Cutshaw The Astronaut: Origin Story
My real name isn't Cutshaw and I have no plans to leave Earth. (Hell, I don't even own a passport.) So who is Cutshaw the Astronaut?
Captain Billy Cutshaw is a character created by novelist and screenwriter William Peter Blatty. He appeared briefly in THE EXORCIST, but fully had his moment in THE 9th CONFIGURATION, which Blatty wrote and directed.
THE 9th CONFIGURATION is, in my strong opinion, the Greatest Buried Treasure Of All Time. Try and find someone who's even heard of this movie. Never mind that it was critically well received. Never mind that it won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. (The screenplay would be in my Top 10 for its clever and endlessly quotable dialogue alone.) If you know someone who has seen THE 9th CONFIGURATION, it's because I showed it to them.
And that's what this blog is all about, getting you excited enough to seek out excellent movies that you've never heard of. Which makes Cutshaw The Astronaut the perfect alias.
posted by Cutshaw at 8/01/2005
6 Comments:
A friend told me about this movie last night (12/18/2005). He saw it when it came out in the '70s, he said. "Great movie, but it quickly disappeared from the theaters."
He recently acquired a copy of it, and sometime over the holidays I should get a chance to watch it.
No idea what it's about. My friend doesn't remember much about it, and what little he does remember he kept to himself. But his recollection that it was a good movie had me looking forward to seeing it.
I googled "The 9th Configuration" in the hopes of learning something of the movie's plot, and quickly found myself here.
While I still don't know anything of the plot, your interesting recommendation has heightened my anticipation, and I've decided not to seek further information about the movie, so as to not spoil or taint the experience of seeing it for the first time.
I saw this movie last night, for the 2nd time, and each time it blows my mind.
I am still trying to wrap my head around all the theological and psychological bases Blatty touches - it's no small film. It's like a Shakespeare play - layer by layer you uncover subtle nuances each time you read it.
(BTW Cutshaw - if you see the DVD version - there is a great reference to Hamlet and "is this a dagger I see before me?" - think of the reference to that and Julius Caesar...
I saw this movie when it came out almost by accident and left the theatre in awe. I remember how slow the pace was and then the unfogettable finnish. I never spoke much of this film because I always felt noone had seen it or could relate!
One of my favourite movies of all time, many layers deep, and very, very funny dialogue. It is a cult favourite, much like Bladerunner is a Sci Fi cult favourite of mine.
just saw your post on 9th configuration today (7/12/2006). I first saw the film 15 years ago, but I was too young to get it. Still, it had a strange impact on me and I finally found it on dvd 2 years ago. It's one of the best films ever made, and sadly I am only one of the two people that I know that have seen this movie.
Interesting article, added his blog to Favorites
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