Bud Cort is the title character, an eccentric oddball secretly living in the Houston Astrodome who believes he has figured out how to fly like a bird. He is protected by a guardian angel (Sally Kellerman) with clipped wings. He then becomes a suspect in a series of murders of people who are found strangled and covered in bird droppings.
An aggressively quirky counterculture time capsule, many modern viewers will be turned off by the bizarre story and outre characters. I happen to like it, and rank it among Altman's best. I enjoy the cast of weirdos, from Shelley Duvall (in her debut) as a stock-car driving tour guide who falls for McCloud, to Michael Murphy playing a San Francisco "supercop" named Shaft who sports turtlenecks and piercing blue eyes, to Margaret Hamilton as one of the murder victims who is found wearing ruby slippers. Stacy Keach is unrecognizable under heavy old age make-up, playing a miserly parody of Howard Hughes.
Brewster McCloud
1970
Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy
Brewster McCloud
1970
Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy
Plot summary
Brewster is an owlish, intellectual boy who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome. He has a dream: to take flight within the confines of the stadium. Brewster tells those he trusts of his dream, but displays a unique way of treating others who do not fit within his plans.
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December 01, 2018 at 10:15 AM
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A time capsule and definitely not for everyone
The film seems to deliberately provoke the audience throughout the film.
In many ways, "Brewster McCloud" reminds me of some of the French absurdist films, such as "Buffet Froid". Such films deliberately confuse the viewer and typically reviewers either completely hate the films or think they are brilliant. I have no idea in which camp you would be, but I am pretty sure you'll hate it or love it.
The film begins with one of the worst renditions of the US national anthem ever filmed (Margaret Hamilton does this horrid job). What follows is mostly random, as all sorts of seemingly unrelated and bizarre characters act weirdly....and none of it makes much sense. There's a boring and imbalanced professor of ornithology who appears here and there randomly as he delivers a lecture about birds, a 'super-detective' investigating murders, a shoplifter, an old coarse man who is worse than Ebenezer Scrooge and meaner, birds pooping on people repeatedly, as well as a variety of other characters who just come and go for apparently no reason. Additionally, OFTEN characters say bigoted things which would shock sensitive audiences today....again, all to provoke the viewers. And, as you watch you keep hoping that all this will somehow make sense and gel as a story. Eventually, the plot is revealed...and it's pretty odd.
It seems that Brewster (Bud Cort) is obsessed with learning to fly....and not with a plane but with wings much like the Greek myth about Icarus. Obviously, Brewster ain't right....and it eventually culminates with him flying about inside the Houston Astrodome with these homemade wings. But, by this portion, I had essentially checked out and didn't really care any more.
Overall, for me, a major chore to finish. A bizarre film that just didn't pay off by the end to justify all the weirdness and nonsensical moments.
The Dream of DaVinci
The title role in Brewster McCloud is played by young Bud Cort who has the dream
of the great Leonardo DaVinci of achieving flight. He also has a nasty habit of
taking care of those who don't share his vision. Some tell tale droppings of birds
in flight are his calling card.
Cort has made himself to home in a bomb shelter neath the Astrodome and this
serial killer has everyone in Houston concerned. They even have a guest homicide consultant Michael Murphy in from San Francisco.
Oddly enough except for Cort everyone else in the cast gets a chance to chew
the scenery. My favorites are Stacy Keach as his Trump like employer and Margaret Hamilton who give a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that makes Roseanne Barr sound like Celine Dion.
In the end Cort gives us a demonstration of the wings and he looks like Mothra
flying around the Astrodome. You also have to love the end credits, one of the
most original ideas ever.