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The Last Picture Show
original movie poster
Directed by	Peter Bogdanovich
Produced by	Stephen J. Friedman
Written by	Larry McMurtry Peter Bogdanovich
Starring	Timothy Bottoms Jeff Bridges Cybill Shepherd Ben Johnson Cloris Leachman Ellen Burstyn Eileen Brennan Randy Quaid Peter Bogdanovich (voice)
Release date(s)	October 3, 1971
Running time	USA 118 Min Edited USA 126 Min Director's Cut
Language	English
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The Last Picture Show is a 1971 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a 1966 novel by Larry McMurtry.

Set in the semi-fictitious town of Anarene, Texas in the early 1950s (November 1951 - November 1952), it is about the coming of age of two young men, best friends Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges).

Cybill Shepherd, making her screen debut, plays Duane's girlfriend Jacy Farrow, and their friend and mentor Sam the Lion, owner of the town's only movie theater, is played by Ben Johnson. The movie also features Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Sam Bottoms, Sharon Ullrick, Randy Quaid and John Hillerman.

The screenplay was adapted by James Lee Barrett, Peter Bogdanovich, Larry McMurtry and Polly Platt (uncredited) from the novel of the same name by McMurtry. It was the first successful film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who had already built a reputation as a film critic. It was filmed in black and white by cinematographer Robert Surtees at the suggestion of Orson Welles and shot mostly at eye level--a technique used by the director to give the viewer the feeling of being a part of the situation.

Bogdanovich expertly used music to give more subtle insight into the characters. Many of them were shown in different scenes and situations listening to music that reflected some aspects of their own personalities. A number of the songs were written and recorded by Hank Williams.

The Last Picture Show won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ben Johnson) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Leachman). It was also nominated in the categories for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Bridges), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Burstyn), Best Cinematography (Surtees), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

In 1998, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. This movie ranked number 19 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.) In 2007, the film was ranked #95 on the American Film Institute's 10th Anniversary Edition of the 100 greatest American films of all time.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Director Bogdanovich brought many of the lead actors back together to reprise their roles in Texasville, a 1990 sequel set in the same town thirty years later. This film is also based on a McMurtry novel of the same name.

• Larry McMurtry's novel has been followed by three sequels: Texasville, Duane's Depressed, and When The Light Goes. The latter two have not yet been produced as films.

• The "last picture show" of the movie's title is the John Wayne film Red River.

• In the Stephen King novel, Lisey's Story, some references of The Last Picture Show are made.

Book: McMurtry, Larry. The Last Picture Show: A Novel. New York, Dial Press, 1966. (Simon and Schuster reprint) ISBN 0-684-85386-8

• The Last Picture Show (1971) at the Internet Movie Database
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