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The President's Analyst | Year: 1967 Classification: Drama Directed: - Theodore J. Flicker Actors/Actresses: - James Coburn Mother's Milk... I saw this movie on a Saturday night when I was a teen and I roared! Surprisingly, it was almost uncut except for the small amount of nudity in the 'killing fields.' Although dated this film is still hysterical. A 60s black comedy about the reality of the spy business - all to get inside the President's head! Can you imagine a Canadian secret service???? Coburn as the President's analyst is perfect. His wry smiles while he slowly decends into paranoia is unbelievble. The scenes of him being summoned by the Commander in Chief are priceless! Godfrey Cambridge as a black 'license to kill' agent who has 'baggage' from his childhood is a scream. Severn Darden Godfrey's Russian counterpart, despite the fact he is prepared to kill at the drop of his Russian Ushanka is Godfrey's best buddy. The scene with Pat Harrington, Jr. as the phone 'agent' is just over the top! I agree with Vince Mack and the critics this must be put on DVD in widescreen format with Barry McGuire's music and the 'art cinema' scene where Coburn's character meets Joan Delaney's as well as the weird disembodied-eyeballs sequence. This is an absolute Gem of a movie that needs to be preserved in tact! Additionally since we're talking James Coburn I'd like to see "Waterhole No. 3" another Coburn classic also transferred to DVD! Beautiful! This film first smacked me upside the head 30 years ago, and it only continues to impress me. Along with 'Bedazzled' from the same year, this is the rare '1960s Movie' that rewards the discriminating viewer with intelligence, wit, and style. There's so much brilliant stuff happening, but I'm impressed by a series of scenes where icon of cool James Coburn, in the title role, leaves his Oval Office sessions - initially puffed up in top-of-the-world awe, then to thousand-yard-stare horror, to tightly-strung weary stress, to migrained impatience, finally to full-blown paranoia - he unravels like a peeled golf ball, underscored by Lalo Schifrin's suitably over-the-top score. I'd heard during production, the Bureau expressed disapproval of their portrayal (probably straight from Henry Lux Himself), threatening serious tax audits, which prompted the use of the acronyms 'FBR' and 'CEA', clearly dubbed into already filmed scenes. Lots of familiar TV faces in this film - Will 'Grampa Walton' Geer plays a crusty old-school mentor, William 'St. Elsewhere' Daniels plays a gun-totin' liberal Typical American, funnyman Arte Johnson is truly chilling as a 'rules are rules' FBR agent, Pat 'Schneider' Harrington plays the head of...you'll see. Contrary to revisionist thinking, everyone in the 60s was NOT a hippie, who were, in fact, a big joke to the media. This is one of a few films of the time to depict them sympathetically and to suggest they may have been on to something. As volatile as the times were, the crew could still film a shot where, inside the White House fence, a maintenance wheelbarrow wears the ubiquitous TPC logo - just try doing that now. This film MUST be put onto DVD. And they have to: - Make it widescreen format - the cinematography suffers under pan & scan. -Retain Barry McGuire's music. He's in the film, let him sing. That quasi-60s music from a VHS release don't cut it. -Reinstate the 'art cinema' scene where Coburn's character meets Joan Delaney's. Glad to see other reviewers saw it - I was right, I'm *not* crazy! -Reinstate the weird disembodied-eyeballs sequence in the nightmare scene. Not essential, but I'd like to see it again, just to know I'm *not* crazy! "That's my car gun." After his stint starring as the eternally groovy American super spy Derek Flint, "Repeat after me: I am not a pleasure unit." in Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967), James Colburn starred in the wonderfully quirky, funny dark political comedy/thriller The President's Analyst (1967). Written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, who also worked on a number of television shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Dream of Jeanie, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The President's Analyst stars James Colburn as Dr. Sidney Schaefer, a New York psychiatrist who finds himself in the position of being chosen to listen to the problems of the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States. At first, it seems like a dream position, but soon Sidney realizes it's a lot more than he can handle, as the President does not make appointments with Sidney, but expects him to be 'on call' 24/7, and signals Sidney whenever he needs him through the use of flashing red signal lights in Sidney's office, his home, and even his soup. As the pressures, odd hours and the extreme weight of the problems shared by the president wear on Sidney, his paranoia grows as he sees spies around every corner. Let's face it, how valuable would the President's analyst be to a foreign, or even friendly, power? Sidney's growing paranoia along with his inability to discuss his own problems with his peers due to possible threats to national security, causes Sidney to have a sort of nervous breakdown, to which he decides to run away, hoping to find a little peace and maybe a way out of the situation. Only problem is, now that Sidney is no longer under the protection of the CEA (Central Enquiries Agency), he is now fair game and a target for practically every intelligence agency in the world, even becoming a target for the FBR (Federal Bureau of Regulations), as they all either desire or fear what he's got in his head. Colburn is wonderful as the cool and intelligent psychiatrist on the lam, pursued various domestic and foreign powers, some intent on capture, while some intent on killing him. It's funny but even when he's 'freaking out', due the extreme pressures of his position and that of being harassed by kidnappers and assassins, he still seems to maintain a somewhat suave and sophisticated demeanor, rolling with the situations as they come up. Colburn is supported by a really excellent cast here, including Godfrey Cambridge as Don Masters, CEA agent and Severn Darden as Russian agent V.I. Kydor Kropotkin, characters, who, while on different sides, share an affable friendship and respect for each other. Also appearing is Joan Delaney as Nan, Sidney's live-in girlfriend (until the FBR discover Sidney talks in his sleep and move her to a hotel for fears that Sidney may reveal state secrets), Barry McGuire (who penned the perennial 60's anthem Eve of Destruction) as the hippy leader of a band Sidney joins in an effort to lose himself, Walter Burke as the uber-mo Buy The President's Analyst at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The President's Analyst Search with the Priority Search Engine on The President's Analyst This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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