Rent Seconds (1966)
3.8 of 5 from 140 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
To the enigmatic question "Who are Seconds?", the film's original poster responded: "The answer is almost too terrifying for words.... The story of a man who buys for himself a totally new life. A man who lives the age-old dream - If only I could live my life all over again." John Frankenheimer directs Rock Hudson as a "second": that is, the newly plastic-surgery altered "reboot" of, in this instance, a listless banker named Arthur Hamilton. Such procedures are carried out by a secret organization known only as "The Company," with the promise of giving an individual a chance at making a fresh start at life... but at what cost? Master lighting cameraman James Wong Howe provides the paranoiac atmosphere to the skewed reality of what came to be widely considered one of Frankenheimer's very best films. - Actors:
- Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Will Geer, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Karl Swenson, Khigh Dhiegh, Frances Reid, Wesley Addy, John Lawrence, Elisabeth Fraser, Dodie Heath, Robert Brubaker, Dorothy Morris, Barbara Werle, Frank Campanella, Edgar Stehli, Aaron Magidow
- Directors:
- John Frankenheimer
- Producers:
- Edward Lewis, John Frankenheimer
- Writers:
- Lewis John Carlino, David Ely
- Others:
- James Wong Howe
- Studio:
- Eureka
- Genres:
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Cinema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 1, People of the Pictures, Remembering Robert Towne, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films About Trains: Thrillers, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/10/2015
- Run Time:
- 107 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- None
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.75:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Feature-Length Audio Commentary with Director John Frankenheimer
- Feature-Length Audio Commentary with Film Scholar Adri Martin
- Video Appreciation of the Film by Critic and Novelist Kim Newman
- Theatrical Trailer
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Reviews (2) of Seconds
Conspiracy Sci-Fi. - Seconds review by Steve
The final part of John Frankenheimer's paranoia trilogy. A middle aged banker (John Randolph) who feels life has passed him by, pays a shady organisation a huge sum for a second chance. He gets extensive cosmetic surgery, a phoney back story and the company provides a corpse to allow the wage slave to shed his old existence. After his transformation he is played by Rock Hudson!
He was from the generation born into the depression, and sent to fight in WWII, who returned to the sexually and socially inhibited America of the '50s. In the '60s, young people reject those values, get the contraceptive pill and discover free love. Who wouldn't want another go around?
But he doesn't change inside. Rock Hudson is just a frightening, unknowable mask. In his new identity, he begins to question who he used to be. A lot of this feeling of paranoia is created visually with the distorting lenses, and by the gloomy progressive score.
It is a chilling story of a rapacious corporation whose mission- to provide a service to the rich-has been swallowed by the capitalist obligation to create wealth. Anything can be justified in the pursuit of profit. The client's self doubt is exploited and he becomes paralysed in a terrifying web of ruthless, inexorable business ethics. Don't miss this one.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Essence Without Existence - Seconds review by griggs
Seconds isn’t just my favourite film—it’s the one that rewired my brain, made me understand just what is possible to convey on screen. As the third part of John Frankenheimer’s loose paranoia triology, Seconds dials down the politics and drills deep into personal dread: it’s about identity, regret, and the terrifying lure of second chances.
James Wong Howe’s cinematography is a masterclass in unease—skewed angles, fisheye lenses, and stark contrasts that make even the calmest moments feel unnervingly off. Rock Hudson, often dismissed as lightweight, is magnetic here—fragile, haunted, and utterly convincing.
At the time of its release, some critics claimed the film turned conventional once Hudson appears on screen. That misses the point entirely. This isn’t wish fulfilment—it's a deeply unnerving riff on Faust, where dreams curdle and rebirth comes at a cost. It's as much Kafka as it is sci-fi.
From the infamous grape-crushing bacchanal to that chilling final shot, Seconds is a waking nightmare—and a brutal reminder that escape isn't always freedom.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.