DVD Review: Seconds (B)

Seconds (1966)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Starring John Randolph, Rock Hudson, Will Geer, Salome Jens, Jeff Corey
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

Director John Frankenheimer must have been going through a mid-life crisis when he made Seconds. Why is that? Well, the trailer for this film claims that every middle aged man's dream is to ditch his entire life and start anew. Basically: ditch the wife and job. There's alot more to the classic thriller Seconds than that but that is certainly the viewpoint they take oin this story.

The general idea behind Seconds is that bored, well off middle aged men simply want to be free from the ties of family and work. The protagonist (John Randolph) is a wealthy businessman that is in a funk, both professionally and at home. He is lured in by a bizarre organization that offers his the opportunity to be "reborn" as another person. We're talking fake death, new identity (complete with radical plastic surgery), the whole nine yards. Our lead goes from being a boring old banker into being Rock Hudson, successful painter, and of course, ladies man.

Seconds is a decent thriller that has some excellent concepts, similar to recent films like The Game and Vanilla Sky. If you liked either of those you will probably get into Seconds. Give this one a shot if you are looking for a classic black and white thriller.

Buy Seconds On DVD From Amazon.com