THE INCIDENT (1967) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: LARRY PEERCE / SCREENPLAY: NICHOLAS E. BAEHR / STARRING: TONY MUSANTE, MARTIN SHEEN, BEAU BRIDGES, BROCK PETERS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Made over 50 years ago, The Incident remains an uncompromising and emotionally savage experience. As it begins, Joe and Artie are two completely amoral New York hoods out for alcohol-fuelled, criminal thrills in the dwindling late hours of a weekend. Mugging and beating unconscious a man on his way home, they decide to head to Times Square.
Meanwhile, as the film’s first half plays out, a disparate set of people are all making their journeys home, including gay man Kenneth, older Jewish couple Sam and Bertha, young soldiers Felix and Phillip, African-American couple Arnold and Joan and others who provide a cross-section of society in much the same way disaster movies of the next decade would. Eventually everyone ends up in the same train carriage. It’s here that Joe and Artie effectively hold them hostage for the purposes of tormenting and threatening the group for their own pleasure.
The film holds nothing back with the mean-spirited abuse of the passengers cruel and laced with hatred so that the tension and looming promise of explosive violence to come racks up throughout the second half with an unrelenting intensity. The Incident is a remarkable film that works as both a social commentary in microcosm of the issues of the time it was made and a wider examination of society that speaks to the world we live in now.
For this new release we have a crisp and sharp transfer that showcases the beautifully menacing cinematography of Gerald Hirschfeld and Larry Peerce’s dynamic direction, both working together to make the film vivid and immediate. There are two commentaries, the first a conversation between cinema historian Nick Redman and Peerce that goes into detail about the challenges involved in the making of the film and the intent behind it and this is complemented by a 30-min Q&A with Peerce from the 2017 Wisconsin Film Festival. Peerce remains rightfully proud of his achievement and both are worthwhile. The second commentary from writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas is completely different, with the focus on the film’s perspective on violence, sexual politics and The Incident’s continuing relevance fascinating and necessary. A trailer for the film rounds out the disc’s extras and in addition to this also included is an accompanying booklet with writing on the film from Samm Deighan and Barry Forshaw along with a reprint of a ‘survival guide’ pamphlet that was circulated during New York’s crime epidemic.
There’s nothing cosy or nostalgic about The Incident and it will absolutely set you on edge. It is a vital, confrontational piece of work that really has something to say about the worst of who we are, supported by some compelling extras. Highly recommended.
