One Of The Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever
The director John Frankenheimer made "Seconds" during his 1960's hot streak that also included The Manchurian Candidate (Special Edition) and Seven Days in May. "Seconds" is quite simply one of the most disturbing horror films ever made. It has a perfectly constructed script that keeps piling on the surprises and shocks to a nightmarish crescendo. There has seldom been a movie that so well evokes the atmosphere of Kafka. Mix in a frighteningly acute portrait of the psychological and social discontents that were beginning to make themselves felt in that decade (and still pack a punch.) The plot is impossible to describe without giving away too much. It's nominally science fiction, but with a much darker feel. Just say that a weary, defeated, middle-aged businessman played by John Randolph is offered a Faustian second chance at life, and is surgically reborn as the handsome, youthful Rock Hudson. This is a great performance by Hudson, who picks right up from Randolph's character and makes us believe in the sad, confused guy behind the dashing facade. Hudson seemingly now has everything necessary to make a fresh start, but some nasty details keep intruding on his "paradise." There's amazing, disorienting black and white photography by James Wong Howe. Also some deeply creepy, masterful music by Jerry Goldsmith. And one has to make a special mention of Will Geer, who plays the "old man", the mysterious head of the shadowy corporation who appears at the beginning and end of the movie with two hair-raising, unsettling speeches that will haunt you. Fans of David Lynch and Mulholland Dr.and Lost Highway will eat this movie up. I think of it as the emotional equivalent of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2-Disc Ultimate Edition). It deals with some of our deepest fears about life and existence, and doesn't pull any punches. You should see this movie immediately if you haven't already.

A completely unique and shattering classic. . .
SECONDS refers to time, to second chances, to going back for another helping. It the absolute best performance by Rock Hudson, and a must-see for fans of Science Fiction and Horror. Its central idea, that of being able to completely change your life for another, is one that almost every human being seriously considers at least once. Can this be done? It is plastic surgery taken to the extreme, and when you read every day of people as young as ten or eleven having nose jobs, breast augumentation, chin work, liposuction and so on, SECONDS is not farfetched at all. It is too frighteningly real.
John Frankenheimer and the brilliant Cinematographer James Wong Howe composed SECONDS as an extremely unreal reality, using wide-angle lenses and deep focus black and white photography to take us into a world that is inviting and terrifying. Jerry Goldsmith's gothic score adds to the uneasiness, and Lewis John Carlino's screenplay is pitch perfect.
I won't spoil the plot at all, but you MUST see SECONDS from the beginning, and pay close attention to detail. Everything in the film is there for a reason, and it all adds up to a masterpiece. Read some of the other reviews here on Amazon to get a fuller picture.
Frankenheimer made many fine films in his career (and just a few duds), but SECONDS stands head and shoulders above all as the pinnacle of his work. The film was a disaster at the box office when it was initially released in 1966, and as Frankenheimer mentions in his commentary, it was because the Rock Hudson fans didn't "get" him in this kind of film, and the people who would have appreciated SECONDS could not imagine Rock in this role. Darned if you do, darned if you don't. But casting against type is one of the things that makes SECONDS work so well. And, again, it is the finest performance Hudson ever gave, worthy of an Academy Award.
See SECONDS. It will surprise, shock and stun you. It will leave you with enough food for years of thought. See it with friends and discuss it forever afterward. And take a moment to thank God that you are who you are, with all your faults and brilliances. You are unique, the sum of your life experiences, your family, your friends. Don't throw it all away for SECONDS.

Ahead Of It's Time
This movie never received the recognition it deserved, as Rock Hudson never received the recognition he deserved for the phenomenal performance he gave as a middle aged man given a second chance to create the life he believes he wants. It's a Faustian tale that cautions the viewer to "be careful what you wish for, for you just might get it". I read the book before I ever saw the movie, and was not one bit disappointed in the film. It follows the book pretty much to the letter. John Randolph is transformed into Rock Hudson through a series of plastic surgeries and leaves behind his former life (and wife and career) to begin again as an artist in a southern California community. What the character doesn't realize is that although the exterior may change, you still take with you the core of who you are. The movie received terrible reviews when it was released, primarily because I think people wanted the Rock Hudson they knew of the Doris Day light comedies. He plays very much against type and the movie is heavy all the way through. I won't spoil the plot and give away too much, other than the fact that I never forgot this film though I saw it some thirty years ago and it never compromises or cheapens itself with a pat ending. There is one very slow segment in the film that lasts about ten minutes and could have been edited out, but it's still a five star film. It's pure science fiction without the special effects, but not at all unrealistic. It's a shame that neither Rock Hudson nor John Frankenheimer, who directed it, didn't live to see this become a cult classic that is very much appreciated nearly 40 years later.

Seconds
Boasting one of Hudson's finest screen performances, this bizarre tale of self-transformation gets the paranoiac treatment from Frankenheimer, a veteran of political thrillers, and ace cameraman James Wong Howe, whose evocative camerawork adds to the sense of unease. Hamilton is as much a victim of his own desire to be someone else as he is of creepy company founder "The Old Man" (Will Geer), and Hudson portrays his character's naiveté beautifully. Strong support from Jens, Randolph, and Addy, the butler who's uncomfortably keen on coaxing Hamilton to let loose and indulge himself, round out a superb cast. In this age of Botox and TV makeovers, "Seconds" is a disturbing reminder that the fountain of youth is really a poison well.

"What do you got left?"
I watched this movie last night and I thought it was okay. The idea of having the main character change lives reminded me a lot of the Jim Carrey movie "The Majestic" while the ending is brilliant in which the doctors are about to torture and kill Tony Wilson/Arthur Hamition (Rock Hudson). That scene seemed to be a prelude to "A Clockwork Orange" five years later in which the hero (Malcolm McDowell) raises so much hell that his friends, like what happens to Rock Hudson in this movie, start to turn against them and plot to sabotage him (of course in the case of "Orange" McDowell's Alex is strapped and his eyelids are clamped). The opening credits from Saul Bass are also brilliant and it is almost paying homage to the credits of the Roman Polanski film of that time "Repulsion." But there is one thing in "Seconds" that wasn't brilliant: The wine vat Felliniesque orgy scene between Hudson and Salome Jens because I didn't know why it was in the movie and I never saw it coming. In his audio commentary director John Frankenhimer (dead) admitted that this really happened in Santa Barbara where they shot it and he also said that half the scene was cut out under the Catholic Church's orders. And that leads me to my dissatifaction with the MPAA: Can you believe they gave this movie for its DVD release an R rating because of the scene that I just mentioned? While at the same time they give "The Professionals" another 1966 movie with Burt Lancaster, a PG-13 rating for its own DVD release and yet it has more graphic female nudity/bare flesh that this movie and to push it even futher "Blow-Up" (also from 1966) has it share of female nudity and skin and that is NOT rated! This go to show that the rating system is a joke, it is a true child of the 60's, and it violates the first amendment for freedom of expression. Also, why is the MPAA so conservative over sex and nudity? It does lean towards censorship. Anyway, that is why I give this movie four stars and not five.