{"id":3284,"date":"2006-04-07T11:13:15","date_gmt":"2006-04-07T16:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=3284"},"modified":"2020-07-08T12:17:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T16:17:04","slug":"pound-revisiting-a-neglected-cult-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2006\/04\/07\/pound-revisiting-a-neglected-cult-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"POUND: Revisiting A Neglected Cult Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Although much has been written about the numerous films from early in Hollywood\u2019s history that weren\u2019t preserved, the same neglect can happen to more modern films as well. Case in point- writer\/director Robert Downey, Sr.\u2019s 1970 counter culture social satire Pound<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a miracle that it\u2019s here,\u201d admits Downey to the near capacity crowd that has assembled to see the film at a rare screening during the 2006 Philadelphia Film Festival.<\/p>\n

Set in a New York City dog pound, 18 dogs, played by human actors, wait to be adopted. Part existential comedy, part allegory, the dogs include a punch drunk Boxer (Stan Gottlieb), a hyperactive Mexican Hairless (a scene stealing Lawrence Wolf) and a sleek Greyhound (Antonio Fargas). Meanwhile, the city is being terrorized by a serial killer dubbed The Honky Killer (James Green). Pound also features the debut of performance of Downey\u2019s son Robert Jr. as a puppy temporarily held at the pound.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I took this film to the studio, and screened it for the head of the studio, he said he thought it was going to be animated,\u201d Downey states, chuckling. \u201cAs \u2018punishment\u2019 it ended up on a double bill with a Fellini movie, Satyricon<\/strong>. I was in heaven. (The studio) was ashamed of it. It was X rated, for language. And the same studio that had it had Midnight Cowboy two minutes later. So this thing disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following last year\u2019s screening of Downey\u2019s most recent documentary Rittenhouse Square<\/strong> (2005) and his cult classic race relations satire Putney Swope<\/strong> (1969) at the Festival, programmers approached Downey about bringing Pound<\/strong> to Philadelphia. However, the only print of the film that Downey could locate was found in his \u201ccameraman\u2019s ex-wife\u2019s closet,\u201d explains Downey. \u201cIt was a 35mm print that was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the print itself was deemed unprojectable, it was able to be digitally scanned and restored.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they put the color back in,\u201d says Downey. \u201cThey cleaned up the sound a bit too. Technology is great, it\u2019s just the movies aren\u2019t getting any better. It\u2019s only because of digital technology that some of this stuff can be saved, because most of the colors just go. Most of my stuff in color other than Greasers Palace<\/strong> (1972), I hate the color. I love black and white.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Produced as his follow up to Swope<\/strong>, Downey says that Pound<\/strong> had its origins in a stage play he had authored.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had written this play once that was a tiny little play done Off-off-off-off Broadway at a movie house at midnight,\u201d Downey states. \u201cI thought, \u2018You know that might make a film,\u2019 so I just started working it and working it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awfully hard to beat something that\u2019s written as a play into a movie,\u201d Downey continues candidly. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s wrong with it when it\u2019s wrong, to me anyways. I didn\u2019t mind watching it tonight, though. I dreaded this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with turning plays into movies is that people in a lot of plays don\u2019t move,\u201d Downey explains. \u201cThey talk. The best adaptation of a play into a movie for me is a film that Billy Friedkin made called The Boys In The Band<\/strong> (1970). It all takes place in one room and the only thing that hurts it \u2013 the film just grinds to a halt \u2013 is when there\u2019s a phone call a guy has for like five minutes. You say, \u2018Wait a minute.\u2019 You\u2019re just waiting because its not theater. But it\u2019s a brilliant rendition of a play into a movie because he had no space, yet he made it work. I don\u2019t know how he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The screening of the film sent Downey reminiscing back to its production and the actors he worked with. \u201cJust looking at it and thinking that it\u2019s 35 years gone, I\u2019m struck by how good the actors were,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it goes to show you that there are a lot of people around with gifts who you never hear of.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the cast of Pound<\/strong>, Downey reunited with several actors from Putney Swope<\/strong>, including Gottlieb, Wolf and Vargas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to, I guess because Preston Sturges was my hero, use the same people and give them different things to do every time,\u201d says Downey. \u201cActors love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for Pound<\/strong> being the start of son\u2019s own career?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kid didn\u2019t even want to do it,\u201d Downey recalls with a laugh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although much has been written about the numerous films from early in Hollywood\u2019s history that weren\u2019t preserved, the same neglect can happen to more modern films as well. Case in point- writer\/director Robert Downey, Sr.\u2019s [click for more]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1695,84],"tags":[2242,7857,68,2239,2241,357,2240],"series":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features","7":"category-news","8":"tag-antonio-fargas","9":"tag-history","10":"tag-philadelphia-film-festival","11":"tag-pound","12":"tag-putney-swope","13":"tag-robert-downey-jr","14":"tag-robert-downey-sr"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t