Ben Gazzara in this movie is the kind of man I wish I was: sex-positive, closet full of Hawaiian shirts, incredibly good at saying Hi to people
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Saint Jack
An atmospheric, gritty drama.
3.8(6.6k)via LetterboxdBen Gazzara + 4 more
Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.
Where to watch
1Saint Jack is showing in 1 cinema in Los Angeles — next screening Tuesday 21 July at 15:00 at USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Tuesday, 21 July
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Cast & crew
6What people say
On feeling rootless in a dirty business. It is about an American pimp in Singapore, but really PB aimless Hollywood career. It is very much the start of Bogdanovich's second act, very self-aware but not quite in the ways expected. Saint Jack is sometimes called Cassavetes-lite and while there are similarities (Gazarra, lots of guys boozing together, a hangout atmosphere), the alienation expressed is very different from him. There's actually much more of a certain conspiratorial displacement from some of Welles non American films, but without the more oppressive undercurrents. Gazarra is great and his scenes with Denholm Eliott as a brit expat who searches him for companionship are some of the best either man or Bogdanovich have been involved. Most of the film exists in pure seedy atmosphere and this pull between belonging and unbelonging and Saint Jack manages the hard feat of sustaining it while remaining warm and welcoming.
"karl marx, that sly old racist, skipping away with his teeth together and his eyebrows up, trying to make believe its nothing but cheap labor and overseas markets.... oh, no. colonies are the outhouses of the european soul, where a fellow can let his pants down and relax, enjoy the smell of his own shit. where he can fall on his slender prey roaring as loud as he feels like, and guzzle her blood with open joy. (...) christian europe was always death, karl, death and repression. out and down in the colonies, life can be indulged, life and sensuality in all its forms, with no harm done to the metropolis, nothing to soil those cathedrals, white marble statues, noble thoughts.... no word ever gets back."
Common questions
What is Saint Jack about?+
Set in 1970s Singapore, the film follows Jack Flowers, an American expatriate hustler who navigates the city's complex underworld while seeking to establish his own brothel with CIA backing.
Who directed Saint Jack?+
Peter Bogdanovich directed the film in 1979, known for his distinct ability to capture melancholic, character-driven stories.
Is Saint Jack a neo-noir film?+
While it operates as a character study, many critics categorize Saint Jack as a neo-noir due to its atmospheric depiction of urban decay, moral ambiguity, and the protagonist's detached perspective.
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