The Visitors

1972 "Every one wants to turn his back on violence until it knocks at his front door."
6.3| 1h28m| R| en
Details

Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their cosy house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez. Mike and Tony are old acquaintances of Bill; a few years back, in Vietnam, they were in the same platoon. They also became opposed parties in a court martial - for a reason that Bill never explained to Martha. What happened in Vietnam, and what is the reason for the presence of Mike and Tony ?

Director

Producted By

United Artists

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Also starring Patricia Joyce

Reviews

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
wavecat13 This curio is a low budget drama directed by Elia Kazan from a script by his son. This is probably one of the first times audiences got to see James Woods in a leading role. He plays Bill, a young man, just back from the Vietnam War and living in a rural menage with his girl, her older husband, and his child. The older guy is a Hemingwayesque writer with a penchant for booze, and Patrick McVey plays the role with aplomb. At their door appear a couple of Bill's old army buddies, and one of them has a grudge to work out, since Bill ratted him out something back in the war zone. The young woman gets into it too, and the tension grows to an inevitable confrontation. There are no revelations here, but it is worth a look.
Wizard-8 If you have read the basic premise for "The Visitors", you probably think you have a good idea as to how the movie will play out if you have seen your share of hostage dramas and revenge thrillers. Well, you are only partially right. The expected things DO happen, but what will probably surprise you is how long it takes for these things to happen. To be exact, more than eighty percent of the movie goes by before things start turning violent. And that eighty percent goes by extremely slowly, it doesn't seem to have a point - unless it's to show how slow and stupid innocent people can be towards something that's an obvious danger to anyone in the audience. I guess the acting is okay, and despite the low budget (less that 200,000 dollars from what I read), there is some genuine atmosphere. But in the end, there doesn't seem to be much of a point, whether it is to entertain the audience or say something about Vietnam.
MartinHafer Two old army 'friends' arrive at the home of a young couple. The husband (James Woods--in his first film) doesn't seem happy to see them. Later, you SLOWLY find out why--he testified against them in a trial during the Vietnam War, as the two had participated in a rape and murder of an innocent woman. Normally, you'd think that he'd throw them out or call the police...but he doesn't.If I didn't see on IMDb and in the film's credits, I would have no idea that this movie was directed by the great Elia Kazan (of "On the Waterfront" fame). That's because the film looks so amateurish in many ways--with blurry and sloppy cinematography. It also only has fair acting--as if the folks really were all rookies (which, in fact, they were). How far had the career of Kazan fallen that he ended up doing a film like this?! And, in my summary I mentioned eracehead's review--and I think they summed it up nicely when they mentioned the amateurish look and the fact that it took so darned long for the film to get moving. All in all, most of the emotional impact was lost by the time the big rape scene (which was VERY telegraphed--such as showing the woman topless while dressing early in the film and the fact that the men had been involved in the prior rape) occurred. I mention the rape scene, as I know many viewers DON'T want to see this sort of thing (too many memories for many victims, for example). All in all, an interesting idea that simply wasn't handled well.
eraceheadd I recently saw this obscure film on cable and was not ready for the disturbance it set in me afterwards. It is a basic retelling of many story's we've seen before, (old army buddies come back after the war to seek redemption on the friend that did them wrong) but it was a bit of a stand out in the it has a very unexpected, shocking ending. It explores the violence and the tension of the situation well, moving slowly and methodically, which works for a while but then falls short, as you have to say "enough all ready" and get on with it.Decent performance by a young James Woods and also by Steve Railsback in his first film (who later goes on to star if the cult classic "Life Force". All and all, if you can get past the amateurish production value, an OK exploration of violence and invasion that just takes forever to get going. If you liked Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (though I particularly didn't) I would recommend this film.