Seconds
A disillusioned banker buys a new identity, only to discover that escape from conformity can become its most terrifying form.
Overview
A man’s quest for a new life leads to unexpected horrors in a world of secrets.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- surreal
- chilling
- late night cinephile viewing
- classic science fiction marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Seconds as a compelling, cult-classic paranoid science-fiction thriller distinguished by its disorienting cinematography and Rock Hudson's performance, despite reservations about its uneven middle section.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
James Wong Howe's disorienting wide-angle imagery repeatedly bends faces, rooms, and corridors around Arthur and Tony's identity crisis.
The secret organization promises reinvention, but its procedures, employees, and controlled new lives reveal freedom as another form of institutional confinement.
Arthur purchases death, surgery, training, and a new persona as Tony Wilson, treating the self as something the company can design and sell.
Calls, consultations, psychotherapy, and company protocols transform familiar modern systems into an opaque nightmare with no trustworthy exit.
Films like Seconds, and why
The Prisoner
paranoid identity crisis, dystopian social control, and psychologically unsettling science fiction
The Face of Another
surreal identity reconstruction, existential alienation, and disorienting arthouse science fiction
The Trial
Kafkaesque conspiracy, institutional dehumanization, and bleak psychological suspense
The Fly
body transformation, identity anxiety, and disturbing speculative horror
Movie Details
- Director
- John Frankenheimer
- Release Date
- 1966-10-05
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (457)
Cast
- Rock Hudson
- Salome Jens
- John Randolph
- Will Geer
- Jeff Corey
- Richard Anderson
- Murray Hamilton
- Karl Swenson
- Khigh Dhiegh
- Frances Reid
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Seconds about?
- A disillusioned banker buys a new identity, only to discover that escape from conformity can become its most terrifying form.
- What is Seconds like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Seconds as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Seconds violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Seconds as mild.
- What did critics think of Seconds?
- Critics broadly regard Seconds as a compelling, cult-classic paranoid science-fiction thriller distinguished by its disorienting cinematography and Rock Hudson's performance, despite reservations about its uneven middle section.
- Which films are like Seconds?
- Films with a similar feel include The Prisoner, The Face of Another, The Trial, and The Fly.
- How long is Seconds?
- Seconds runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Seconds?
- In United States, Seconds is available to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
