''Slaughterhouse-Five'' is a 1972 American comedy-drama

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

film directed by

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...

and produced by

Paul Monash Paul Monash (June 14, 1917 – January 14, 2003) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. Life and career Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in si ...

, from a screenplay by Stephen Geller, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

. The film stars

Michael Sacks Michael Sacks (born September 11, 1948 in New York City) is an American actor and technology industry executive who played the role of Billy Pilgrim in George Roy Hill's '' Slaughterhouse Five'' (1972). Biography Sacks has a Bachelor of Arts in ...

Billy Pilgrim ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to ...

, who is unstuck in time and has no control over where he is going next. It also stars

Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Amer ...

as Paul Lazzaro and

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...

as Montana Wildhack. ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' premiered at the 25th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

and was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

. The film also won a

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

and a

Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film The Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film is one of the Saturn Awards that has been presented annually since 1972 by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to the best film in the science fiction Science fiction (sometim ...

. Sacks was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male for his portrayal of Pilgrim. Vonnegut wrote about the film soon after its release, in his preface to ''

Between Time and Timbuktu ''Between Time and Timbuktu'' is a television film directed by Fred Barzyk and based on a number of works by Kurt Vonnegut. Produced by National Educational Television and WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, it was telecast March 13, 1972 as a NET ...

'': "I love George Roy Hill and

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, who made a flawless translation of my novel ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' to the silver screen. I drool and cackle every time I watch that film, because it is so harmonious with what I felt when I wrote the book."

Plot

Ilium, New York Ilium is a fictional town in eastern New York state, used as a setting for many of Kurt Vonnegut's novels and stories, including ''Player Piano'', '' Cat's Cradle'', ''Slaughterhouse-Five'', and the stories " Deer in the Works", " Poor Little Rich ...

, the middle-aged Billy Pilgrim writes a letter to the editor claiming to have become "unstuck in time"; he finds himself as a young man behind enemy lines in Belgium during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he and a number of other American troops are captured by the Germans. A fellow

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

, Paul Lazzaro, develops a grudge against Billy and vows to kill him; at a camp, Lazzaro attacks Billy but is intercepted by an older POW, Edgar Derby. Billy and Derby develop a friendship. The Americans are set to be transferred to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

for the duration of the war and are asked to elect a leader. When Lazzaro nominates himself, Billy nominates Derby for the role, and Derby is acclaimed after Lazzaro steps down. In Dresden, the POWs are placed in a slaughterhouse, Slaughterhouse-Five. During dinner, sirens sound off and the POWs head to shelter; the

firebombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Royal ...

commences, during which Billy believes 100,000 perish. The POWs emerge and the Germans have them sort through the ruins for survivors, warning looting will be punished. When Derby discovers a dancing figurine, he pockets it, and is executed by a Nazi firing squad. After the war, Billy marries the wealthy Valencia, whose father owns an optometry school, and Billy goes into the field. They have two children, Robert and Barbara. Robert becomes a troubled adolescent, at one point caught by the police vandalizing a Catholic cemetery. Billy bribes the police into letting Robert go. Billy and his father-in-law Lionel Merble board a private jet for an optometry convention. When Billy looks out the window and sees men in ski masks, he has a premonition the plane will crash en route, which it does. Lionel is killed but Billy is found alive and taken to hospital. On her way to the hospital, a distressed Valencia has multiple accidents and her car's exhaust is destroyed, causing her to die of

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. Billy is released from the hospital and opts to live alone, over the objections of Barbara. Robert has reformed and enlisted for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. While alone, Billy is abducted to the alien planet of

Tralfamadore Tralfamadore is the name of several fictional planets in the novels of Kurt Vonnegut. Details of the corresponding indigenous alien race, the Tralfamadorians, vary from novel to novel: * In the 1959 novel ''The Sirens of Titan'', Tralfamadore ...

, along with film actress Montana Wildhack. The Tralfamadorians live in the " fourth dimension" and teach Billy the universe is made up of random moments strung together; when one dies, they go back to another point in their life, and it is up to them to focus on good moments and ignore the bad. The Tralfamadorians hope Billy and Montana will mate. Billy and Montana fall in love and have a child, whom Montana names Billy Jr. On Earth, Billy argues with Barbara about the existence of Tralfamadore; Billy, being able to travel into the future as well as the past, shares a vision of his death, in which he is fatally shot by an elderly Lazzaro while giving a speech about Tralfamadore.

Cast

as Billy Pilgrim *

as Paul Lazzaro *

Eugene Roche Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials. Personal life Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...

as Edgar Derby * Sharon Gans as Valencia Merble Pilgrim *

as Montana Wildhack *

Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Early years Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She was eight years ...

as Barbara Pilgrim *

Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rema ...

as Robert Pilgrim * Kevin Conway as Roland Weary *

Friedrich von Ledebur Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln ( – ) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''Moby Dick'' (1956), ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972). Early life Ledebur was born in Nisko, ...

as German Leader *

Ekkehardt Belle Ekkehardt Belle (18 May 1954 – 31 January 2022) was a German television actor best known for his role as David Balfour in the 1979 HTV production of ' opposite David McCallum. He played several roles in the popular TV series ''Derrick'' dur ...

as Young German Guard *

Sorrell Booke Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He acted in more than 100 plays and 150 television shows, and is best known for his role as corrupt politician Jefferson ...

as Lionel Merble *

Roberts Blossom Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924July 8, 2011) was an American poet and character actor of theatre, film, and television. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in ''Home Alone'' (1990) and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film '' Derange ...

as Wild Bob Cody *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as Professor Rumfoord *Gary Waynesmith as Stanley * Richard Schaal as Howard W. Campbell Jr. *

Gilmer McCormick Gilmer McCormick is an American actress and singer best known for her performance in the stage and film versions of ''Godspell'' in the early 1970s and for her role as Sister Margaret in the 1984 horror film ''Silent Night, Deadly Night''. Early ...

as Lily Rumfoord *Stan Gottlieb as Hobo *

Karl-Otto Alberty Karl-Otto Alberty (also Karl Otto Alberty, born 13 November 1933 in Berlin) is a German actor. He started out as an amateur boxer before discovering a talent for acting, making his début at the City Theatre in Konstanz in 1959. He then began to ...

as German Guard - Group Two *

Henry Bumstead Lloyd Henry "Bummy" Bumstead (March 17, 1915 – May 24, 2006) was an American cinematic art director and production designer. In a career that spanned nearly 70 years, Bumstead began as a draftsman in RKO Pictures' art department and late ...

as Eliot Rosewater *

Lucille Benson Lucille Benson (July 17, 1914 – February 17, 1984) was an American character actress. Biography Personal life Born in Scottsboro, Alabama, on July 17, 1914, Benson was adopted by her aunt, Mrs. John Benson, after her mother died of tuber ...

as Billy's Mother * John Wood as English Officer, credited as Tom Wood

Music

''Slaughterhouse-Five'' is the first of two

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s for which

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

supplied the music; Bach Concerto #5 in F Minor, BWV 1056, and Concerto #3 in D Major, BWV 1054 were recorded at Columbia Studios with the Columbia Symphony orchestra; some selections came from existing recordings, and two featured other artists, including Rudolph Serkin, piano, with Casals conducting Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G Major, BWV 1049, III Presto. The film used such a small amount of music that the soundtrack album added atmospheric excerpts from Douglas Leedy's synthesized triple album ''Entropical Paradise''. The prolonged rendition of the final movement of Bach's fourth Brandenburg concerto accompanies a cinematic montage as the main character first encounters the city of Dresden.

Awards

The film won the '' Prix du Jury'' at the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

, as well as a Hugo Award and Saturn Award. Both Hill and Geller were nominated for awards by their respective guilds. Sacks was nominated for a Golden Globe.

References

External links

* * *
Review of the film
by

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

''Glenn Gould at the Movies''
a

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

recording with music from the film (including thi
46-second clip
in

WAV Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Wind ...