Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, but it wasn't always that way. Back in the early 1970's he was still finding his way and trying some techniques out. While Boxcar Bertha is nowhere near the quality of Scorsese's later efforts, you can tell there was talent there, just waiting to be exploited.
Boxcar Bertha tells the fictional account of two lovers, a union leader and a loner, who find pleasure taking up crime to seek vengeance on what railroad management has done to them. David Carradine and Barbara Hershey star, as Scorsese directs his second feature length film. With plenty of similarities to Badlands or even Bonnie and Clyde, it's hard to figure out exactly what this film has to offer. In reality, it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, nor is the acting all that impressive.
With that said, because of where Scorsese is today, it's worth watching. There are plenty of intriguing shots used by the famed director that he would use later on, or even just certain transitions from scene to scene. As a film geek, that was interesting to see. But as far as the film itself, I don't know that you would get anything out of this story. Just go watch Badlands again. That's a much more fascinating take on two young people taking up murder and crime in the west.
+Scorsese trying things out
-Nothing new added to this style of a story
-Acting is sub-par
4.6/10
Boxcar Bertha tells the fictional account of two lovers, a union leader and a loner, who find pleasure taking up crime to seek vengeance on what railroad management has done to them. David Carradine and Barbara Hershey star, as Scorsese directs his second feature length film. With plenty of similarities to Badlands or even Bonnie and Clyde, it's hard to figure out exactly what this film has to offer. In reality, it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, nor is the acting all that impressive.
With that said, because of where Scorsese is today, it's worth watching. There are plenty of intriguing shots used by the famed director that he would use later on, or even just certain transitions from scene to scene. As a film geek, that was interesting to see. But as far as the film itself, I don't know that you would get anything out of this story. Just go watch Badlands again. That's a much more fascinating take on two young people taking up murder and crime in the west.
+Scorsese trying things out
-Nothing new added to this style of a story
-Acting is sub-par
4.6/10