Based on the acclaimed novel by celebrated novelist and Humanist Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughterhouse-Five stars Michael Sacks as Billy Pilgrim, a man who has become unstuck by time, uncontrollably jumping back and forth to key moments in his life. These include his tour of duty as a Chaplin's assistant during World War II, and his subsequent capture, imprisonment, and survival during the allied bombing of Dresden; his life after the war as a respected salesman, father of two, and wife to the wealthy and overweight Valencia (Sharon Gans); and his abduction by aliens to the planet Tralfamdore, where he shares a dome enclosure with porn starlet Montana Wildhack (Valeria Perrine).
Director George Roy Hill has taken on an ambitious project, and comes off the better for it. Writer Stephen Geller has done an excellent job in adapting Vonnegut Jr.'s story of a man who is unexpectedly whisked from one moment in time to another, and Roy Hill succeeds in bringing to life what I am sure was deemed by many to be an un-filmable novel.
However, the films hero is Dede Allen, who edits Slaughterhouse-Five extremely well, and does so with surprisingly little confusion within its puzzle like structure. The movie -as described by the main character when speaking about his life - is nothing more than "a collection of moments, strung together in random harmony". His life has no beginning, no middle, and no end. Thus, the film follows suit, as past, present, and future merge into one.
Michael Sparks (in his debut role) gives a solid lead performance, while supporting roles by Eugene Roache as the protective Eugene Roache, and a hilarious Ron Liebman as the psychotic Phil Lazzaro are excellent.
The movie prominently focuses on the fire bombing of Dresden by allied forces during World War II. Tens of thousands of people died in what many believed to be an illegal act. Among those is Vonnegut, who - just like Pilgrim - actually survived the bombing whilst there as a prisoner of war. The city of Prague in the Czech Republic substituted for Dresden, while the depiction of the bombing was used with stock footage.
For its many good points, there are a small yet crucial number of bad elements which bring the movie down. The first is a high speed pursuit which feels extremely tacky and out of place; Second, are the subsequent placid reactions from the characters in regards to a tragedy, which should have garnered a bigger reaction than the dour poker faces on show; And last, are the Tralfamdore scenes that ruin the great time hopping sequences before it, and only seem to be omitted in an attempt at humour and titillation.
But despite these moments, Slaughterhouse-Five is an innovative and entertaining movie, which left an impressionable mark on the sci-fi genre.