Slaughterhouse-Five

"Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." These opening words of Kurt Vonnegut's famous novel make an effective and short summary of a haunting, funny film. For the screen, director George Roy Hill faithfully renders Vonnegut's black anti-war comedy about Pilgrim (well played in a low key by Michael ...more

In tackling a big-screen adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's classic novel about a man who becomes temporally unstuck, director George Roy Hill and screenwriter Stephen Geller took on an unenviable task. Chief among their challenges was how to keep the viewer oriented within the story, when the protagonist himself is in a constant state of disorientation. As it turns out, following the scattershot rhythms of the novel works pretty well, provided the various timelines proceed ...more