Boring, long, and too preachy.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Continuing to review African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're back at 1967 with the release of this independent movie that mostly takes place in a subway train in New York. Among the passengers on it are a black couple played by Brock Peters and Ruby Dee, the former an angry man who doesn't believe that all races should live in harmony with the latter a bit resigned to not being able to change his mind to the point of him leaving during one such meeting. They're both excellent in their roles among an ensemble that includes Donna Mills, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Ed McMahon-yes, the announcer of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", and-as the two toughs making their film debuts-Tony Musante and Martin Sheen. This was quite an intense thriller from director Larry Peerce whose One Potato, Two Potato I reviewed several days ago I also enjoyed. The only complaint I have is that the print I watched on YouTube was a bit blurry so I didn't always know what was going on. Still, The Incident comes highly recommended. P.S. Another person of color that appeared was a woman who is kept from going on the train played by Maxine McCrey.

Poster "Sol1218" wrote that he found it not credible that none of the other passengers on the train tried to interfere with the thugs or help their fellow passengers. But the reality of 1967 was that it was a rare New Yorker who would stick his neck out for a stranger.Just three years earlier, in 1964, a terrible crime occurred in Forest Hills, Queens that made headlines world-wide. A barmaid named Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed on the street while dozens of neighbors in surrounding apartment buildings listened to her screams. During the attack, apparently one person yelled from a window and the attacker backed off for a few moments. But when no further interference took place, the attacker returned and stabbed Miss Genovese to death.None of the neighbors even called the police. They all later said, when interviewed, "I didn't want to get involved." That sentiment reflected the majority of New Yorkers in that era of rampant street crime: mind your own business, don't get involved.The passivity of the passengers in The Incident was perfectly in line with the sensibilities of the time, and the fact that it took a visitor from Oklahoma (Beau Bridges) to step up to the plate, was also very apt.All that being said, this movie is extremely powerful. The first time I ever saw it, on television, I was shaking for hours.

Martin Sheen and Tony Musante are both chillingly intense and believable as a couple of nasty no-count hoodlums who terrorize a motley assortment of folks on a New York City subway car late at night. The pernicious pair force the various passengers to face up to their true (often pathetic) natures. Director Lary Peerce, working from a painfully incisive script by Nicholas E. Baehr, trenchantly uses the subway car as a microcosm of American society where all of man's worst fears and foibles come into play. Moreover, Peerce makes a grim, yet provocative statement about how most people become passive victims when thrust into a dangerous crisis situation. The sterling cast all give stand-out performances: Bob Bannard and Beau Bridges as two soldier buddies, Donna Mills as a mousy virginal blonde, Victor Arnold as Mills' amorous boyfriend, Jack Gilford and Thelma Ritter as a bickering elderly couple, a surprisingly solid Ed McMahon as a harried middle-class father of a little girl, Diana Van Der Vlis as MacMahon's wife, Robert Fields as a timid homosexual, Brock Peters as an angry white-hating black man, Ruby Dee as Peters' long-suffering wife, Gary Merrill as a desperate, down on his luck businessman, Mike Kellin as a meek school teacher, and Jan Sterling as Kellin's fed-up wife. Better still, the characters are well drawn and recognizably real human beings. This in turn makes the brutal ordeal they endure that much more potent and disturbing to watch. Gerald Hirschfeld's stark, vivid black and white cinematography, Terry Knight's rattling, rousing score, and the plausibly grungy Big Apple atmosphere further enhance the gritty realism and claustrophobic tension of this rough and unnerving movie. An absolute powerhouse.

This is a terrific movie to watch today, 40 years after its release. As an essentially one-scene presentation, without any superstar members of the talented cast, and given the number of protest-type plays and films at this time of turmoil in the 1960's --- it is better now, not only for its story and performances, per se, but also as an excellent chronicle of these times.The story of a group of individuals, threatened and intimidated by a couple of "toughs," has been told many times, in a variety of settings, depicting the victims' fright, indifference, and even occasional amusement. But this one does tells it about as well as possible. The seedy setting, a New York City subway car, at night, provides a time capsule example of the word "seedy." A group like this could be equally-menaced, say, held hostage in the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf, but the dramatic effect would never be the same.Besides the drama - viewed now, four decades later - the film evokes a nostalgic view and feel of the 60's period. Martin Sheen and Tony Musante (a young 27 and 31, respectively), are outstanding, and Sheen's role, against-type, especially so. Beau Bridges is also 26 here, as is Donna Mills, and we also see Ed McMahon and Jan Sterling in their mid-40's. A very interesting view of these personalities then, along with the number of others in this outstanding ensemble.A real gem, and one of those frequent reminders that the best films often are found elsewhere from the high-budget, superstar epics.