The Day of the Locust

Nathanael West’s 1939 novel, an unflinching decrial of 1930s Hollywood, is magnificently rendered to the screen by director John Schlesinger. William Atherton stars as Tod Hackett, a principled painter/art director who surrounds himself with strange characters, among them shallow blonde bombshell Faye Greener (Karen Black), her has-been vaudevillian father (Burgess Meredith), and her caring but oafish lover, Homer (Donald Sutherland). With Geraldine Page, Richard Dysart. 144 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English.