, by his seeming inability to see a "real world" perspective of what is going on. Or not, as the case may be. All this is complicated by two hangers on, Ellen Burstyn as 40-something Sally and Julia Anne Robinson (never made another movie) as Sally's stepdaughter Jessica. MAJOR SPOILERS. In the end, as it becomes more clear that Jason's deals will not come to fruition, and as he treats Sally with disdain, she grabs a gun and in anger shoots and kills him. The movie ends as David is seeing a pine box onto the train for the trip back to Philadelphia.

What was the point?

I remember seeing this film as a kid and thinking to myself, maybe when I'm older I'll understand the signifigance of this movie. But 29 years later I'm even more confused as to why this film was made.


"King of Marvin Gardens" took me a record-breaking four sittings to watch because I kept falling asleep. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate a thoughtful, well-written, well-acted human interest story--but where was the human interest in this flick?? Why am I supposed to be interested in these characters?? Interesting characters don't have to be nice and heroic, but they certainly have to be compelling!


I think after the tremendous success of "Five Easy Pieces" (deservedly so), that genre of anti-story must have been all the vogue in cinema during the mid-1970s. With the exception of the last 10 minutes you have an absolutely flatliner of a film here. Movies of that period, like "Fat City" and "Scarecrow" do a much more effective job of conveying the dire banality of real life.

Although the packaging and presentation for the "King of Marvin Garden" DVD was flawless.

The most underrated movie of the 1970s?

Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson's creative relationship began because of The Monkees. Rafelson directing and Nicholson writing their weird and wonderful psychedelic cult classic 'Head'. After that the two teamed up for one of the early Seventies best loved movies 'Five Easy Pieces'. A couple of years later they did it again with 'The King Of Marvin Gardens', though inexplicably it doesn't have the reputation or the high profile of their previous collaboration. I really fail to see why. File it under "great lost 1970s movies" alongside 'Scarecrow', 'Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia', 'Tracks', 'Fingers' (and add your own personal favourite to the list). Marvin Gardens features a really strong and controlled performance from Nicholson in the lead role, an introverted DJ with a show in which he spins "true" tales. But even better than Nicholson is Bruce Dern, a wonderful actor who never became a superstar like Nicholson, Pacino or De Niro, despite a long career of consistently good character roles in movies by Hitchcock, Roger Corman, Walter Hill, Hal Ashby, John Frankenheimer, Elia Kazan, Sydney Pollack and many others. Dern is absolutely wonderful as Nicholson's brother, a dreamer and Mob hanger on. He comes back into his brother's life with a nutty get rich quick scheme which ends up going horribly wrong. This is one of the very best performances by Dern I've ever seen, and his scenes with Nicholson make this essential viewing for any 1970s buff. Added to that are excellent performances from Ellen Burstyn ('The Exorcist', 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore') and newcomer Julia Anne Robinson (her only movie role - too bad!) as the women in Dern's life, and nice bits from legendary musician/actor Scatman Crothers ('Black Belt Jones' and appearances in no less than four 1970s Nicholson movies) and the underrated John P. Ryan ('Runaway Train', 'It's Alive', 'Class Of 1999'). 'The King Of Marvin Gardens' is a slow and thoughtful movie, but once you get into the rhythm of it, an extremely rewarding one. One of Nicholson's best, and Dern is just dynamite. Highly recommended.

Under-rated Rafelson flick!

I thought this superior to CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and am a bit surprised by the reaction to it at time of release. After FIVE EASY PIECES and before STAY HUNGRY this '72 film was thrown aside and dismissed. I guess Nicholson wasn't using his eyebrows enough for public taste. Bruce Dern gives a superb performance as his shyster-dreamer brother with big plans. Ellen Burstyn is paranoid justifiably and gives a lovely performance. The young girl Julie Ann Robinson is terrible. A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Bruce Dern. Throw in Scatman and John Ryan and you have a fascinating mood piece. What happened to Bob Rafelson?

Think of it again, please

I'm surprised some reviewers did not like this absolute masterpiece. I think it is their right, but I would suggest that they had another careful look at it. How can you not admire ALL the players, especially Burstyn? How can one not be overdrawn by the mysteriousness of the story? How can you not appreciate Laszlo Kovacs' photography, his use of colors in a sad and decadent Atlantic City? Trust me, my friends: try it again! This film holds second place (right after Altman's "Short Cuts") in my personal board of the best movies of all the times.

about as low-key as 70s movies get (that's a compliment)

The King of Marvin Gardens was Bob Rafelson's experiment at doing a film where the leads are switched around- the actors playing them, anyway. You rarely get to see Jack Nicholson in the role of the quiet, observant, and really more intuitive characters in any film, and to see it in his prime in-between doing films like Carnal Knowledge and The Last Detail is a revelation. Every once in a while he pulls out a performance that is attuned to a sensibility that is surprising, even if the film is not. One of those that worked best was About Schmidt. But this time in Rafelson's vision, he plays second fiddle to the more personable, idealistic, talkative, pushy, and far more conflicted brother played by Bruce Dern. For Dern this is also a somewhat different role, as he often could play roles with a good deal of dialog well, though with also a lowered guard. Here he plays a guy with lots of ideas, and those of which he really wants to impress upon his more detached but not too unresponsive brother. It's a mix that works, though it's very understandable why I've only seen it once, and not only do I not really desire to see it again, it's not too much of a wonder why its still one of the real underrated films of the 70s.Keep in mind it's not just the men to see here, but Ellen Burstyn too, in one of her other great parts of her real prime, as she plays Dern's depressed, loopy, over-the-top girlfriend. She has her counterpart too in Julie Anne Robinson. Her character is maybe a little more like Nicholson's, though not really as withdrawn. These are all characters who are estranged, if not from themselves then from each other, and amid the big plans in the (correctly chosen) sights of dreary Atlantic City they're cast against a glow that just poses a kind of nothingness for them. And in the end, when tragedy strikes, it finally comes when the emotional cork gets pulled completely off. And bookending the film are Nicholson's monologues on the airwaves to his listeners, whomever they may be, and they're some of my favorite scenes I still remember from the film. If it's less than really memorable and affecting like the best of 70s subversive cinema, it's because its content in its low-key ways. It's a smart movie that isn't really at the heights of Five Easy Pieces- Rafelson's masterpiece that's also low-key in its way but reaches higher in psychological hang-ups- but it does come as close as anything the director's done since. Most noteworthy is the challenge of reversing the roles for Nicholson and Dern pays off in that independent-film way. Look for Shining co-star Scatman Crothers in some scenes late in the picture.

King of Marvin Gardens

This movie is a cult classic. Ellen Burstyn, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and Julia Robinson star in this 1970's movie about two very different brothers and their relationship as well as their broken dreams and schemes. Ellen Burstyn said this is one of her favorite movies. Julia Robinson is stunningly beautiful.

Excellent

Dont miss it, you'll be sorry if you do

A disapointing move!

I saw this on Bravo a couple of weeks ago and boy did it suck. Bruce Dern plays an ex-convict who appearently has a secret stash of money hidden away. He plans on sharing the wealth with his brother, Jack Nicholson, some girl, and the girls "Crazy" step-mother.The movie itself made no sense and put me to sleep half the time. The films only saving grace was Scatman Crothers. He was probably the only good actor in the movie. He even out-"SHINED" Jack Nicholson. Unfortunately, he was only in two scenes.I personally recommend you stay away from this movie. Instead see "The Shining" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" (both movies featured Nicholson and Crothers). *(the movie would've earned a zero if it wasn't for the presence of Scatman Crothers)

One more comment about the great "King of Marvin Gardens"

As many others stated here, this a criminally overlooked artistic triumph that deserves a larger reputation. I want to make an observation that I think has passed by almost every reviewer and critic of this film: There is one moment, and one moment only, in the film when there is soundtrack music. This occurs as they ride out of the stadium following their mock "Miss America" pageant. Why do you think this occurs? My theory: This is the thematic high-point of the film. The highest level of achievement they've managed to make of their dreams. From then on, a harsher reality intrudes on the fantasy. If you follow this, then you begin to see how remarkably constructed the film is as a whole. It's a masterpiece of form.

There's no there there.

I read the reviews and comments that seem to indicate a deep and insightful movie. I guess I am just a simpleton, but I simply don't get it. It seems a quiet character study type of film. It contrasts the two brothers, played very well by Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern, one as the shady hustler, and one as a semi-realist. It contrasts the two women, also played very well by Ellen Burstyn and Julia Ann Robinson, one of them nearing the end of her time wielding sexual power over men, and the other, the step-daughter, just coming into her time. It seems to compare the bleak Atlantic City winter with the age of the older woman, and the dreams of the older brother. And what's up with all the black gangsters? No, I just don't get it.

A quiet masterpiece

A classic from of the New American Cinema The King of Marvin Gardens is one of the most underrated films of the 70. The film stars Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson (cast against type as an introverted depressive) as a pair of estranged brothers reunited in Atlantic City to try to get scam artist Dern's ill-conceived property development dreams off the ground. Ellen Bursten rounds out the cast as an ageing beauty queen struggling with the realisation that her young protégé, played by the previously and subsequently unknown Julia Ann Robinson, has surpassed her. Shot in a bleak, wintry Atlantic City that contrasts sharply with Dern's vision of a happy ending for the quartet in Hawai'i, the film is a compelling and meditative character study that doesn't shy away from or glamorise the problems of the people who inhabit it. The three leads give superb performances as characters who are all in their disparate ways seeking redemption. Made in the brief period of the 1970s when the big American studios were hoodwinked into financing films that were singular, intelligent, and challenging, The King of Marvin Gardens is a must see for any fan of the cinema.

The Best Nicholson Film You've Never Seen

The film opens with Nicholson in a tight shot talking to someone. We aren't sure at first to whom he's talking or why. From that opening scene I was hooked. Nicholson is a radio personality (David) who one day gets a phone call from his brother Jason (Bruce Dern) who is in jail. Jason is basically a big-time loser who has been trying all his life to make something big happen. His latest scheme is to encourage his brother to join him and his female companions (played by Ellyn Burstyn and Julia Anne Robinson) in Atlantic City while contemplating the purchase of an island near Hawaii. Many strange events happen along the way, not the least of which finds the two women competing for Jason's affection. A very strange scene occurs involving a fire on the beach. Without giving too much away, I will say that this is a turning point that has tremendous impact later in the story. So few films today have even slightly interesting characters. These characters are so vivid and interesting that you can't help but be intrigued, wondering what's going to happen next. Each scene seems to have no rhyme or reason, until finally the pieces fall into place. When the pieces do come together, you realize that you've witnessed something very unique, original, and haunting.

The four leading actors are all at the top of their form. I have never seen Nicholson timid, unsure, or at a loss for words before. Dern is hopelessly reckless. Robinson is an innocent in an evil environment. Burstyn is perfect as the key to the whole story, which is one that I'll never forget. You'll think about this quiet little film long after the credits are over.

for Jack fans only

My wife is a Jack Nicholson freak, and so together we have been working our way through his early work, which ranges from the sublime ('Five Easy Pieces') to the ridiculous ('Hell's Angels on Wheels').'The King of Marvin Gardens' falls somewhere in between. The film reunites Nicholson with director Bob Rafelson, whose work together on 'Five Easy Pieces' established both actor and director as major new talents. Sure, Jack had already made 'Easy Rider,' but 'Five Easy Pieces' established him as a real actor, more than just the eyebrows and the rakish grin.Rafelson's direction in 'The King of Marvin Gardens' carries a quality of understatement reminiscent of 'Five Easy Pieces,' and he shows unusual trust in his actors to get the film's subtext across. Unfortunately, the screenplay is so vague and ambiguous that it leaves the actors swinging in the wind. Nicholson's long opening monologue is profoundly affecting, but at its conclusion, we learn that the story he's telling is a fiction: the character, David Staebler, is a writer who, having determined the written word to be a dying medium, has turned to spoken word storytelling as his means of artistic expression. Nicholson portrays David's emotional disconnection and misanthrophy with the brilliance we've come to expect from him, but the nature of the character makes his motivations somewhat inscrutable without more help from the script. Bruce Dern, as David's second-rate con-man brother Jason, is engaging but similarly difficult to comprehend. The film seems to be interested in portraying the depth of the bond between the brothers and David's willingness to believe in Jason's fantastic schemes, following him down the road to disaster out of filial love, but neither character is really meant to be likeable, so it's hard to get emotionally committed to their downward spiral journey. Ellen Burstyn steals the show as Sally, Jason's girlfriend, fellow hustler, and occasional prostitute, who is devoted to Jason but grows increasingly hysterical as she begins to see herself aging and being replaced in priority by her step-daughter, the beautiful and relatively innocent Jessie (Julia Ann Robinson), whom Sally has raised to be a whore and con-artist like herself.
The world the characters travel in is sordid, and it's pretty much guaranteed from the get-go that things won't end up well--the climax is shocking (I won't give it away here), but after the initial reaction wore off, I found it on reflection to be somewhat lazy, as if writer Jacob Brackman was a college creative writing student on a deadline and just had to come up with an ending for his story.The film is a good example of the 'dirty realism' typical of American filmmaking and literature in the 1970s (it feels very much like something that might have been written by Hubert Selby or Raymond Carver), and is credited as having influenced a host of more highly regarded and well-remembered realistic dramas. So if you're a budding film historian, you should probably see it. Certainly, 'The King of Marvin Gardens' showcases Jack Nicholson's acting in a more subtle, subversively expressive role. Most of Jack's most famous movies either have him typecast as the fun-loving rake ('One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' 'The Last Detail,' 'Terms of Endearment') or the borderline pyschopath ('The Shining,' 'A Few Good Men,' 'As Good as it Gets'), and lately he seems to be asked more often than not to play himself ('Something's Gotta Give'). It's well-worth stepping back to see him in such a quiet, complicated role. But this movie is no fun at all. It's stark and sad and you just know things are not going to work out for the characters, who are in many ways too despicable for us to care what becomes of them.