Movie · 1972 · Drama, Science Fiction, War · 1h 40m · R · English
Curator score: 5.0/10 (14.9K ratings)
Billy Pilgrim lives —from time to time to time…
Overview
Billy Pilgrim, a veteran of the Second World War, finds himself mysteriously detached from time, so that he is able to travel, without being able to help it, from the days of his childhood to those of his peculiar life on a distant planet called Tralfamadore, passing through his bitter experience as a prisoner of war in the German city of Dresden, over which looms the inevitable shadow of an unspeakable tragedy.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.0/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 66
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
George Roy Hill
Production
Universal Pictures, Vanadas Productions
Cast
Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans, Valerie Perrine, Holly Near, Perry King, Kevin Conway, Friedrich von Ledebur, Ekkehardt Belle, Sorrell Booke, Roberts Blossom, John Dehner, Gary Waynesmith, Richard Schaal, Gilmer McCormick, Stan Gottlieb, Karl-Otto Alberty, Henry Bumstead, Lucille Benson
Curator Review
Verdict
An ambitious, often striking adaptation of Vonnegut’s antiwar novel that captures the book’s fractured sense of time, grief, and absurdity, but not always its full emotional bite. It’s memorable for its concept and imagery more than for seamless dramatic flow, so it tends to work best as a bold curio or companion piece to the novel rather than a universally satisfying war film.
Best for
Viewers interested in experimental or non-linear storytelling
Fans of antiwar satire and darkly comic science fiction
Readers of Vonnegut curious about the adaptation
People who appreciate 1970s literary cinema with a strange, detached mood
Skip if
You want a straightforward World War II drama
You need strong emotional immersion or a conventional protagonist arc
You’re looking for polished, modern visual effects
You dislike films that feel intentionally alienating or tonally uneven
Overview
Slaughterhouse-Five is less a war movie than a shattered memory of one. George Roy Hill’s adaptation keeps faith with Vonnegut’s time-jumping structure and deadpan fatalism, creating a film that feels haunted by events before they happen and after they’ve already been endured.
Worth noting
Its strengths are conceptual and atmospheric: the off-kilter rhythm, the dry humor, and the sense that Billy Pilgrim is drifting through history rather than living it. At the same time, the film can feel emotionally distant, and some of the novel’s manic energy and verbal force are inevitably muted on screen.
Bottom line
For viewers open to an unconventional antiwar film, it’s a fascinating artifact of 1970s studio-era experimentation. For those expecting a more grounded or cathartic war drama, it may feel frustratingly elusive.
Top Letterboxd reviews
George Heftler (4★) · 237 likes
Men will literally write slaughterhouse-five instead of going to therapy
PTAbro (3★) · 191 likes
Kurt Vonnegut himself remarked that George Roy Hill's adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five was a "flawless translation." I'd pretty much agree - and that's why this is one of the better examples of how some stories are better suited to the written word. There is a depth of emotion and energy in Vonnegut's novel that somehow does not translate to the film. The deep, dark, manic black humor in his words and sentences does its best to wind its way onto the… more Kurt Vonnegut himself remarked that George Roy Hill's adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five was a "flawless translation." I'd pretty much agree - and that's why this is one of the better examples of how some stories are better suited to the written word. There is a depth of emotion and energy in Vonnegut's novel that somehow does not translate to the film. The deep, dark, manic black humor in his words and sentences does its best to wind its way onto the… more
ScreeningNotes (4★) · 131 likes
"All he does in his sleep is quit, surrender, and apologize. I could carve a better man out of a banana."
I was in a minor car accident on Wednesday (no injuries), so I decided to watch Slaughterhouse-Five that night because I needed something to take me out of the present moment and give me a look at the big picture, which Kurt Vonnegut's original novel did incredibly well. "Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time," and by drifting… more
matt lynch (3★) · 118 likes
WE BOUGHT A ZOO
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (2★) · 117 likes
150th Review for The Collab Weekly Movie Watch
An interesting premise with an interesting approach, but I think it's one you really need to learn what’s about because I came here expecting a war movie. And sure, I get that, but also a futuristic sci-fi about some guy caught in time or something. There are aliens at one point who cheer when this woman breastfeeds her baby. It’s supposed to be a comedy, but I never laughed. Probably because I… more