Greetings is a 1968 American black comedy film co-written and directed by Brian De Palma. A satirical film about men avoiding the Vietnam War draft, it marks Robert De Niro's first major role.
It is the first American film to receive an X rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), although it was later given an R rating. However, contrary to some allegations, it was not the first film to receive an X-rating in the United States; the first film to hold an X-rating in the country was in fact French-British film The Girl on a Motorcycle (also known as Naked Under Leather).
De Niro reprised the character of Jon Rubin in the 1970 film Hi, Mom!, also directed by De Palma. The film was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won a Silver Bear award.
Plot
<!--Plot is less than 50 words; per MOS:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words-->Three friends, shy love-seeker Paul Shaw, vibrant conspiracy nut Lloyd Clay, and peeping tom aspiring filmmaker Jon Rubin, explore free love, the John F. Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and amateur filmmaking.
Cast
Production
Reception
Greetings holds an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews.
Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote, "Some of it is amusing, as when one of the lads is coached in the technique of draft-dodging. Most of it is strained and unfunny, with some generous nudity for nudity's sake and a hip sprinkling of four-letter words." Variety wrote that the film "has its sluggish sequences" but "[m]uch of the production has a freshness that is infectious". Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "the funniest film since The Producers—and stylistically is its superior. It has the fresh and uninhibited wit of the best of the student films yet has the grace and control to sustain itself throughout its 88 minutes." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three stars out of four, and wrote, "What holds the film together is not its plot (there isn't one) but its attitude, its general instinct for what is funny in our society."
Home media
Greetings was released on DVD from Troma Entertainment, and on Blu-ray by Arrow Films on December 11, 2018, as part of the De Niro and De Palma: The Early Films collection. The set also includes the films The Wedding Party (1969) and Hi, Mom! (1970), which are both directed by Brian De Palma and co-star Robert De Niro.
See also
- List of American films of 1968