I first saw 'Rhinoceros' as part of a high school film class, many moons ago. I will freely admit that I am not in love with the absurdity genre, and Ionesco's take on perceived "overreaction" to the threats of Naziism are brimming with equally absurdity naiveté (although, some people seem to think that Ionesco's point was to show how the very real threats around us can make us become irrational with fear - you decide). Regardless, people had GOOD reason to be fearful of the threats before them during and after WWII, be they paranoiac or not (typical of the Eurpoean view, as we see with the pooh-poohing of the real threats of radical fundamentalism today, and even in certain film reviews!).
All this is neither here nor there: whatever bourgeois-Euro-tint that may have been present in the original play are neutered by director Tom O'Horgan's Americanization of the subject matter. Subtle social commentary is lost in the translation, and the result is a confused, hard-to-follow exercise in absurd-ism gone haywire.
I have encountered many people that LOVE this film, although the concept of that is beyond me. I found this film an absolute CHORE to sit through (being not a fan of absurd-ism to begin with, this piece of work did not help change my opinion on the matter). Over the years, it has become a punchline of sorts among associates of mine when describing the only film available for rental upon our turns in Purgatory (that, and endless re-runs of the Jerry Springer show on Purgatory TV).
While the true meaning of the original play may be in the eye of the beholder, messages cannot mask a bad film, and this (unfortunately, as one who loves the work of both Mostel and Wilder) is a bad film with a capital 'B'.
All this is neither here nor there: whatever bourgeois-Euro-tint that may have been present in the original play are neutered by director Tom O'Horgan's Americanization of the subject matter. Subtle social commentary is lost in the translation, and the result is a confused, hard-to-follow exercise in absurd-ism gone haywire.
I have encountered many people that LOVE this film, although the concept of that is beyond me. I found this film an absolute CHORE to sit through (being not a fan of absurd-ism to begin with, this piece of work did not help change my opinion on the matter). Over the years, it has become a punchline of sorts among associates of mine when describing the only film available for rental upon our turns in Purgatory (that, and endless re-runs of the Jerry Springer show on Purgatory TV).
While the true meaning of the original play may be in the eye of the beholder, messages cannot mask a bad film, and this (unfortunately, as one who loves the work of both Mostel and Wilder) is a bad film with a capital 'B'.