The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)

Featuring the Original Music by Composer Jerry Goldsmith

I see this is going to be yet another casualty of the remake syndrome that our film culture suffers from. Due out in 2013. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain films that can be faithfully re-imagined by the right director/screenwriter and it could add an element of tribute with a contemporary twist that feeds the palate nicely. Perhaps this will be one of them…we’ll see. For now, let’s say that it… won’t have Margot Kidder, Michael Sarrazin, or the heavenly Jennifer O’Neill. All three actors, 70s staples and fine performers, are engrossing to watch.

Sarrazin (They Shoot Horses, Don’t They, 1969, Frankenstein, The True Story, 1973, The Gumball Rally, 1976) has always struck me as a quasi-urbane/ feral cat, sophisticated yet wildly sexy and untamed, especially with his deeply fluid eyes. And I do love cats!

Yes, I had a huge crush on Michael Sarrazin…I mean, look at those lips!

College professor Peter Proud starts having flashbacks and recurring dreams from a previous life. He begins to become drawn to a place that he has never been to before, yet is so hauntingly and disturbingly familiar. Leaving his girlfriend Nora, played by the sexy Cornelia Sharpe, behind, he goes on a personal mission to find the truth.

Driven by the cosmic forces surrounding his destiny, Peter meets up with his wife, Marcia Curtis (Margot Kidder), from his past incarnation. Somehow, Marcia recognizes in Peter very unique characteristics that are startling to those of her dead husband, Jeff.

Eerily, at times, even the sound of Peter’s voice seems to be that of Jeff’s. The film adds a twist of irony and a strain of incestuous actuality when Peter becomes romantically drawn to Ann Curtis, played by Jennifer O’Neill, the daughter of Jeff and Marcia. Peter’s daughter from a past life…

Recognizing the implications of the nature of Peter and Ann’s relationship, the anxious and melancholy Mrs. Curtis tries to keep the two young lovers away from each other. But…what is the secret behind the death of Jeff Curtis? And what will happen to Peter in the end?

The film is a soft-core 70s journey into the psycho-sexual and an indulgence into mysticism. The preoccupation of the 70s with reincarnation and past lives emerging. Peter Proud is a truly gripping, haunting film directed seamlessly by J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone 1961, Cape Fear 1962, Eye of the Devil 1966) and written by Max Ehrlich

One of the superb elements of this fine supernatural suspense/horror film is the musical contribution by legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith.

Goldsmith’s original soundtrack adds a powerfully indelible layer to the film, making it one of the most memorable films of the 1970s.

Not only is Jerry Goldsmith ONE of my all-time favorite composers, but he has also had a profound effect on me in terms of inspiration growing up as a young singer/songwriter.

Here, in this film, his work is perhaps one of THE MOST beautifully poignant and heart-wrenching pieces of music I’ve ever heard. A transcendent solemnity and delicately exquisite introspective journey of the soul through longing, silence, and eventually an eternal unknowing that lingers….

I could not find a proper theatrical trailer of The Reincarnation of Peter Proud 1975 anywhere, but I still felt it significant to highlight the film’s score as it does set the tone for Peter’s self-awareness, his journey back in time, and toward re-encountering his true self.

So here is a little something from the film. I hope you watch this version before you go and see the remake slated for 2013.

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