“The culture had reached an apex by the time they were shooting in 1968 when End of the Road began production,” Nile Southern recounts. “Bobby Kennedy had just been shot, and it really influenced the tone of that film — and the kind of existential extremities portrayed in it.”

Critical of the Vietnam War and violence in general, End of the Road stars Stacy Keach and James Earl Jones at the beginning of their film careers. Each is probing the absolute boundaries of their abilities. Nile says it’s “like watching a tennis match.”

“End of the Road, for Terry, was supposed to be the beginning of many films he would produce,” Nile explains. “I think he saw himself throughout the 1970s doing more films like that, that were really pushing the boundaries of what was formally — and content-wise — politically and socially acceptable. But he did not have the opportunity to make more films after that.”

Full interview with Nile Southern about his father's work and legacy at Boulder Weekly.